By all standards, Jackson Wiederhoeft should be a household name.
There have been magazine cover placements, includingJennifer CoolidgeinBritish GQandIce SpiceinTeen Vogue.
The brand has even collaborated with the likes ofDisneyandKitchenAid.
Channing Smith/Getty Images
So whats it going to take to get some mainstream recognition?
Looks are named after character archetypes or literary figures.
These are no damsels in distress; these are femmes in control.
Wiederhoeft himself, however, is soft-spoken and demure, rarely raising his voice above a gentle monotone.
Im pretty serious as a person, but I think Im just very focused.
People have a hard time understanding that sometimespeople that Im close to, says the 2022Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund finalist.
Its existing through the garments.
A Houston native, Wiederhoeft (pronounced with a soft GermanV) grew up Catholic.
But in a way, its exciting, because it forces you to think.
I think thats kind of the gift of being queer.
You have to think about intentionality from such a young age.
Ive been a fan of Jackson since the moment I put one of his corsets on my body.
She cohostedVogues2023 Met Galalivestream in a powder-pink Wiederhoeft gown bedecked with dozens of rosettes.
Hes a real artist, she continues.
Hes not just somebody designing clothes.
Hes literally making works of art and theater.
In 2019 he found himself restless and sketching his debut collection, Spooky Couture, at his desk.
That October he went solo and introduced his work to the world.
Upon entry, the designer will offer you a cookie in the shape of a high-heel shoe.
(Julia Fox, actorZazie Beetz, and nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch looked on in approval.)
Hes just going to keep growing exponentially because theres no reason for him not to.
Celebrities are wearing his stuff on the red carpet left and right, as they should, she continues.
His influence is going to be profound.
Everyone has their gigs, he sighs.
The work says so much more, and in such a more eloquent way, Wiederhoft says.
People used to tell me, I wish I could see inside your brain.
The inside of his brain, by the way, is beautiful.
When the lights came up, eyes were misty.
I was crying, and I turned and our senior social editor was also crying, Issawi says.
I think thats so special.
It feels like trying on different versions of yourself, opening new doors to possibilities of who you are.
(It would smell like a sugar cookie, he says with a laugh.)
Yes, its a lot.
But thats by design.
Im chaotic like that.
I enjoy chaos, he says.
I just have a very clear vision.
I dont feel like Im ever going to arrive, Wiederhoeft explains.
His memoir, he jokes, might be calledA Thousand Big Breaks.
It always feels like, yeah, youre just one step away from the dream coming true.
But so many of my dreams have come true.
