It has been a while since our last designer appreciation piece, but now we are back at it again, devoting articles to those who truly are the backbone of virtualpopstar.com. I am of course talking about our beloved designers, who work hard every day to serve you their best looks. In this article series, we feature both long-time designers and up and coming stars, some having been at it for years, while others are fresh talents just coming out of their shells. For this month's piece, I have had the privilege of interviewing Bimbo, previously known as Vanity, to learn more about their designs and the thought process behind them. If you have been reading our magazines, you may have come across their designs, as we have been fortunate enough to acquire a few of them to use as codes. 

I hope you enjoy the read, and do not forget to show some appreciation for Bimbo in the comments!

*

- Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm Leon, I'm 22 (this September) and I'm from Greece!! I love listening to music, videogames, YouTube videos and drawing (well I design clothes but still lol). I've studied fashion design and styling and recently I've also gotten into making jewelry!! Fun facts about me are that I have a dog named Loca (my sister named her) and I looooove chicken nuggets haha!!

- How long have you been designing for vp and what initially sparked your interest in doing so? 

I think I started in 2020, but it might have also been early 2021 I can't remember. I wanted to be able to add some stuff into the game that I wanted to wear without worrying I'm annoying designers with requests or if it would be designed how I had it in mind.

- Do you wish to be a badged designer in the future? 

That's a lot of responsibility and anyone that knows me knows that stresses me out, so I think for now I'd rather stay as a nondesigner, without deadlines or minimum monthly submissions. But who knows?

- Where do you get your design inspiration? 

Lots of places. I always check out design inspo threads hoping to find some good photos, but also anything sexy or fetish inspired is very much my style!! Pinterest, Google Images and Instagram and flooded with amazing stuff, and sometimes it's just from my mind without a reference which usually end in disaster lol!!

- What program do you use for designing? And do you use a mouse or a drawing tablet?

I use GIMP because it's free to use and quite easy for beginners, so I'd totally recommend it to new designers!! I work on my laptop and use a mouse, I tried with the touchpad when I had no batteries for my mouse but that was absolute hell!!

- Approximately how long does it take you to design one set? 

It really depends. I take long breaks in between so it could even take me days, and then there are lots of details I always try to "fix" at the end, I'm a bit of a perfectionist (according to my mom it's because I'm a Virgo)

- How much time do you spend designing on a weekly/monthly basis? 

Depends on how busy I am and how motivated. Also depends on how many WIPs I have going on at once lol!! I might make 3 sets one month and half a set the next, you never know with me.

- Do you have a set that means something special to you or that had a special story behind it when you created it? Can you tell us why / what that story is? 

I really love this design because it was the first time I used a reference pic but then took some creative liberties in execution rather than 100% copying the image, and it ended up becoming my favourite design!! It also manipulates the body shape which is something I love in designs!!

- Can you show us your very first and your most recent design?

My first ever set (which I think I sent to dt but didn't get accepted thank goodness):

My latest sets (which aren't the actual latest but are the latest that are 100% mine and not a collab):

- Do you have any tips for someone who would like to start designing?

First I would say that while it's tough, try not to compare yourself to other designers. Sometimes I hate my designs because others make such gorgeous things, but I have to keep reminding myself that a) some of those designers have been doing it for far longer than I have and b) each person has a different skill level and art style. Also something that XxMiSSswagdripxX has taught me is that reference pics are your best friend. Oh and when hair is a struggle, do a face hood haha!!