EMERGING DESIGNER

Joneien Leah Johnson

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Joneien Leah Fashion Focus

oneien Leah is a collection of contemporary separates and dresses for the real petite woman under 5'5". She is confident, chic, and proud of her feminine body. Joneien saw a need in the marketplace for designer petite clothing beyond the basics. As a curvy petite woman, she wanted to fill that gap.

Joneien Johnson, the designer behind the brand Joneien Leah was raised in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Ever since she could remember, Joneien has always been interested in fashion. It was the reason why she loved dolls so much; their outfits. She recalls, "I was always doodling princess dresses on the Church Bulletin. I designed every halloween costume since I was 4 (always a princess or mermaid)." Her mother was her seamstress and at the time she didn't realize tht it was something people did for a living until she was in junior high school. Joneien found that fashion was something she was just naturally drawn to, colors, pretty fabrics and silhouettes.

Around the age of 5 her mother showed her how to make a Barbie® dress. After that she was buying patterns for Barbie® all the time. She also loved merchandising her outfits. What came in the box was never good enough for her. She needed to switch up her top, add some accessories, new shoes. She needed to look differnt than all the other Barbies® on the shelf. Revealing her early trendsetter ways, she even went so far as to write letters to Mattel, the makers of Barbie® giving them ideas for new Barbies® and sending them crude sketches. "Who knows if anyone in the design department saw those but it must have been such a laugh for them."