Janine M. Villa hails from Toms River, New Jersey. She attended Boston University, earning her undergraduate degree in Graphic Design with minors in Business and Art History.

Janine Villa
Janine Villa

While earning her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design, she also worked as an Apparel Design Intern at Rebecca Minkoff in New York and as a Product Development Coordinator at Inspirare in San Francisco.

Villa took inspiration from the vintage Welsh blankets she had collected, and built her collection around their rich textures and colors. She kept her silhouettes simple and clean, looking to school uniforms and tailored menswear, and allowed the beauty of the blankets to remain the focus.

She collaborated with knitwear designer Amanda Nervig, who designed knit accessories and sweaters for the collection.

Amanda Nervig
Amanda Nervig

Amanda Nervig grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and attended the Kansas City Art Institute, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fiber, before coming to the Academy of Art University to pursue her Master’s Degree in Knitwear Design.

She interned with Donna Karan in New York, assisting with the design and development of sweaters for the collection. Taking Villa’s lead, Nervig was inspired by the colors and patterns found in the vintage Welsh blankets, seeking to add depth to the collection as a whole with her chunky knits and unexpected embellishments.

Janine Villa, Amanda Nervig Graduation Collection
Fall 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center
Friday, February 8, 2013 at 8:00 PM