Associate designer fashions creative career for herself.

EVEN when Natalie Sichko was a child, she knew she wanted to work in some type of creative field. By the time she graduated from the University of Colorado with a fine arts degree, she had narrowed it down to a career in fashion.

"The fashion came in when I was growing up," Sichko said. "My twin sister and I were very eccentric. We used to have our walls covered in fashion magazine photos."

Sichko put her eye for fashion to work in her first job for Perry Ellis International as an assistant designer in men's contemporary wear. She was hired for color approval; that meant that she had to make sure the colors that the vendors were producing matched the orders.

Sichko recently moved on to become associate designer for the women's line at Gramicci, an outdoor lifestyle apparel company. She is part of a three-person design team.

"Working with men's wear was fun, but it's easier than women's," Sichko said. "A men's line isn't changed dramatically every season. With women's wear, you have to keep up with the pace. Women see something that they like and they buy it. They're not necessarily loyal to one brand or one line."

Shortly after joining Gramicci, she went with the design team in January to the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City.

"It was great to be able to go to the show. A lot of companies don't allow their assistant designers to go to trade shows. I think it's important to see what your competition is. It' s hard when you're sitting back and you're looking at things on a monitor. It helps when they're tangible."

Sichko lives in Hollywood, and enjoys running, painting and wine lastings. She also spends time with her sister, who also moved to Los Angeles.

"I enjoy going to the movies with my twin sister," she said. "There are a lot of things to do in L.A., you never know what you're going to find."

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