Tam Nhu Tran never expected to be calling herself a DJ.

Much of her creative work since starting school at the University of Washington has been surrounding design. As an interaction design major with her own label, TNT studios, she designs by day and DJs by night. Through this, Tran has built extensive relationships and a strong foundation in UW’s creative scene. 

Raised by parents who own a textile company, Tran was always exposed to fabrics, patterns, and projects. Naturally, she gravitated towards making her own clothing, creating pieces of her own as early as three years old. 

“I would make these awful skirts and hoodies and actually wear them to school, and I got so bullied,” said Tran. “Obviously, I didn’t know what garment construction meant, so it would be like, just really, really ugly stuff.”

Despite a rocky start, Tran also found support in her parents, who desired a well rounded set of skills for their child. As a result, she was enrolled in classes and programs that trained her to do well in academia as well as fine arts. However, starting her own label was something that Tran never expected to happen until after her time in college. 

“It started off with Mesh, because my first year I was on the creative team,” said Tran. “My boss was like, ‘You should just design for the show,’ and I’d never made a full look before, I didn’t know what went into it.”

After receiving a majorly positive response from her audience at the time, Tran continued to explore fashion design as something she could pursue during college instead of after. This positive reception continued with her collection in last year’s Mesh fashion show, titled Morphine.

“When I released it, [the response] was exponential,” said Tran. “It got so much traction that, like, I had people like reaching out to me, it was really cool to see a sense of community.”

This newfound popularity, both online and offline, inspired Tran to put together her own label. The result was TNT, a play on her own initials and a space where she could continue pursuing projects in fashion design and releasing them to an eager audience.

Much of Tran’s inspiration comes from other media, including film, music videos, and even sometimes celebrities. It all starts with an overarching vision. 

“My favorite shoot I’ve ever done is probably a car wash shoot,” said Tran. “I love this movie called House Bunny with Anna Faris, and here’s a scene where she makes all the sorority girls in the house do a sexy car wash. It’s super raunchy, super funny.”

While fashion design was a discipline that was omnipresent throughout Tam’s adolescence, undeniably taking a root in her interests, DJing was a hobby started out of sheer spite. 

“I was at a party and the DJ was playing music, but his transitions just made no sense,” said Tran. “I told him that, and he got mad at me, I was like, ‘it cannot be that hard to learn,’ so I downloaded a software on my laptop, like, the next day.

After a series of trial and error, buying a deck off of ebay, and learning what sounds flowed, Tran slowly started building a platform as a DJ for birthday parties and events for the people in her social circle. 

“I DJed at this event at the bakery, and someone ended up really liking me,” said Tran. “From there, I kept on being referred every other week.”

Now, Tran occupies a solid presence in the UW DJ scene. With an affinity towards remixing rap, club music, and dance, it’s a way for her to get more in touch with music, a medium that she’s coming to appreciate more.

“Music is a really good introduction to all the other types of creative work that someone can do,” said Tran. “When I work events, like the types of people I meet and the clothing they wear, they really stick with me.”

Through a variety of personal projects, Tran continues to expand her creative horizons. 

“I really love editorial work, I’m really into photography, I love design,” said Tran. “I really just like creating characters, and I used to think that fashion design was the only way I could do it because I have the skills for it, but you can always learn as you go.”

This attitude when approaching new tasks is what allows her to do it all. Like Hannah Montana, she finds a way to open herself up to the best of both (or in this case, all) worlds. To Tran, creativity is not just a part time hobby — it’s a lifestyle. 

“I feel like it’s really important to know what you want to do, but also not limit yourself,” said Tran. “People who really live and breathe for creativity find ways to make it happen.”

Reach writer Preethika Makineni at musemediauw@gmail.com

Instagram @pr3eth1