We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenneva Borboa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenneva, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
I draw a large part of my inspiration from art, especially paintings and one of my favorite quotes is by one of my favorite artists; Pablo Picasso. It says, “My mother said to me, ‘If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.’ Instead, I was a painter and I became Picasso”. This is such a powerful quote and it inspires me on so many levels. To me, this quote embodies how following your passions will lead you to be your best self. Following my dreams and passions was not always straight forward decision for me, taking that decision of leaving all sense of “security” to follow what makes my heart happy was one of the scariest things I’ve done but it has been the most rewarding journey. Making garments that make women feel confident and beautiful and seeing the smile on their face, is such a rewarding feeling. I want to inspire other women and young girls to pursue their passions and their dreams, it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is, you can achieve anything. That little voice inside you telling you what your heart truly wants will never go away until you do it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I create couture gowns. I am in love with details, and I truly put my heart into every garment I create. It’s so important to me to create garments with a fit that accentuates the client’s best features. Being able to sit with the client and get to know them, to then create something that is unique to them is such an enjoyable and allows me to connect with each of my clients. Having that relationship and knowing that they trust me to create the garment they envision is frankly an honor to me and I don’t take that lightly. As a designer, I am constantly evolving and learning, fashion is an industry that is constantly changing. It’s always about what’s new, what’s next, what’s the next hot thing. I love being able to take trends and translate them into a wearable modern classic design with details that are new and exciting. Along my professional journey as a fashion designer, I’ve had ups and downs, but I continue to be resilient because I see challenges as learning experiences. I don’t take things personally and I continue to move forward and striving to be a better designer every day. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the way is to always be true to myself and to trust my instincts. As a size-inclusive designer, the cornerstone of my brand is definitely fit. When a garment has a great fit, the woman wearing it is confident and unstoppable. That’s what I want women to feel. I want the women wearing my clothes to feel amazing, sexy, confident, and unstoppable, regardless of what size they wear. Like Anne Klein once said; “Clothes aren’t going to change the world, the women wearing them will”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is such a fun question! I love it! So, anybody that knows me knows that I’m a foodie and anybody that’s my friend is probably a foodie too, so our trip would most definitely be more of a culinary tour of San Diego. I would start off the adventure in Little Italy because there’s so many amazing restaurants with the cutest décor and the food is so instagrammable. We would then go to Coronado island and rent a quadricycle and explore Coronado by bike. Other musts in San Diego would be La Jolla, Balboa Park and of course the zoo. Also, I would most definitely take by bestie for a day trip to the wineries in Valle de Guadalupe and eat lobster in Puerto Nuevo.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out to Edelem Alvarez, President of Dame Tu Mano, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women achieve their entrepreneurial aspirations by providing business mentorship and low cost workshops in San Diego.

Website: www.jennevaborboa.com
Instagram: jennevaborboa

Image Credits
Howard Max Photography