My plans always change. Like I said, [I don’t] really have a plan. Watching my dad’s experience in the artistic world, and how he went about making choices—it did intimidate me a lot, but it did teach me that when I get any sort of raindrop of opportunity, no matter what it is, no matter who respects it or whatever, just to take it and roll with it. These days, I’m pretty much locked in New York more often than not because I can’t say no to things, because who knows when it’s going to end?
Tell me more about working with Ella Emhoff and collaborating on the dress she wore for the DNC.
We had a mutual friend. I know of Ella because of her knitwear work, which I love. She does these awesome knit canvases. She knew of me and nicely enough was like, “I really wanted to go with an indie designer.”
She was nice enough to buy into the experience and want to be a part of the design process. She was very involved in the whole thing. Usually, with different people, I’ll present them with the option, like, “Do you want to see the swatches?” They’re like, “Nah, if the color’s good, I’m good.” Ella wanted to touch it. She wanted to see it. This was for her moment.
This was to help her stand out in the way that felt right and respectful of the people around her. It was so fun. It was cool. That was one of the first times that I invited someone into the full design process, and they were like, “I actually want to do this,” as opposed to being hands off. We went over a lot of designs. She even sent me things that inspire her—flowers that inspire her, what kind of tea party-esque vibe she wanted, in so many words. It was a super involved, friendly, and warm design experience.
I also wanted to ask you about acting. Is that something that you’re open to in the future or has that door closed?
No, I still do it. I have a movie, Empire Waist, that just came out. It’s going to hopefully be in 300 theaters. It was a cute indie film. And then another movie coming out next year, which is a thriller, produced by Bennett Miller.
So I still do it, but obviously, by nature acting is something that you stay ready for and you wait for. Whereas, this has been something that obviously I can pursue more directly. I still pursue acting. I still give my time to the auditions. It was something I was doing before, so that was my initial passion. But I’m someone who likes to be creative on all fronts. Obviously, if there’s something I can actually grab whenever I want and be creative with, it’s hard to be chill about it. I can’t just sit still that well.
You share a lot of your personal life online. As your audience grows, is that something you’ve ever reconsidered?
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