Jennyvi Dizon Interview

 Jennyvi Dizon Interview 

Jennyvi Dizon was born in the Philippines to a father who, after a hard days work as a computer programmer, would work as a tailor at night making suits for his colleges, fashion was sown into the fabric of Jennyvi's life. By the age of five she was following in her father's footsteps,designing and making outfits for her Barbie dolls. Jennyvi's lifelong passion had began. 

Jennyvi studied Fashion Design and Business Administration at Phoenix College, not content with studying, Jennyvi designed wedding gowns for her friends and then for her own wedding. After graduating, she started her own business designing bespoke wedding gowns and from 2003 she went on to win awards as her designs graced magazines covers.

 In 2021, Jennyvi, now living and working in New York, attended a JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) meeting. There she found others who shared her love of Austen, who she says helped her through difficult periods in her life. Her love of Austen reignited, she reread her novels and with JASNA encouragement, started Jane Austen couture which is set to premier in New York on the 10th of September. 

                So, with so many successes under her designer belt, i am curious to know, what                    first ignited her passion for fashion?

JENNYVI: Ever since I was 4 or 5, I was able to play with a variety of fabrics because my father was a tailor in the Philippines. I was able to sketch and then start making clothes for my Barbies and then at age 10 I started sewing uniforms for my mom’s friends who were nurses.

            I wonder what Originally prompted Jennyvi to follow her dream and make fashion her career, and what inspired this collection and, why now? 

JENNYVI: I just fell in love with what you can create from a flat piece of fabric and then bring it to life in a dress. Ultimately, when a woman wears my designs, I feel like that design has fulfilled it’s destiny. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I don’t create just to have my gowns hang in a closet, I want my designs to give the wearer confidence and fulfill their need. When I started sewing the Jane Austen collection I was creatively lost. I was dealing with grief fog from my mother’s death and I turned to Jane Austen’s novels for comfort and healing. Jane Austen is almost like a therapist for me. The more I read, the more I wondered what my designs would look like on her characters.

     I inquire when were she first introduced to Jane Austen, and why does she think she felt particularly drawn to her work?                                                              

JENNYVI: I was first introduced to Jane  Austen in high school, after I was finished with the assigned reading in my English class. My teacher told me to pick another book from the library Pride and Prejudice just popped out at me.

                                                 Jennyvi Dizon beside her muse Jane Austen 

Who does she think is the most stylish Austen character?                                                        

JENNYVI: The most stylish has to be Emma  in my opinion. With being the wealthiest, she has access to finer clothes. But her style is relative since she is not exactly a city woman. I live in NYC, but I was raised in Arizona which has a budding fashion      scene, but not as trendy as NYC. I’m only guessing if Emma was a real-life character in today’s time she would be following trends from Paris and in the Regency may have smuggled some French wares in or asking her sister to.

     I tell Jennyvi that Emma would be my choice too! I am curious to know if Jane had been born in another era, what fashion trends does Jennyvi think Jane would emulate, and what fashion tribe do she feel Jane, and her characters, would inhabit? Does she think there is an Emo or Punk hiding between the covers of the novels? 

JENNYVI: What a thought-provoking question. If anyone would be punk I think it would be Lizzy, just to make her mother mad and also use the punk aesthetic to ward off Mr. Collins. Jane Bennet would be into the Cottage Core trend which is similar to the Regency. What people call baby doll dresses with the empire waistline and puff sleeve, just reminds me of the Regency. Fanny Price I think would be wholesome and would always have her Sunday best on even if she isn’t going to church. But with the Emo style, it reminds me of the Clueless adaptation which was based off of Emma. Lots of plaid during the 90’s and Cher takes Ty under her wing after she sees how naïve she was. The most mature style would have to go to Anne Elliot, if I were to do a runway show on each character, Anne’s would have light natural fabrics with the Cottage Core easy breezy carefree style and move into darker shades to show the despair she felt in a broken engagement. Right now I’m working on a gown called Anne’s Heart of Gold Gown, which will be towards the end of the Fashion Week show to show how she triumphed and won her heart back. Gold is a symbol of success, hope, and triumph.

                                                                                                     Anne's Heart of Gold Gown 

                              

                                'Here is sneak peek of                                         Anne's Heart of Gold                                         Gown. I chose this                                             fabric because the sequins                                 on the shoulders is a nod                                     to Captain Wentworth's                                     uniform. Gold means                                         success and triumph.'                                                                                         

           

           

What fashion item would Jennyvi never leave home without, and what does she think would have been Jane’s essential item?

JENNYVI: Here in NYC because the forecast is sometimes wrong, you can’t leave the house without an umbrella. Even a small one helps. But as far fashion goes, scarves is a great thing to carry in your purse. They’re portable, they keep you warm when you need it, they hide food stains if you happen to have one on your bodice, or if you have a scarf on and drop food in it, you can easily take it off. Another perk is if a scarf is long enough you can use it as a belt or a head covering. It’s versatile. I think in Jane Austen’s time an essential would have been removable sleeves that you put under your puff sleeves. Today, we want things we can wear more than one way and the concept was the same back then. If women were expected to change 5 times a day. Then portable sleeves can change a woman’s look from day to night. Day to protect your skin from the sun and then night to create an evening gown look. 

 ' I individually sewed hundreds of                              

 strands of ostrich feathers to the hem                         

and the ruffle on the bodice.

 In Emma she was surprised that were 

wasn't any lace veils. I'm doing a long lace 

veil for the finale.' 

         What colour palette do she think best describes                 her personality and what does Jennyvi think                     Jane would choose and what kind of dress would             she design for  the author?

JENNYVI: My color palate is mostly dark reds, blues, and black, but I change my style and palettes depending on the season. Summer, I like bright greens, Spring I like light blues and pinks, in the fall I like dark reds and in the winter is where I wear the most black and navy blues.

           With her designers  eye, which adaptation, or costume dramas, wardrobe do Jennyvi most admire and how does she feel about alterations to the traditional Georgian style that some productions employ? 

JENNYVI: I love Lady Susan, the Kate Beckinsale adaptation Love and Friendship had beautiful gowns. It was still heavily influenced by Marie Antoinette and I have to admit I am a MA fan. I think the media did her no justice and she was a political pawn. I am also an Empress Bonaparte fan, I think her influence helped with the simple Georgian / Regency style. I have no qualms about movies making alterations to styles, just like the Bridgerton dresses.

My own designs are not historically accurate and to recreate something from the past is a slow process. As an aspiring screenwriter who wants to get my first screenplay produced into a movie, just researching historical accuracy can hold up the costume department. Not to mention the staff you would need to hire to help get the actors in the dresses. They didn’t exactly have zippers during that time. But I’ve always had a more fashion forward look towards my designs.  

      Costume is just that, a costume you wear for a production or event and then that’s it. You only wear that costume occasionally. I wanted my designs to be more versatile, costume elements, but more wearable. The perfect scenario is a Janeite has her wedding party wear Regency styled dresses as bridesmaids dresses. This dress she can wear for other date nights or formal settings not related to a costume event. 

 How would you describe Regency fashion to someone who has never seen it? JENNIEVI: If this was a short twitter post i would say Regency gowns are like long versions of the Baby Doll dresses with the Empire waist and puff sleeves that are normally made from a lightweight muslin or cotton fabric. 

      What achievement is she most proud of so far? 

JENNYVI: The achievement I’m most proud of is after some success in Arizona, I was able to build a life here in NYC and making my mom proud of me before she passed away. She initially disapproved of my career in fashion, but after seeing my designs on TV, in magazines, on the runways of New York Fashion Week, or in my photo shoots in Paris and Versailles, she finally saw that it was possible to make a living doing what you love.

Listening to Jennyvi, it is obvious that she has managed to combine her two great loves, fashion and Jane Austen. I cannot help but wonder what Jane herself would think? 

I remark to Jennyvi that i can picture Lizzy Bennet going on one of her infamous walks in Jennyvi's stylish trainers (or training shoes or kicks as i am  informed by Jennyvi they are called in the U.S) and that i only hope they do not get covered in mud! She replies that for her advertising she featured Lydia hiding out in New York. Quite what Miss Bingley and Lady Catherine would think of such goings on i do not know! 

However, what i do think is that Jane would have loved Jennyvi's classic combined with contemporary style. I feel this combination symbolizes everything Jane and her trailblazing heroines were about and anyone who says different, well they would get a dressing down. 

• Jennyvi Dizon premiers her Jane Austen Couture collection on the 10th September at New York fashion week.  
• You can see more of Jennyvi's fashion on her website: https://janeaustencouture.com 
•  Contact Jennyvi at: info@janeaustencouture.com
• You can find Jennyvi on social media on:
•  twitter@jennyvi
•  Instagram@'janeaustencouture or @jennyvinyc

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