Two Collections And One Road To Recovery
On Saturday, September 10th, 2022, I debut not just one collection, but two. I figured it's been 7 years since my last New York Fashion Week show and I make the most of it. During those years, I made so many memories, gained new friends, lost a big part of my life and found it again.
Today, I was reflecting back on my last runway show and I was surprised that I could not count the years on one hand. How did I let so many slip by without doing another one? Then I remembered I took a break from the bridal industry to create a ready-to-wear collection and then another break to heal from the death of my mother.
If it wasn't for my collaboration with my friend Scottie Kersta-Wilson, my creativity would not have survived through the grief I was feeling. It took me a full year before I was able to sew anything. I was in a pain I've never felt before and it was Scottie's company Image Diary that gave me a new perspective.
Scottie created ImageDiary.com to tell her story and that of her family. She needed a place to combine her writing and her photography, which she says are inseparable. For the most part, her storytelling is about war - its destruction, beauty, unintended consequences, and inevitability. She cannot separate her military bloodline, the history it holds, and hopes her story told in fabrics, can add something to the tale and take away from the misery.
Scottie's story, inspired me to transform my grief into a collection by mixing both our talents. If it was her mission to take away some of the misery, it was worth a shot to work with her art. I created knowing that her work came from the grief she felt when her father was killed in Vietnam not knowing that every stitch was helping me in the process. I turned many of her scarves into dresses without realizing that I was already on the road to get my fashion life back.
On September 10th, along with the Jane Austen Couture by Jennyvi collection, The Image Diary Collaboration By Scottie Kersta-Wilson and Jennyvi collection will debut.
I love what you’ve done with Scottie’s textiles. Her stories about the generations of men and women who had to go to war or grieve the loss of those who didn’t come home. She’s a wonderful writer, and I love how this collaboration has given me additional insight on how we live in a web of connection. Thank you, again!