Cancel whatever plans you have this weekend and hangout with me at the JYJZ Designer Collection Launch on May 18th! I mentioned before I am working on designing an exclusive line Alyssa Nicole x JYJZ and this Saturday you can stop by, peep some of the pieces I designed and even pre-order before the collection even launches! I'll also have a few collection favorites with me as well, so you can finally try on the Lace Peplum Dress you've been dying to get your hands on.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what direction I want to take my clothing line lately. One question I get asked all the time is 'Where do you see your line in 5 years?' & I can honestly say that I can't even see that far in the future, I've never really had a plan or a goal, I've basically just been going with whatever comes my way. I just want to focus on designing what I want to design because that's what I originally set out to do, make clothing that I want to wear because my style is ever changing.

I've decided to focus on designing collections that embody a vision or an emotion or whatever I am feeling for the current season, like I've done in the past. I kindof started designing collections and using the lookbook photo shoots as like a medium to express my 'artistic vision' (2008-early 2012 collections). The past couple years when my brand started getting more attention I had a lot of people tell me what they think is right for my line and I took their advice and rolled with it -but it wasn't right for me. I started designing pieces that fit into the mold of what everyone thought I should be designing, even if it wasn't what I wanted to do. One thing I've learned is every brand is different, and staying true to my aesthetic is more important then trying to follow in the footsteps of other brands. 

I'm also sick of pink girly dresses being associated with my line, because I only did that one season (3 years ago) and had to continue that into my collections for years now -despite the fact that I didn't even want to design pink or party dresses or bows. If I want to design a 90's grunge Courtney Love inspired collection, followed up by a Pretty in Pink tea dress collection, and next year design Bohemian goth evening gowns -I'm going to do it. Obviously femininity plays a big part in my collections, but not in such a literal way. I realize now my inspiration stems from flawed beauty over literal beauty. Which is why I chosen to style my lookbooks the way I have done in the past. And I know this is going to sound incredibly cliche and artsy but I don't think I should have to justify or explain my work when my collections are different from what you are used to seeing from me. 

I know that I'm an American designer and generally American fashion is practical -but I am not a practical person. I literally wear 9 inch Jeffrey Campbell platforms while I'm running errands around Nob Hill- and let's just face it, there is nothing practical about that- but that's just me. I've always been about expressing a vision and constantly reinventing myself. With all that I will still continue to focus on designing garments to fit different body shapes -however from this point forward, I'm going to stay true to my aesthetic and design what I want to design.