Designer Highlight: TUFT by Jessica Jones
Written by: Amber CThe owner of Nashville Fashion Blog who highlights the local fashion industry with her well informed commentary
One look at designer Jessica Jones’ TUFT line and you’ll be transported into a prep school world where the popsicles are endless and kittens are a girl’s best friend. With both womenswear and childrenswear collections, the silhouettes are clean and classic, and fabric patterns full of whimsy and fun. The TUFT design aesthetic is “Simple cuts with bright colors and fun patterns...light-hearted fashion.” And where did that name come from? According to the designer’s website, TUFT is taken from “A Candy TUFT”- the name of Jones’ favorite shade of pink. The designer describes her TUFT line as fun, bright, and carefree. Jones received a BFA in Fashion Design from O’More College of Design in 2010 and has been creating fashionable looks for four years.
The womenswear collection features dresses, tops, pants, shorts, jackets, and accessories including purses and belts. In this latest TUFT line, Jones uses a color pallet of light grays, heliotrope purples, mustard and bright yellows, creams, light pinks, and an infusion of black. The childrenswear line features dresses, skirts, tops, and jackets in patterns of creams, light browns, mustard yellows, light pinks, light purples, and pops of black. And the prices? Definitely reasonable! Women can walk away with one of these original shirts from $35 to $72, a dress for $45, and a jacket for $58. And to outfit your little girl or baby sister in all things fabulous? A shirt will cost you $22, the matching skirt $32, a jacket $42, and dress $35.
These clothes are definitely cute. Jones says, “I wanted to make bright, fun clothes that you put on when you're having a good day.” While the original concept was to create a womenswear line, after an apprenticeship with a local childrenswear company, the designer decided to incorporate the younger aesthetic into the TUFT line. “I realized designing clothes for 3 year old girls is quite possibly the best job ever,” Jones said.
And where does this designer get her inspiration? Jones says, “I've been inspired by flower farms, old perfume ads, Joy Division songs, trees, cats, old furniture, and sometimes even a smell that reminds me of a memory that reminds me of a type of clothing. Inspiration blindsides you. You never know what's gonna make you stop and ponder.” While the designer dreams of one day owning a little pink TUFT shop on a bustling city corner, in the meantime she hopes to land a designing career for a large company like J. Crew.
Jones’ most fabulous fashion moment came when seeing the TUFT collection coming down the runway. She describes it as “an incredible payoff after living in a sewing cave for months.” There is no current knowledge on an upcoming show.
When asked her three favorite designers and why, Jones, after commenting that my question was cruel, said the following:
“Ok, so let's just go ahead and get him out of the way - Marc Jacobs, DUH. If you don't like him you are just trying to stick it to the man, because he is the law when it comes to fashion. I love him because he's creative yet commercial. He introduces new ideas every season but in an accessible way, which is easy to say but so hard to do. Watch the documentary Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton by Loic Prigent and realize why he is the bomb.com.
Miuccia Prada - she's a lot like Marc in the way that everything she does is instant gold. I mean, who would have thought that the rich women of American would like seventies-esque prints of naked ladies? Miuccia Prada did, and she was right. Miuccia is original in a time when nothing is original.
The late, great Luella Bartley - Luella was my favorite fashion line growing up. Luella as a brand aligns more with my tastes than any other brand so of course I was heartbroken when she went under in 2009. Luella was cute and girly but always with a weird twist. Witches and Ghost World were common types of references for her and she was never shy with color. I admired not only the clothes Luella Bartley designed, but the way she didn't take fashion seriously and had as much fun with it as she could.
If fashion lines were people, TUFT could be considered Luella's little sister.”
And where can you find this designer out and about in Nashville? As Jones stated, “Crema for coffee breaks at work, the Belcourt because I can booze and watch movies simultaneously, and Hot Diggity Dog has the best hot dogs in Nashville, ya I said it. I love going to 5 Spot on Mondays and dancing insanely with my friends, and Pangea and treat myself to a special gift - everything is so reasonably priced!” When asked her two favorite bands, Jones replied, “Buzzcocks and Katy Perry...if that doesn't describe my personality I don't know what does.”
TUFT is adorable and so is Jessica Jones. She parts with the words, “I want to make you cute, so just let me and buy my clothes.”
Jones is available for custom requests and illustrations. Visit the TUFT website here, etsy shop here, and blog here.
This article is from our friend Amber C @ the Nashville Fashion Blog! Check it out.
