After working with Thom Browne, Jackson Wiederhoeft stepped out of their comfort zone to create an extraordinary brand Wiederhoeft, which is not fearful of taboos. Their intersection of fashion and theater and performance has not made their ability to create with purpose tricky at all. Instead, their approach has only helped them fulfill their greatest imaginations.

How has intertwining fashion with theater, dance, and live performance set you apart from other fashion designers? What convinced you to approach fashion through theater, dance, and live performance?

Theater, dance, live performance – it is the lifeblood of Wiederhoeft. I would not describe it as something I was convinced to pursue, but rather something I needed to. Like a magnetic force. Something about the theater – the coming of farce and honesty, enchanted me. In honesty, I do feel like more of a director or a costume designer than a fashion designer, most days. I do not think I have ever designed a garment on its own – there has to be a character, a purpose, a story involved. Similarly to when I conceive a fashion show, a presentation, or a photo shoot – I find it to be more about the narrative than anything. Of course, the clothes are very important, but the worldbuilding, the vision, the experience, are primary.

How challenging has it been to redirect your brand and align it with authentic storytelling while embracing your imaginations?

I think the moments I have been most satisfied with the collections, regardless of how ‘successful’ they were, are the ones where I followed my instincts of storytelling. The most challenging thing has been sorting through the advice – I have been so lucky to have many incredible people give me advice, but what works for one brand does not necessarily apply to another, especially in the uniquely independent, disjointed moments we find ourselves in.

What are some fantasies that you shied away from because they were too “comical” or “taboo?” If none, where did you find the courage to always project the fantasies you have imagined for yourself?

I do not think there is anything I have shied away from. I am not afraid to be camp, or serious, or whimsical, or aggressive, or sad. It is more so about being honest about what I am feeling at that moment. I would not call it courage. I would really just be bored to death if I was not doing something that inspired me and the work would be junk. That feels like the whole point of having my own brand – to follow my instinct and share the narrative!

What cultures or experiences have inspired your fantasies and in what ways have you been able to show appreciation to them?

Of course, each new collection is based on what feels magical in that moment. Now I find myself looking at porcelain figurines, Byzantine mosaics, medieval jewelry, and fluted armor.

But inside my mind lives every tear of joy, tear of frustration, falling in love, heartbreak, the Chris Janney installation on the NQR platform at Herald Square, the Christmas section at Macy’s, ostrich feathers, gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia, the beauty of seeing friends transition, cake for dinner, the terror of having pushed too far, the happiness of strangers enjoying your work, the feeling of seeing your favorite painting for the first time, Raven from Teen Titans, The Napoleon apartments at the Louvre, sitting in the audience of a Broadway tech rehearsal…. It goes on and on into infinity.

It is the architecture of life. The dress form upon which new inspirations are draped as of fabric. Everything I create is in response to the myriad experiences as they are built cumulatively, not individually.

Most of the time, “ready to wear” collections consist of fashion items that can be worn “straight off the runway.” In what ways have you conceptualized fantasies in your design aesthetics to be worn everyday? How would you describe creating a fashion look for Rihanna?

Basically, it is not my strong suit. I do not know what wearable clothes look like; it is never something I have been good at understanding the concept of. My first fashion professor told me I was “coocoo crazy” and failed me because it was not “real clothes.” I do not know what that means! If you can wear it, it is wearable.

Sure, I design unembroidered pieces in signature fabrics – pencil skirts, jackets, blouses, etc. but people are not generally interested in those styles from us. Which at first was disheartening but ultimately encouraging. It means people are interested in the story and the fantasy… for which I feel very lucky. Because it is one of those things where I can not really tell if the work is “good,” I am way too deep in it and it is very personal. But if other people are interested, it is nice to know that it resonates!

Also, I think Rihanna is amazing, and having her wear my thesis collection right out of college was a moment I will always be grateful for!”

What pushes you away from embodying our everyday experiences to focus on your imaginations? How have you been able to create impactful stories while escaping realities in our everyday lives?

I guess I would say that I do in fact embody everyday experiences in the work. It is the expression of those narratives that is imaginative.

The work I create is fantastical, whimsical, and theatrical. But I would not describe it as escapist. In fact, I think every collection is created as a response to everyday experiences, archetypal stories. So, yes I encourage people to engage in the work in a way that feels highly immersive and experiential. But I do not want people to come away from it feeling like they gained some reprieve from the oft-ugly world we live in. Rather, I want to engage people in stories that will encourage them to question their own experiences, their own way of engaging with and viewing their world.

Similarly – though the clothes I make can often be read as costumes (and indeed they are often very theatrical) – I am not trying to dress people up and turn them into someone else. Rather, the emotion I want to promote is one of feeling like a better version of one is self. Transitioning into their best form, their most powerful self.

Create the ultimate fantasy for us. What does your brand look like at its fullest potential? Where does your brand exist with visibility at its max?

I guess the truth of the matter is that I want to do everything. Of course, I would love to be selling in key boutiques and stores that are eager to become a part of this narrative and worldbuilding, see the clothes being worn in key cultural moments, as well as everyday situations.

But I also want to direct a film, design an opera, ballet, musical, and a play. I want to write a book and conceive performance, to curate an exhibition, to design interiors and furniture, to collaborate with choreographers, dancers, singers, writers, actors, painters, sculptors, all sorts of creatives. I want to explore what the world has to offer artistically, and incorporate it into the work in a way that creates new methods of expression for the stories.

Then vs Now is a series that reminds of how far we have come from our very beginnings to appreciate our present. The stories highlight each of the 2022 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists’ beginnings in design. The designers speak to how they have developed and conceptualized their purposes in fashion.