Exclusive Interview With Jamie Wooning Designs

I can remember being very young and altering or creating looks for my Barbies. I’ve always had an artistic flare for the funky and unique and decorating bodies just seem to be the way I chose to exercise that notion, especially when I went to get my bachelors degree in fashion design at the Art Institute in San Diego, California. Though I don’t closely follow fashion trends, inspiration flows to me from many sources; sometimes from a visual artist, other times music is a huge inspiration to me. Due to the custom nature of most of my work, often times, my inspiration is my client themselves! That makes sense, since my daily job as a hairstylist requires me to consult with each client to find cuts or colors that best suit their specific needs. A background in the Army contributed to my acute attention to detail.

 I use this attentiveness to build a very customized creative process to create my clothing designs as well—the first step is to sit down with my client and find out what they’re looking for. I usually start with color-that’s the easy part! I sketch by hand; most of my sketches are quite rough, just to get familiarized with the project. Textures like fur, velvet or shimmer fabrics are some of my favorite fabrics to work with, so if I can work some of that in for a customer, I always do! After the details are hashed out, I shop for fabrics. Sometimes people have a T-shirt or blanket they’d like repurposed into something new, and sometimes I use fabric from my personal stash-being sustainable whenever possible. I love using wall tapestries and making them into pattern pieces that wrap around the body: perhaps tell a story, if you will! 

One of my favorite pieces so far was for a military friend. He commissioned me to make a reversible octopus coat (a showstopper, floor length duster that zips off to convert to a wearable bomber jacket) for his wife. It was so beautiful, he knew all her favorite colors, and asked for specific pockets and other details so she could easily wear the coat at the renaissance fairs she often attends! I worked with him to find a tapestry she would love, then I got to cut out my patterns and fabrics to suit the look and finally sew it all together…Yes, I do everything the old-fashioned way-by hand and a totally regular sewing machine! The whole process can exceed 20 hours so I spend a lot of my “free time” sewing, but I love every minute of it. I always say sewing keeps me out of trouble as I do love being elbow deep in art, immersing myself in shape, line, color, space and texture.

 I consider myself more of an artist than a typical fashion designer-it just so happens that my art is wearable! My focus is to create special, statement-piece clothing that is made to last and speaks volumes so loud, that it helps the wearer find their tribe. I am incredibly grateful for a recent collaboration with Shroomski Magazine of Denver, Colorado because it was just that! I had the opportunity to create a small collection of mushroom inspired coats for their fashion, music and art Halloween extravaganza. I love all the projects this lovely life sets me up to work on, and apparently love is in the air for my future! Two of my current projects are for weddings: one a dark and striking Viking replica cloak, to be worn in a traditional Viking wedding for a friend in Pennsylvania. The other is a gift for my two close friends who are getting married this spring. I want to create a reversible bathrobe for them to share-one side dedicated to each of them, and joined into one robe-just like marriage joins two loving people into one life! For these extra personal creations, I sometimes even have pictures printed on fabric and insert them into the design on the fabrics…The possibilities are ENDLESS!