We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jac Benford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jac below.
Jac, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
At the beginning of high school, I did not think I would go into a creative field. When I made my senior spring formal dress from a tissue-paper commercial pattern, I rediscovered my love for garment construction, and I learned I wanted to work in the clothing industry. I applied to Savannah College of Art and Design with the intent of double majoring in fashion design and fashion marketing. After my first few construction classes in my sophomore year, I realized construction was my niche.
I spent the next few quarters wondering how I could make a career out of garment construction. I later remembered that a professor from my freshman year drawing class showed clips of a presentation given to the school’s faculty and administration. The speaker was the head tailor from a luxury fashion brand whose name I can no longer remember. He shared his journey of garment construction. His lecture genuinely spoke to me, and I was greatly inspired to learn and explore further into this component of the industry.
I watched the 2014 documentary Dior and I, and I was awed by the ladies in white lab coats drafting patterns and draping on the dress forms. I aspired to be like those ladies in the white coats, but instead, my interests steered me toward menswear.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up expressing my creativity with sewing and other hobbies. Through primary school my interests expanded, but I loved using my creativity to explore the world around me. I started sewing when I was 7 using my grandma’s 1974 Singer sewing machine. My mother and grandmother nurtured this interest and eventually taught me to embroider, darn socks, crochet, knit, replace buttons by hand, and how to read commercial patterns. I still use my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s quilting swatches, pincushions, scissors, pinking shears, tracing wheels, crochet hooks, and knitting needles.
After high school graduation, I thought I wanted to own my own fashion line. However, that dream shifted when I realized I absolutely did not want to do any business math. I graduated from SCAD in June 2022 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and a minor in Menswear.
I have had dozens of hobbies over the years, some that I have pursued, and others that have fizzled out. Travelling has become an interest. It has allowed me to combine my affinities for history, food, language, and world cultures with fashion. I had the opportunity to expand these interests during a 2019 study abroad trip to Japan.
There, I learned indigo farming and dyeing, the history of Japanese denim, Awagami papermaking, and Tafu-ori (mulberry bark weaving) as well as visited fabric districts and vintage clothing shops. On that trip I was able to experience fashion on a global scale, both past and present.
I am now working in retail while spending time with my pup, Autumn, and editing photos from my recent travels. I have also been indulging the foodie in me, baking muffins, and learning how to make different staple foods from scratch. This month, I’m working on the perfect recipe for vegetable broth with some of the fresh veggies from my patio garden.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I have found that my goals are continuously evolving. Since college, my goal is to become a master pattern maker for a high-end luxury fashion brand. At this early stage in my career, I am considering that to be my lifetime goal.
However, what is a goal without a plan?
In the meantime, I am focusing on smaller goals. In Fall 2023 I intend to begin honing skills toward certification in bespoke tailoring by attending online classes at the Saville Row Academy.
Working retail at an international men’s suiting company in an upscale community in Atlanta, I am gaining exposure to high-end ready-to-wear and custom-made men’s clothes. Garments that I handle daily carry various details in their construction, and I have learned that many of those elements stem from the history of apparel.
In my spare time, I research and delve into historical sewing, tailoring, and construction methods while designing personal projects for added practice.
These are incremental steps in my plan towards becoming a master patternmaker.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The big dream is to create clothes that people feel good and are happy to wear. The most satisfying aspect is completing the integral process from the stylized drawings to the technical flats to the final fit, molded perfectly to the body.
As a creative, I get to bear my soul through the tools I use in patternmaking as a means of expressive freedom without bounds. As with my senor collection, I received immense joy when my manifestation of personal expression was worn by models. Those final garments were reflections of my creative core.
This is what I feel is most rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jachopper.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jac_hopper
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jac.Hopper18
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jachopper-benford20
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jac_hopper
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK5xu9vqQFgbcq6onFEomzw
Image Credits
Jac Hopper Anne Benford