Fashion Designer Kawenniiosta Jock

Kawenniiosta Jock is an emerging Akwesasne designer who creates wearable pieces of art by bringing her artistic inspirations to life through her fashions. She creates colorful clothing that is everyday ready to wear. Kawi hopes to one day fulfill her dream of having her fashion line, J.A.K.I.L by KSJ, become a household name and available in all major department stores worldwide. Her line, which features vibrant colors and designs, will set the wearer apart from the crowd.

Every letter in the clothing line J.A.K.I.L. (pronounced Ja-kill) is the first initial of a best friend of Kawi’s with a different body type. Every letter is its own line of women’s clothing. There is an average line, a plus size line, curvy line, petite line and tall line. Each line caters to a different woman’s body type. She recently displayed eleven, including the outfit she was wearing, of her designs in the Diamonds R 4Ever Fashion Show in July. Kawi amazingly sewed all the outfits in four and a half days before the show. “I work the best under pressure,” admits Kawi.

Kawi started sewing when she was a young girl at the Freedom School. As she grew older it became apparent that she loved cutting fabric, piecing it together and integrating her innate sense of color. “I am very visual. I can sketch but cannot fully see the end result on paper. I do better just by looking at the color and print of material. I can go into a fabric store, look at a pattern, see and feel the material then start picturing in my mind all the things that I can do with the material and what I want the design to look like.” I can really go far into detail, in my mind, on how a design will come together,” explains Kawi. “I get my ideas from watching people and seeing how they dress.”

As Kawi got older her dream grew and she had a business plan all figured out by the time she was thirteen years old. She graduated from the Freedom School and attended various high schools but sometimes the best laid out plans can get bumpy. Kawi dropped out of school at age 17 and moved away to Connecticut to work. In 2004, at age 21, she had her first baby and decided to go back to school to earn her high school diploma. Kawi accomplished this in 2007 and she continued on with her schooling at Versailles Academy of Makeup Artistry. However, the role of mother and fashion designer was a difficult partnership for Kawi, and she had to put aside her fashion dreams. Five years after Kawi had her first daughter, she decided to start sewing again to make her daughter’s clothes. Her passion for sewing and designing was quickly reignited and she decided to pursue more schooling.

In 2010 Kawi applied for admission to the Academy of Art University-School of Fashion located in San Francisco. She was accepted but did classes online so she would not have to pack up and move to California. This was a dream come true, however, securing funding was a problem. She was not eligible to receive funding from the American nor the Canadian Education offices because she was not actually attending a college or university class but was learning online. The Tuition is still the same for online courses as it is for taking them on campus so Kawi took out student loans to finance her education. Kawi did online classes for a year and she still needs to do more, but without funding she cannot afford it. “I need to pay rent and take care of my children,” says Kawi. “I do want to finish the online courses but without funding I can’t. I’m ready to do it and that’s frustrating. The Academy of Art University is tied into New York fashion and it’s a good opportunity for me to get featured in the NY and LA Fashion Weeks. Something will come up. I don’t plan on giving up on my dream.”

Kawi has another passion and it is helping domestic abuse survivors in her role as a Youth Advocate Worker for the Tribe. She enjoys working with the women and children that she comes into contact with. “I understand what they have been through and I am ready to help.” Kawi is a little torn as to what to do if she had to pick one job over the other. As for right now she is making it work by being a youth advocate by day, mom until her children go to bed and then a designer during the wee hours of the morning. “When my children go to bed is when I work on my orders that I have received from all over like BC, Boston, Alberta. People hear about me by word of mouth, the Internet, Facebook and my business cards. I also received orders from the fashion show in July. People are still talking about that! I would really like to sew full time but with children I have to work another job to get by financially,” explains Kawi who now has three children of her own and has just become a foster parent of a five year old girl.

Kawi mostly does children’s wear and is planning on expanding the line. “Guys are asking for a men’s line and I can see me eventually doing that,” says Kawi. Also on her ‘to do’ list is learning how to make patterns. There is a school in Montreal that teaches this, but again she needs to find some financial aid to help her do it.

Any modern woman who appreciates style will love Kawi’s designs. She creates sophisticated feminine garments that are modern, thoughtful, colorful, fun and can go from day to evening or special occasion in minutes. She can be found on facebook.com/jakilbykawenniiosta # JAKILBYKSJ or by [email protected].

Kawi is the daughter of Roger and Diane Jock and the granddaughter of Mabel White. “My grandmother helps me a lot when I encounter a problem with sewing,” adds Kawi. “I would like to thank the community for being so supportive. I live in an awesome community”.