Jenny White blog post - 500 words
Jenny White is a Sheffield-based fashion designer specialising in luxury occasionwear, seeking to combine the dazzling allure of Hollywood with a touch of soft femininity. “I’d like to feel that when you put my clothing on, you feel glamorous,” she says. Her designs are elegant, stylish, and striking - and her collection for York Fashion Week’s Independent Runway is no exception. We spoke to Jenny to find out what drives her creativity.
Jenny explains how she has always had a passion for creating garments that would stand out from the crowd. “I’ve always tried to do something a bit different,” she says. As a teenager, she would make her own clothes using her mother’s sewing machine - and those around her quickly noticed her talent: “People would say to me ‘that’s really unusual, why don’t you make these?’, and so I did.”
Since then, Jenny’s style has evolved significantly. She’s heavily inspired by the glamorous movie stars of the past, as well as feminine and dainty fabrics. Titled ‘Rose Gold’, her Independent Runway collection encapsulates both these influences. Delicate florals sit alongside radiant gold details, promising the cheery sunshine of a summer emerging from the pandemic. “This collection has come about because I started making it during COVID, and it’s an uplifting one … It’s cheerful, it’s what we need right now,” she explains. True to Jenny’s words, each piece feels like it’s ready to jet-away to an exotic paradise.
Of course, style doesn’t come at the cost of comfort: “I want to emphasise the lovely feel of the fabric on the skin,” she says. Jenny takes pride in making clothes that both feel good and look great. As a result, every step of the creation process is meticulously crafted to the last detail. A single piece can take anywhere between one and two weeks to make, and finishing touches are sewn by hand. “There’s bits a machine won’t do,” she adds. Even buttons are handmade by Jenny, using the same fabric as the garment to create a seamless finish. This is a particularly painstaking process, but watching her designs come to life is what makes it worth it. “I love seeing the final version and thinking ‘yes, that’s what I’ve got in my head’.”
Jenny explains how she wanted to get involved with York Fashion Week in 2019, but was unfortunately unable to due to the postponing of the week’s events following the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that York Fashion Week is back in person, she’s delighted to have taken part in sharing her love for the North’s fashion scene: “People always think of fashion as in London,” she tells us. “But there’s plenty of fashion, talent and style here. There’s so much we can show.” Continuing, she says; “We’ve got to prove to these people that it’s not about London all the time. People here have style and want to look great. There’s definitely a place for it up here.”
Written by Maya Bewley
