We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Cole . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Jennifer , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?
As an African American Designer, one of the most inspiring people I know in the Fashion Industry would be Ann Cole Lowe. Her story has always inspired me to never give up regardless of the obstacles we face as women of color. The Fashion Industry is cutthroat, and to make it to the top as a black designer is almost impossible even to this day. Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown but never received the credit for it until her old age. She was the first noted African American Fashion Designer, catering to some very high society women from the 1920s – 1960s. The lessons I’ve learned from Ann Lowe’s story is to prove to world that I am just as talented as any other big designer. That I can become a major designer as well with hard work and dedication.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
About my professional life and career:
I am Designer Jennifer Cole, the Founder/Lead Designer of the JennCole Designs Inc. Fashion Brand. I am most known in the Industry as “Jenn Cole”. I’ve been in the Fashion and Bridal Industry 26 years now, from Mississippi, to Manhattan, to Africa, and now Dallas, TX.
JennCole Designs Inc. is a NY Fashion Label, we specialize in Bridal Gowns, Formal Gowns, and Professional Tailoring. What sets us apart is you get to work one on one with an actual designer who cares about your style, personality, your ideas, and what looks best on you. We are not like your traditional Wedding Salons where you have to pick a gown off the rack. Your gown is created from scratch, from your thoughts and ideas, to create the look and fit you’ve envisioned for your special day. Using our unique multi-point measuring system that gives you a perfect fit regardless of your size or body type.
I am most proud of my longevity as a female entrepreneur. Proud that I never gave up on my dream of becoming a Designer, no matter what obstacles I faced. I’m excited and proud that I have worked with clients all over the US and abroad. Designing is not a job for me, it’s my gift, my passion, my first love. I live and breathe Fashion.
Watching my mother, Francis White, sew for the public growing up, I could make anything by the age of 12. My biggest inspiration and motivation has always been my mom, Francis White. My dream was to one day be a designer and to go to NY. I would watch all the award shows on the tv just to see the fancy dresses worn on the red carpet. My thoughts were, I can design just as good or better than any other designer. Growing up in a big family my mom and dad couldn’t afford to send me to design school. I never discussed my dreams with anyone because I felt they would say I was crazy to think that I could become a designer and go to NY as poor as we were in Mississippi. I was the 3rd of 7 kids. My dad was a strong man and I watched him fight for what he believed in. That’s where my boldness came from.
Well, my grandmother, Willie Mae White, made sure I got off to college at ASU after high school, but there were no design classes, no design schools in MS. I took Fashion Merchandising for 2 years.
In 1990 & 1992, I had my sons, Kiera White & Dominek Tucker whom I raised by myself. I started my business from home doing alterations for 2 years, then moved into a commercial building. A year later I expanded from doing alterations to opening the first African American Bridal Salon in the whole state of MS. I grew and expanded for 3 years straight after that.
My talent outgrew MS and after my sons were in College, I took a leap of faith in 2010 and moved to NY to further my career in designing and start my own brand. I enrolled in fashion design school at the Art Institute of NYC. My first job in NY was tutoring at the school I attended. I later worked for the iconic Ralph Lauren, at his historical library. Then after that, I traveled worldwide as a Professional Tailor for one of the top uniform companies in the country, “Top Hat Imagewear”. During this time, I was working on building my brand and launched my first RTW Bridal Collection in 2016, then the “JennCole Designs” website in 2017, www.jenncole.design.
During Covid-19, when everything shut down in NY, I worked even more on JennCole Designs Inc. to be completely independent and working full time for myself again. In 2020, I also Founded “JennCole Design School Inc.” in NY, went to Ghana and launched the JennCole Design School which is a design school for underprivileged female with talent in sewing, designing, and modeling. Young ladies who are underprivileged like I was growing up, with the dream of becoming a Designer, www.jenncoledesignschool.com. We are still in the beginning stages because of my mom passing in 2021. I put Everything on hold to go to MS and be with her until she passed. This changed my whole life around mentally because my sewing came from my mom, and I felt like my whole world was gone. I was in a very dark place and decided to leave NY for good.
26 years in the Fashion & Bridal industry has not been easy, nor was raising 2 sons by myself and running a business. All I had was my faith in God, my determination, and my self motivation to make a difference in my life and the lives of others along the way. The story of Designer Anne Lowe motivated me to want to make a different in the Fashion industry for African American Designers. I overcame many challenges by not comparing myself to others and just believing in me. I don’t want to be like the other designers, I wanted to be different and just be me!
Moving forward, with all that I have learned in my career and the Fashion Industry, my dedication is to give back to help those that are underprivileged. I know how I felt growing up underprivileged with a burning desire to become a designer but didn’t have the means to do it. Just because you are underprivileged doesn’t mean you are not smart and talented, it just means you don’t have the resources to show the world how talented you are. So I want to give back to those young ladies who others will look over and never think of helping because they are underprivileged. I want to give them a platform to pursue their dream of becoming a designer, a business owner, or landing good paying jobs in the Fashion Industry. A platform to help them become self-sufficient and create jobs for themselves, their families, and their communities.
I want to leave a legacy through JennCole Designs Inc. that will go on long after I leave this world.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Running a business and raising 2 sons as a single mother was hard but I never gave up. I had to wear many hats! My Bridal Salon (Mississippi) was open 6 days a week with only Sundays off. Both my sons were in sports from elementary through high school. One played football and the other basketball. So when football season was ending, basketball season was starting. I had to be at every game, almost every practice, every PTA meeting, every fundraiser, etc. If I wasn’t at my youngest son’s basketball games, he wouldn’t play well and all the other parents and the coaches knew it. If I was late to a game, he wouldn’t play well until he saw me walk in that gym! Sometimes other parents would call me to make sure I had left my office for the games.
I had so many other responsibilities, I look back sometimes and ask myself how did I do it!
Sunday’s were for quality time with my son’s, I would take them to church and dinner, then whatever they wanted to do afterwards. I did all the videoing for the church we attended and I was very active in the community. I hosted bridal shows & Fashion shows throughout the year. I hosted and produced my own TV talk show for about 3 years, so I was in the tv studio at least twice a week. I traveled to other cities and states hosting bridal shows. And I was always helping other kids, whether it was cooking and feeding them or taking them places with my sons.
During this period there were many hard seasons with the business, but I just kept my faith and kept pushing. My sons never knew if I was having a hard time because I never showed it. I never received help raising them, no child support nor government assistance at all. Both of my sons graduated college with 2 degrees and are certified coaches/personal trainers. I did what I had to do to take care of them and never looked back. Never gave up on my dreams nor theirs!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My Move to New York (Dec 2010)
After both my sons were in college, I decided to further my career and pursue my dream of NY. I wanted to start my own design label, “JennCole Designs”. In 2010 I gave up everything I owned to move to NY, my house, my cars, and my business of 14 years. I told my sons we would all be in college for 2 years.
I planned all of 2010, enrolled in school at “The Art Institute of NYC”. At this point, I didn’t know anyone in NY, not a friend, a family member, not anyone! I had never been to NY, nor had I ever flown on a plane before. I gave up a successful business and a comfortable life to go to NY and start all over. I didn’t even know where my first job would be.
The only person I knew (by phone) was Rita Bagala, from the registration office at AINY, who helped me prepare for school. I was supposed to go to NY before moving to find an apartment but I never found the time. I was too busy trying to sell my business, make sure my sons were good, sell my house, cars, furniture, etc. Everybody in MS was like are you crazy, NYers are mean, you have it made here! Then of course there was the haters saying, ohhhh who does she think she is, ohhhh she’ll never make it in NY, she’ll be back, lol. I heard a lot of negative things said.
Nobody believed me until I put a sign on my business door saying last day opening Dec. 1st.
By the time I finished taking care of everything in MS, I only had $3000 left to my name, but I never told anyone. I didn’t let that stop me! I took a leap of faith and moved to NY with only $3000 in my pocket, a big dream, and my Faith in God. I didn’t even know where my first job would be.
I was still so determined and refused to change my mind. The 2nd week in December, I decided to call Rita and tell her to put me in the dorms because I didn’t have time to come early. My flight was for Dec 28th. I felt that it would be the safest place for me until I learn my way around. I stayed in the dorms with kids my son’s age. Most of them weren’t from NY either, so we learned our way around together. They all got along with me and respected me.
My first job in NY was tutoring at the school, then later Ralph Lauren, then Top Hat Imagewear which took me all over the world as a professional Tailor.
I stayed focused and used the money from my jobs to build my business back on the side. In 5 years, 2015, I had my first bridal collection ready to go to production. I launched the “JennCole Designs” label and RTW Collection in 2016, then my new website in 2017. I’ve been in “The Knot NY” magazine 6 times and awarded “The Knot Best of Weddings 2020” for NY. In 2021, I won the “Mississippi Legends Award” and the “Governor’s Choice Award” for Mississippi.
That one plane ride to NY took me to places I’ve never been, places I never knew existed. I got on that plane frightened to death and never looked back! It changed my whole life for the better. I made it, 12 years later I was still in NY and doing great!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jenncole.design
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jenncole_designs?igshid=Mzc1MmZhNjY=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050437271771
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-cole-67b84429
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jenncoledesignsinc
- Other: www.jenncoledesignschool.com
Image Credits
Butler & Badou Portraits, Marian Diop (Dallas) Just A Love Story Photography, Toni Ann Taylor (NY)