Fashion Week, Representation And Petite Fashion

Petite Fashion Brand Founder Jennifer Ison On Fashion Week, Representation And Jumpsuits

---

Jennifer Ison, Founder of Jennifer Anne

The petite fashion world can feel extremely small and so it didn’t take long for us to discover the wonderful clothing that Jennifer Ison is creating at her Independent British owned petite fashion brand Jennifer Anne.

We recently sat down and caught up with Jennifer and put the world to rights on what it is to be a petite woman, our relationships with fashion, representation, fashion week and jumpsuits.

---

So tell us a little about Jennifer Anne for anyone who hasn’t yet discovered your petite clothing line:
J: Jennifer Anne is a womenswear brand for women of 5’ 3” and under providing workwear and more relaxed clothing, designed and made in the UK with high quality fabrics. All our clothes are designed from their very beginning to fit and suit the frame of a petite woman.

How did you get started and what has it been like building an independent petite fashion brand from scratch?
J: I had absolutely no background in fashion and worked for most of my career as a lawyer. I was inspired to start my own petite brand after experiencing years of frustration caused by the difficulties of finding high quality clothes to fit my small frame. I attended a short course at the London College of Fashion to learn about the basics of starting a fashion brand and then went ahead with lots of research before plunging in and setting up Jennifer Anne.

“Petite women can feel invisible in the fashion world – we do not see ourselves represented”

What has been the best thing about creating Jennifer Anne?
J: Definitely the satisfaction in knowing that I am filling a need for the smaller woman to have quality high-end clothes that fit well and make them feel confident and empowered.

What are your favourite products from the Jennifer Anne line?
J: Goodness that’s a hard question. I love the Beiwen V-neck Shift dress that was in our original collection and has been so successful that we keep adding another choice of colour to it. It is such a flattering tailored feminine dress that really suits the petite figure. From the newer collections it is the Carla Jumpsuits – a style that I had never worn before as I could not imagine I would ever find one that would fit me at just 5’1”. They have been really popular and it is an example of how the brand has extended from purely workwear to more relaxed clothing to fit the post lockdown world.

Tell us about your own experience of being a petite woman and your relationship with fashion.
J: As a petite woman sometimes you do have to assert yourself to be noticed and taken seriously and I find that being well dressed gives me that extra confidence. I always preferred shopping when on holiday on the Continent as it was so much easier to find clothes that fitted well. I love tailored good fitting clothes and it is such a joy when you do find them. Of course since I started Jennifer Anne, I have a wonderful array of clothes to choose from!

You recently wrote an interesting piece on Fashion Week and its lack of representation – it feels a long time coming that these prestigious events and designers begin creating a space for petite women and women of all shapes, sizes and ages to be included.
J: I’m glad you saw that, it is something I feel very strongly about. We petite women can feel invisible in the fashion world – we do not see ourselves represented, whether it be on the catwalk, in advertising campaigns or in the clothes on offer from fashion designers and on the High Street. If fashion week began to have petite models as well as 6’ ones, then we might not feel so ignored and more fashion companies might start extending their ranges to offer clothes to us too. As things stand, the impression given to small women is that perhaps there is something lacking, not worth celebrating about them. That if you are small, you will never be chosen to show how fantastic the clothes on the cat walk can look, that as a smaller woman you are somehow less worthy of being represented. This clearly cannot be right.

“The first ever national sizing survey, cites that the average British woman is 5’4”

As you say, there still isn’t a great deal of representation in fashion when it comes to seeing petite women wearing petite lines. Why do you think this is?
J: You are absolutely right there is very little representation of petite women and petite fashion brands. It’s very challenging as a petite brand to attract the attention of the media, they seem not to realise that a significant percentage of their readers are small women – the Size UK Report, the first ever national sizing survey, cites that the average British woman is 5’4”. It is very hard to find petite models at all, and we at Jennifer Anne are very lucky to have found the fabulous models that we use to show our collection.

Jennifer Anne is an independent, British owned, female founded and led company. What have been your experiences of being a woman in business and what advice would you give to any woman wanting to start her own business?
J: I was brought up to see women as being independent and capable – my mother was also a lawyer and I was given exactly the same opportunities as my brothers. My advice is to be sure you are passionate about your business idea, do your research to find out what is involved and whether it is a workable business model, go out and network and make connections who will be useful and/or supportive. Be bold when you’ve been through the preliminaries and are confident in your idea - go ahead and do it, there never will be an absolutely perfect moment to begin.

What does ‘a day in the life’ look like for you?
J: Well social media is there on a daily basis to engage with as you can imagine, I find Instagram to be the best platform for us. If I am working on a new collection, I will meet with my designer to go through fabrics and ideas for the new styles. There are always orders to be dealt with and customer queries and reaching out to the media for PR. There is never a dull day!

Do you have any petite friendly brands or tips you swear by?
J: For jeans I go to Paige Jeans – their denim is really soft and they do fit me remarkably well.

What is your personal style and what do you wear at the office?
J: My everyday style is very relaxed, I love our loungewear or the Devon Cuff trousers and Ruth Shirt. For smarter occasions I like wearing a dress such as the Thomasina Prairie Dress.

Describe your perfect weekend when you’re not working.
J: A perfect day at the weekend for me at home would be to go the Farmers’ Market in Wimbledon Village on a Sunday morning and choose some of their delicious produce, followed by a walk on Wimbledon Common and a very leisurely lunch with the family and read the papers in the afternoon. In the evening to go out with friends to one of the local friendly pubs - wearing a Jennifer Anne jumpsuit.

How did the pandemic impact you?
J: Professionally it made me look at the Jennifer Anne brand and work out the long-term changes it would bring. The move to working from home meant that we needed to broaden out our offering which has proved to be fun creatively and widened our customer base. Positive changes!

What keeps you going through challenging times?
J: The appreciative comments I get from customers telling me how pleased they are to have found Jennifer Anne and how they love the clothes.

What’s next for Jennifer Anne?
J: We are working on a new collection for Spring 2022 which is always exciting.

You May Also Like…

Disclaimer: Please note, as with all clothing, fit is personal to the individual and not everything promoted through this site will necessarily be a perfect fit for you. Please always check the size guide before making a purchase to ensure a product is right for you. If a product on our site is listed as ‘Petite’ this means that the brand or designer has created the item specifically for Petite women who are 5’3” or under. All other products on our site have been deemed 
Petite-friendly by Friday Petite and not the brand or designer. Petite-friendly products should fit most women who are 5’3” and under but may not be suitable for everyone. For more information please read our full terms & conditions.