Meet Jennifer Smith | Bespoke Slow Fashion Designer & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I’ve found that most people associate being a fashion designer with churning out multiple lines and/or collections every year in a non-stop cycle of production in a specified size range and customer base. I’ve always been more attracted to what nowadays is referred to as “slow fashion”. My brand, Donna Jason Designs, is more focused on individual customers’ wants and needs and creating unique items that will be treasured for being one-of-a-kind and specific to themselves.

The fashion industry pressures young designers to be focused on “What can be mass-produced?” or “How can I build my brand to achieve world-wide recognition and multi-million dollar sales every quarter?” I am very pleased to be part of the growing trend of looking for quality and individuality in people’s clothing choices, instead. I am a firm believer that slow fashion also enhances the client experience because it becomes more of a collaboration between designer and client. I don’t think a lot of the world realizes that this was the way it used to be for centuries before mass production took over the industry. Today, very few people can say, “The designer of my gown told me….” or “This was chosen for me because of my interest in…”? I like to provide that classic experience of helping the client find that “I’ve never felt more beautiful and more ME in this” moment. There are a growing number of up-and-coming design labels like Donna Jason Designs that understand and fulfill that desire within the industry.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Donna Jason Designs comes out of my lifelong passion for focusing on – and learning about – individuals. Growing up in a family that combined artistic talents with practical use, I learned to draw, paint, sew, crochet, do carpentry, and all sorts of other creative pursuits in order to produce things that could be gifted, used and treasured by myself and others. I quickly learned that I was especially drawn to creating portraits because it meant looking at each line and shadow in a person’s face or form to gain insight into what made them tick. At the same time, I learned the basics of sewing and making my own clothes (largely because my father never saw the reason to spend more than $5 for a pair of pants in the age of designer jeans like Calvin Klein and Jordache!). Deciding what to make and how to make it personal and flattering expanded my outlook into clothing as a form of self-expression and how people control the image they present to others through their clothing choices.

My art and fashion interests combined when I spent over twenty years living and traveling around the world. Supporting myself and my family as a university language instructor, I never stopped creating art, studying people, and broadening my understanding of how other people and cultures define and express ideals of beauty in themselves, the objects around them, and the clothes they choose to wear. I gifted portraits to friends, learned new art genres and techniques, and collected special textiles throughout my travels. Eventually I realized that rather than having clothing made for me out of the fabrics I collected, I wanted to learn how to make them myself more professionally and began taking pattern drafting classes at the university I was teaching at.

Eventually I realized that although I love teaching, I needed to do something more directly related to my creative interests on a day-to-day basis. I returned to the U.S. and attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles to receive a degree in Fashion Design. While I loved crafting a portfolio and filling in gaps in my knowledge, I was disappointed that the curriculum was geared toward graduates working for large fast-fashion corporations and did little to encourage collaboration. This type of work was the antithesis of what I wanted to do: create for the individual. Fast fashion and seasonal collections were not where my passion lay. I interned for several LA fashion designers where I helped in fittings, picked fabrics, did beadwork or hand sewing for important clientele, and ran the backstage at fashion shows. I found this type of work extremely satisfying.

I’ve built my Donna Jason Designs brand very slowly, and carefully curated a reputation for making guaranteed one-of-a-kind pieces of quality – either artwork or fashion – that can be considered personal treasures because they reflect the client’s personality, and an event or moment in time they wish to memorialize. For me, designing and building a bespoke ensemble or a framed portrait is a collaboration between the designer and client. Each client for me is an opportunity to address their individual traits and personalities, and many of my design clients come to me because they do not fit the standard body size or shape determined by the industry and want input on what will flatter them best. In college I studied both history and art, so I pull from a thousand years of inspiration into my pieces, and am requested often to do historical or cosplay costumes in addition to adding classical elements to my modern designs. I also use deadstock fabrics almost exclusively, which I consider my environmental responsibility in not contributing to the amount of textiles that go into landfills every day due to fast fashion practices.

I only accept a dozen or so projects in a year, so I’ve been very fortunate in being able to choose to work with people who share my goals of working in a stress-free, collaborative environment. I care about each individual I work with, and want the process – as well as the product – to be fun and deeply rewarding.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live down in the Southbay area, so I love to visit the hills and beaches around Rancho Palos Verdes up to Redondo Beach. I love the sea breeze and sunshine, even if I’m under an umbrella at the street cafes while I enjoy it. I’m a big fan of finding an interesting neighborhood and wandering around to check out the small boutiques and restaurants in LA and Long Beach. I also like to explore local antique markets/fairs and events like First Thursday Artworks in San Pedro where they open up restaurants, art galleries and boutiques late and have live music.

I like to show off The South Coast Botanic Garden in Rolling Hills, The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena and local parks as favorite outdoor spots, where there’s beautiful nature and few people.

Most of my friends when they come to visit also want to see where I get my fashion supplies and inspiration, so a trip to the Fashion District for some fun haggling and too many ideas to process is a must!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d really like to dedicate my Shoutout to my children — for whom my design label, Donna Jason, is named after — and my husband. They have always supported my need to create beautiful things, even when it sometimes took time and space away from them to accomplish it. They encourage me to never give up, and remind me of the happiness I give myself and other people when I’ve pushed through and completed my creative projects.

Website: https://www.donnajason.com

Instagram: @donnajasondesigns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donnajasondesigns

Other: donnajasondesigns@gmail.com