Jen MM Dsgn, Sleeves Magazine

Behind the name JEN MM DSGN is the Designer Jennifer Moica

She attended the AMD Academy for Fashion and Design in Dusseldorf. She won in both 2011 and 2012 the "Fresenius New Talent Award in Fashion Design(B.A.)" graduating in 2012 with her Fashion Design B.A.

Since 2015, she works and develops her own ideas and designs. Her designs are experimental, alternative and original pieces which celebrate the contemporary as well as the strong and individual look.

Starting from the creative process, the design to the pattern and final production, every step is developed and manufactured by her. Her pieces have a limited availability and some are one and only unique products. Each garment is handmade. The garments and products range from womenswear to menswear and accessories.

HOW WILL YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FEELING FROM NOW SINCE YOU STARTED THE BRAND?

I think before I needed a kind of guidance to go through step by step. That’s why it took me time to comprehend that now I can do It, still learning but one never stops to learn and that’s a good thing. I never gave up, always did what I love. Since I started I feel much more conﬁdent. Of course it's hard work to always keep up but on the other hand it’s also so much fun. And I think that's one of the main ingredients, loving what you do with passion and commitment. So far I am very glad and happy to do what I do. Maybe I wouldn't feel that way if I did something completely different.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START YOUR BRAND?

I decided to start my brand because I always had an urge to create my ideas and to see them “alive”, just the way I pictured them in my head. It's like the more I think about one thing that excites me, an Inspiration or a design, that is flying around in my head, the more I want to it.

I loved working with other Designers, to see how they worked and learning from them pushed me more to do my own designs. At a certain point I thought, if they can, why can't I. So I started to do everything my way and here we are.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR IN YOUR BUSINESS?

That not everything is as easy as everyone thinks it is, especially for someone like me with the focus on learning and willing to learn. I try to show my work more and being visible wherever I can and when I have the possibility to do that. For now It‘s mostly online because I think presence is essential and the Web is a good platform/medium for young Designers to show their work. And that's one point I noticed and realised: be visible as much as possible and wherever you can and show what you can do. This is the start, I guess but if you don’t go for it you’ll never know how it would have been in the end and what would have come out of it.

WHERE AND WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE FASHION WORLD PREVIOUSLY ?

Before and during Fashion studies I did a couple of internships in Fashion around Dusseldorf, not just only in the Design sector, also in Retail. It was a short internship, but I got a lot out of from this experience. Just to see how a boutique's going to be run was a lot. I am more of an observer and I try to absorb everything I see. It was good to see a different area of the Design world that I haven’t seen before.

After graduation I moved to London and continued my internships in Fashion Design and it was a great experience. Totally different than the ones I did before and I loved it! It was varied and I had always something different to do which made me confident in how to work and approach things. What can I say, you can never do enough internships. Depending on where you are, company or studio, there are different working schedules and methods.

WHAT/WHO IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR INSPIRATION?

I don’t have a specific source of inspiration. I can be inspired by all different sorts and things, what I see, hear or read. Inspiration is everywhere for someone more than for others. It can be something odd you’re spotting somewhere, a painting, a sound or an experience. Sometimes it just comes to you while working or out of nowhere. I think I am more like a sponge, that soaks up whatever I see and interests me and then later put it on paper in words or in form of a drawing, depending on how it pops up in my head. If there’s something that triggers my imagination, I want to know more and learn more about it.

I am mere of an arty kind of person so people that inspire me are mostly painters, musicians, writers, thinkers, artists of different creative fields who inspire me in their work and the way they think. E.g. there is Salvador Dali. Pollock, David Bowie, Alexander McQueen, just to name a few. I like the way they express and expressed themselves, their work and personality. I like to be inspired by anything or anyone. Inspiration is limitless, the more the better.

DO YOU DESIGN WITH A CERTAIN PERSON IN MIND?

No matter if it’s men or women I always picture a fighter. A strong, fierce, conﬁdent modern present-day warrior, who fights for what they believe in and in their daily life purposes. I always kind of have had this image of a fighter in mind, when thinking about the designs or shootings and clips.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

Normally it all starts with the inspiration, depending on what it is, something I read, a quote a certain image, even the smallest detail, a fabric pattern or an idea, anything that excites me to research more about the subject. Further research leads me then to other aspects of the theme which inspires me to develop the basic idea that I put down and visualise by doing collages, drawings, trying to write the first few lines. This stage is basically collecting the inspiration and trying to put the topic and my message together and trying to resume the ideas of what my designs could look like which can change while working later on the toiles. This part is very interesting because it leads you to different things and topics and aspects you haven’t even thought about it in the first place when starting to research.

After I got my designs I chose for the theme, do the first patterns, first toiles and later fittings which also can change while Working and fitting them. Then follows the search for the right fabrics, sewing the first pieces, eventually grading and thinking about how the styling and shooting is going to look like. This is the plan that I follow most of the times. Sometimes it also can be the other way rOUnd, which means ﬁrst the design idea that I'm excited about to do, then follows the rest. I don’t rigorously stick to one plan or process. I believe a Creative process can differ as well as inspirations do. It can’t be forced to go through one strict plan all the time.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGNERS?

There are so many I really like. One I’ve mentioned before is Alexander McQueen. His designs, his vision, the way he presented his work on the runway were extraordinarily brilliant! He was unique. He created a world an illusion where you could not only see but also feel what he wanted to convey with his collections. Like diving into his mind. He was and still is one who inﬂuenced me a lot. Others that inspire me at the moment are Yohji Yamamoto and Comme Des Garcon. I love their style, aesthetics and their silhouettes, detached from the traditional ideal of beauty which is really inspiring. I also love the world of Gareth Pugh. Every silhouette has a very strong statement. And I do like Vivienne Westwood. I like her creative process, getting inspired by art, historical epochs. culture and is also a political activist and fights for environmental issues. She’s really amazing!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE IN THE FUTURE TO HOLD FOR JEN MM DSGN?

In future I would like to show more and more, maybe ifl have the possibility also to a wider audience. I also hope to evolve and grow in what I do. I do everything step by step and with patience. of course One needs luck, but that’s anywhere else as well, but if you do what you do with love, passion and dedication, something good comes your way. And I deﬁnitely will do my best.

ANY PLANS OF MOVING OUTSIDE WUPPERTAL?

Not at the moment but who knows, maybe in future. Maybe in a city with a creative impulse and cultural diversity. I can’t deny that I do like London a lot. It's an amazing city with different facets that gives you so much culturally and historically. On the other hand there are so many other big great cities. Well, you know you never know what’s waiting around the comer. We’ll see.