In Between Worlds
I was born in the Dominican Republic, surrounded by color, creativity, and the rhythm of island life. Some of my earliest memories are of my father, a tailor, working in his atelier while I played on the floor surrounded by scraps of fabric, buttons, patterns, and imagination. At six years old, my life changed completely. I moved to Belgium and began a new chapter in Antwerp, a city known around the world for its influence on art, fashion, design, and creativity.
While my surroundings were beautiful, my childhood was not always easy. I grew up in a household marked by instability, dysfunction, and emotional challenges that shaped much of my early life. Like many children who grow up in difficult environments, I spent years searching for my identity, and a place where I felt truly seen. Yet despite those struggles, Belgium gifted me something priceless. It exposed me to different cultures, languages, perspectives, and possibilities. I learned independence early. I learned resilience early. And most importantly, I learned how creativity could become a sanctuary. Fashion became more than clothing. It became self-expression. It became freedom. It became a language I could speak when words failed me.
The memory of my father's tailor shop never left me. Even after leaving the Dominican Republic, those early moments remained stitched into the fabric of who I would become. Without realizing it, fashion had chosen me.
The Search For More
Growing up in Antwerp also exposed me to another side of life. The nightlife. The party culture. The endless search for excitement. Like many young people trying to escape pain they don't yet understand, I found myself experimenting with drugs and looking for something outside of myself that could fill the emptiness within. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't find what I was searching for. Because what I was really searching for wasn't excitement. It was healing. And that journey would take me much further than I ever imagined.
Leaving Everything Behind
At twenty-one years old, I boarded a plane and left Europe. My mother and stepfather had moved to China for work, and I went to visit them. What was meant to be a visit became a fourteen-year journey across Asia. Three years living in China. Three years living in Thailand and nearly eight years living in Vietnam.
Those years changed me forever. Asia taught me that there are countless ways to live. I immersed myself in new traditions, philosophies, and ways of thinking. I discovered that healing is not a destination, it is a lifelong relationship with yourself.
The Healing Journey
Asia didn't simply influence my style. It influenced my soul. Through my travels, I became deeply interested in personal development, spirituality, mindfulness, emotional healing, and understanding the patterns that shape our lives. I explored Buddhist teachings. I studied human behavior. I learned about trauma, self-worth, relationships, identity, and personal transformation. Most importantly, I began confronting my own wounds. The wounds of childhood. The wounds of abandonment. The wounds of feeling different. The wounds of believing I wasn't enough.
What began as curiosity eventually became a complete transformation of how I viewed myself and the world around me. For the first time in my life, I wasn't trying to become someone else. I was learning how to come home to myself.
Building House of Aris
In 2018, I created House of Aris from almost nothing. What started as a hobby and approximately $8 worth of fabric grew into a six-figure fashion brand. It was proof that dreams can become reality when creativity meets determination. But life had another lesson waiting for me. After years spend involved in a toxic relationship, I lost nearly everything I had built. The business collapsed. My confidence shattered. For many people, that would have been the end of the story. For me, it became the beginning.
House of Aris Today
What began as a childhood dream of creating beautiful dresses has blossomed into something far more meaningful than I ever imagined. Growing up between cultures has shaped the way I see beauty and self-expression. Born in the Dominican Republic, raised in Belgium, and spending my twenties and early thirties in Asia. Each place, each chapter, and each lesson has gifted me an unique perspective that I now weave into everything I create.
After disappearing for almost four years and rebuilding from scratch. Today, House of Aris is more than a fashion brand. It is where style meets self-discovery, where outer beauty becomes a reflection of the journey within. My purpose is to blend inner and outer beauty seamlessly. Because I believe that true beauty is not only found in what we wear, but in how we honor our stories, allow ourselves to evolve and help others do the same.
Through fashion, books, workbooks, and inspiring resources, I offer a space where dreamers and seekers can explore every facet of who they are. A place to play, to heal and to step into the most authentic, radiant, and magical version of yourself.
I Found My Wings
House of Aris was born from a love of fashion, but it was shaped by years of healing, travel and self-discovery. As I continue to spread my wings and fly, my job is to help others find their their wings too.
If you feel like you could use my personal guidance, don't hesitate to reach out.
