Jessie James, singer-songwriter and reality TV star (she stars in the E! reality show Eric & Jessie: Game On with hub Eric Decker) has now tapped into fashion! James has collaborated with Rachel Turzer, the femme behind Kora Rae, on their collection Kittenish, featuring a spread of clothes inspired by the starlet’s style. The adorable duo gave us the scoop, below.
How did this collaboration happen?
Jessie: It all started when a good friend of my husband who plays for the Denver Broncos met Rachel. They started discussing fashion and he mentioned that he was friends with me and Rachel, and then sent me a box of fabulous Kora Rae clothes. I just fell in love with everything. The clothes were beautiful and put together so well. Everything was done tastefully. She continued to send me things here and there, so we started building this relationship. At one point I was like ‘We should just do something together!’ I’ve always wanted to have a clothing line, and she obviously knows what she’s doing, so we had a meeting, and that’s kind of how it all started!
How long did the process take?
Rachel: Jessie was pretty clear on her vision and knew the pieces she wanted to create for her fans, so she made it very easy on us! The whole collection took about one month to put it together, from creating the samples to having a final product.
Jessie, how did it feel to be making your first foray into design?
Jessie: The process really started with focusing on what I like and what I would wear, hoping that that’s what the fan base and audience would wear. I’d pick out things that I thought were cute or felt that I’m missing in my wardrobe. Then I’d be like, ‘Lets make them!’ It’s been really interesting to see what people are gravitating toward and what they’re loving.
Rachel, this was your first collaboration, right?
Rachel: Yeah! It was a great experience. The most important thing that I learned from Jessie is to stay true to yourself and your design aesthetic. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her!
How did you both come up with the name, Kittenish?
Jessie: That’s a name I’ve been holding onto for years. Ever since I was really young, I always knew I wanted to have a brand and I wanted to call it Kittenish. It’s kind of like a sex-kitten (not the porn-star kind! Just being sexy) mixed with being cute. I held onto it and felt like it would be a great word to sum up my image and vision of what I think girls would want to aspire to be.
Jessie, how do you describe your style?
Jessie: Southern meets sexy tomboy. It’s not too girly, but it really depends on the day. There are so many days where I’m just wearing cut-off jeans, a T-shirt, flip flops, and a flannel. Just very comfortable. I’ve never been too trendy of a person, but there are certain things that I love that are not in style that I gravitate toward. It’s always been pretty casual though, and all about comfort.
What’s the best-seller of the collection?
Jessie: The flannels are just killing it!
Are there plans for future collections?
Rachel: Yes! We just got finished designing a collection for the first of the year, and we also have our fall/winter collection coming out as well.
Jessie, what have you been up to this summer?
Jessie: Aside from designing, I’ve been recording and writing and trying to get this record finished before my little baby comes! He will be here in the next month, so I’m trying to get as much done as possible because I want to take a break and focus on the baby without getting too crazy with work. But I also hate sitting still and not having things going on! My single, ‘Lights Down Low’ is coming out August 14th, so I’m really excited for that. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written in my entire life. I am so pumped about it.
How about you, Rachel?
Rachel: I’m working on a resort collection that’s coming out in December, around the holidays. The next collection will be launched in March for spring/summer, so I’m in the process of designing those! Each collection is based on travel and a location, so I’m taking a trip to St. Lucia in about a week and will start developing my color palettes and prints then.
