Jennifer Fisher is not one to mix politics and design, but when she does, the approach has gravitas. Take, for example, her new capsule collection titled STOP, which aims to raise awareness for gun safety and reform in the United States. Launched last week, the capsule features a keychain in sterling silver, a pendant necklace and two sizes of a charm in 14-karat rose, yellow or white gold – each in the shape of a Stop sign. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to Everytown for Gun Safety. The jewelry designer is eager to use her brand and platform to do all that she can to make a difference in this important conversation.
Firstly, congratulations! Everyone here at the CFDA loves what you’re doing with the STOP collection.
Thank you! It was something that I wanted to be able to add seamlessly to the collection. Given the fact that we are based off of charms, I wanted customers to be able to easily add to their existing necklaces and make whatever statement they want in their own personal way.
Tell us how activism and politics fit into your design philosophy?
I usually don’t engage with it in my designs. I think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion in politics and activism, but it is not something that I necessarily focus on when I am designing my collections.
The Parkland shooting in Florida last month encouraged you to create the capsule. Why did you want to make a collection rather than a direct donation to Everytown?
It made sense. I was sitting at breakfast with my kids the day after the shooting and they were genuinely scared to go to school. There is security at their schools, but both were asking me “what if?” One of my son’s friend’s family in Florida was affected by the shooting, so it really hit close to home. This felt personal to me because I am a mother. I have to explain to my children that it is safe to go to school, when I don’t actually know that it is. We are lacking common sense gun laws. It is time for smart gun reform in American.
The collection features a stop sign symbol – why?
I was talking to a friend who was saying how this was something that I could easily do. I thought, “why not a stop-sign, it is the universal symbol for stop.” A lot of our charms are based off of geometric shapes and it was one shape we hadn’t done yet.
What is your ultimate goal with the collection?
My goal is to raise awareness and to hopefully make a donation to Everytown to help create some of these laws and protect our kids. Being part of this conversation, participating in the best way we can, and looking at the bigger picture is important.
Are there any other causes that you’re passionate about right now that we could see jewelry devoted to in the future?
It is already selling really well, so if this continues, then it will give me more inspiration to do something for another cause. If we can raise money this way, if we can continue the success it has already started out, then I will definitely do something else in the future.
