Meet Jill Stanley of Jill Renee in Costa Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Stanley.

Jill, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been a strong creative from a young age, dancing and drawing were my two biggest passions growing up. Eventually, this leads me to pursue a career in design (costume design for competitive dance was my original goal). I learned to sew at my first internship at a custom ballroom dance gown company where I had designed and constructed three custom gowns from start to finish.

From there, I continued to exercise my new sewing skills while growing my practice in pattern drafting and began making my own clothes. It became a hobby and a fun challenge for me to make a new look for any and every occasion and so grew my love for ready-to-wear fashion. Alongside my years designing for several brands in the industry, I began to save up enough money to put out my first collection on my own.

Has it been a smooth road?
Moving to California from Chicago on my own to get a foot in the door of the fashion industry with no connections was an adventure. Lucky for me, designing and making clothes was my hobby, so my portfolio was filled with my own personal creations I had made on my own time, and this portfolio got me every job I’ve had yet. I’ve worked for a handful of companies along the way, big and small, each bringing their own set of challenges. Making clothes is a time-consuming hobby in itself, so building my portfolio and keeping it relevant on top of full-time jobs has been difficult, but it has disciplined me in my work ethic and time management.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Jill Renee story. Tell us more about the business.
The Jill Renee collection is dedicated to being a small collection of timeless pieces. Focusing on quality over quantity, I narrow down my designs a concise collection of well-merchandised staple pieces that are produced at very limited quantities. One of my biggest frustrations of working for bigger companies is how many “hoops” a design will go through to get approved. It will pass through so many hands and often looks completely different by the time it hits the sales floor. With Jill Renee, each style is designed, patterned, tailored and approved by myself, creating complete consistency across fit, quality and aesthetic. Each design executes as it was intended, combining a minimal aesthetic with ethereal details, creating a staple yet unique wardrobe for the confident & poised modern woman.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I am proud to see many brands within the fashion industry starting to take big steps toward a more sustainable and ethical practice. I see many small brands following suit as well and it’s inspiring to see so many industry leaders look at the bigger picture beyond trend. My hope is that this trend only grows and that leaders in the textile industry will only find more ways to make recyclable and eco-friendly fabrics more attainable and affordable for small businesses. In contrast, it has been so difficult seeing how COVID has effectively shut down so many businesses big and small. This is an extremely difficult time for any business and is especially hard to stay creative and optimistic. As everything else, this period will pass and I can only hope so many brands can remain resourceful and positive to see it through.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jillreneecollections.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillreneecollections/

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