It was one night towards the end of 2016 where 22 year-old Robinique Parker came to her breaking point. She was tired and hurt from going through a toxic relationship and when she realized that it just wasn’t meant for her, she finally called on God saying “you gotta fix some things.”
“I was literally thinking that I was about to die because we would just be fighting. I couldn’t get to the door, I couldn’t ask for help, my phone would get taken away and then I just knew that this wasn’t for me,” Parker said. “So then I just started praying on the situation, praying for myself and I was just telling God that I need peace because I’m not happy. I really just felt stuck.”
Determined to hear more of God’s voice, Parker not only started praying more, but she started learning more about herself. Opening up to God she started letting him take control in her life as she noticed different signs showing her the life meant for her.
Parker has had multiple eye-opening moments in God’s presence that she describes as the sacrifice stage. “When you’re sacrificing, it’s ultimately hard to see the bigger picture of why you’re sacrificing and why you’re going through whatever you’re going through. I guess I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but you have to have a strong mind to be able to see what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Parker said. “I know what I’m supposed to be doing and I know how to keep myself on track, so that’s what keeps me from steering.”
According to Parker, knowing how to correct yourself, correct your thoughts and get yourself back on the right road, is a big part of self-maintaining and determination.
“I don’t encourage people to look for a passion or something that they love to do. I encourage people to only search for a higher power, which is God,” Parker said. “Everybody has his voice in the back of their heads, but he’s not going to really talk to us until we talk to him.”
According to Parker, a lot of people are doing things in life that they really aren’t meant to be doing or its just not for them. “People who work jobs that they hate think they need that job to pay bills or do whatever, but that’s really not what life’s about.” Parker said. “We create life by the things that we think. We can really be so powerful and literally create everything around us just by the ways that we think. So that’s why I didn’t find my passion, my purpose, my drive or any of that until I found God,” Parker said.
Now that Parker is becoming more in-tune with herself, her parents are even starting to notice a difference. “Robinique is very passionate about what she do, she’s very serious. I’ve noticed that she’s more patient and is developing into being such a very humble young lady,” mother Yvonne Dupree said. Her mother continues to go on about how Robinique has grown, but then her father, Robert Parker interjects saying, “It’s like a whole new person jumps out of her as she comes up with all kinds of ideas.”
Considering that Parker has never been to a school or taken classes for learning how to sew she decided at the beginning of 2017 that she would start teaching herself and get more consistent with it. Which all started with the birth of her website The Factory by R. Parker (robiniqueparker.com), where she now sells custom women’s and men’s clothes as well as custom accessories (like bags and pillow cases).
“I encourage everybody that’s trying to do anything with their life, to just really go super hard for a whole year and see where you are by the end of the year,” Parker said. Last year Parker told herself that she was about to start going harder at life. With consistent work on creating custom clothing, Parker’s innovative spirit has pushed her to keep hustling.
“I have not bought nothing out of the mall, clothing wise, within the last two years. When I’m in the mall now, I’m more of like, networking. People are in there shopping too and those are the people, and the same clients that I’m trying to connect with,” Parker said, “So when I go I really just be hustling. I literally walk through the mall passing out cards, talking to people, giving out my number.” According to Parker, the mall brings her absolutely no type of inspiration which is why that’s just her hustling grounds. “I hate the stores because they’re all basic. They honestly lack inspiration,” Parker said.
Shopping malls aren’t inspirational to Parker because each store provides the same styles in the same colors. Parker’s inspiration is mainly drawn from her feelings. “I honestly dress how I feel. If I’m feeling really girly one day then I’ll wear pink. Like today I have on this sparklin yellow kind of green hoodie up under my little denim jacket, some cute brown leggings and my ocean blue vans. So I was feeling sporty, but chique because I’m not necessarily matching, but I think I match,” Parker said. If something catches Parker’s eye, she is instantly inspired and automatically thinking about what types of fabrics can be used to accomplish a new look.
During high school is when Parker realized she never felt the need to try and fit in with her clothing. She noticed that whenever a new pair of Jordan’s came out, everyone would come to school looking just a like wearing Air Jordan from head to toe. She never looked at name brand clothing as a fascination like her classmates, but instead she saw it as a cloner for its buyers.
“I like to do what people are not doing, when it comes to dressing,” Parker expressed. “Name brand clothing never crossed my mind, but now I’m beginning to look at myself more as a designer. I want to be in the same shoes as Gucci and Chanel and Givenchy. My outlook is way more in-depth and motivational than when I was a kid.”
Dupree described Parker’s style as very unique, elegant and extremely creative. “You can’t duplicate anything that she creates because it’s just not even possible,” Dupree said. Parker creates a lot of exuberant pieces that truly show she’s dressing how she feels. From sheer tops with colorful jewels, to matching sets with floral patterns, all of Parkers creations give off a creative, vibrant vibe.
Parker has grown eager to know what these high fashion designers will be dropping for their fall and spring collections. She wants to know what they’re doing, what they’re coming up with and what she can get some inspiration from. Her entire outlook on clothing has changed since she was 18, which is why she notices different styles and trends and thinks about how she can recreate them in her own way.
Last fall she started off selling coats and jackets, but her most popular order became her bubble coats. “I looked at everyone else’s bubble coats and to be honest, mine are the most fire,” Parker said. “Everybody uses plain colors and I just freaked mine to be different. I used baby blue metallic fabrics, alligator skin fabric that’s bright, emerald green, I just made em pop for real.”
Not only did Parker freak her bubble coats with vibrant colors and twisted patterns, but the actual design added a dash of Robinique. Imagine sliding your arms into a bubble coat and when your hands reach the end of the sleeve they automatically start dancing because of the flared skirt like fabric around the wrist. When people think of bubble coats an automatic assumption can be made that they’ll look like a marshmallow once they put it on, but Parker makes sure that her clients think otherwise.
Due to the fact that everyone has their own style, Parker tries to accommodate them and still add her signature touch to it. “Some of my clients tell me, just freak it I want your style. But some of my other clients are like, look you know how to make clothes but all that extra you be doing, I don’t want that in my outfit,” Parker said. She lets her feelings dictate the entire process of designing which is why some things may come out looking a little extra.
"Once I have made something, I always fall in love with it. If I make something for somebody and they take too long to come get it, I’m gone wear it,” Parker said. “If it’s a jacket and it’s too big, guess what, I’m a wear it as an oversized coat. Even if I’m sportin it and just chillin, I have to wear it.” When Parker sees her clients in the clothes she’s made, she gets excited but receives more of a relived feeling. Once she sees that it fits and the customer likes it, that’s what leaves her happy.
“My pieces are really my babies and my pieces are so unique because of the way I think. I know for a fact I don’t think like anybody else and that’s why my pieces don’t be looking like anybody else,” Parker said. “Every designer designs different, so the only way I could be like someone is if I see something and I’m like oh she looks cute, I like that, I might make it for myself. But other than that it’s just based off how I think, how I feel.”
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