Sophia Jensen on Approaching the Runway

“Art was an obvious choice for me. Never did I consider doing something else,” says Sophia Jensen. Her parents, Chad and Amy Jensen, moved from Detroit to Southwest Florida in 2004 when Chad joined Thomas Riley Artisans’ Guild as a cabinet maker, the year before Sophia was born. She attended a Montessori school, where children are encouraged to follow their interests, and sometimes Sophia tagged along with her dad to work. “I loved being in the shop and seeing how things were made,” she recalls.

Her parents encouraged her creative pursuits, and Sophia was equally talented in the sports arena, playing competitive soccer and running cross country. “I was very physically active when I had time,” she says. She also involved herself with a variety of clubs and performed with the Barron Collier High School drumline. Despite engaging in all those activities, she describes herself as a recluse, noting, “I did not connect with my peers. I did not feel I was received by them.”

During her teens, Sophia worked as a barista at Starbucks, describing it as “one of the most stressful jobs ever.” She also helped in the family business, art gallery/design atelier Method & Concept, serving as gallery assistant to the manager—“aka my mom, who in her own way is a badass,” she says. Sophia learned about running a business, tending to invoices and client communication while gaining valuable experience.

Catching the Fashion Bug

After graduating from Barron Collier in 2023, Sophia chose to study fine art at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, her father’s alma mater. In her first year, she pursued sculpture and painting, but when she was exposed to haute couture and designing for the runway, she was excited by the opportunity to connect with the consumer through wearable art. Sophia switched her major to fashion design, a field in which she could demonstrate her perspective of style. The program had a familial atmosphere with just 15 students in her junior year, and that’s where she found her tribe. “I am going to have them around forever,” she believes.

Sophia reports her workload at college is intense. A night owl, she spends long hours at the college’s fashion lab, drawing patterns, draping muslin, and using the industrial sewing machines. She manages to carve out enough time to work one shift as a server on Saturday evenings and occasionally visit her family in Naples, including brothers Max, 18, and Leo, 15, as well as Frankie, a Chihuahua-terrier mix. Her father recently surprised her for her twenty-first birthday with a family trip to a Dolce & Gabbana traveling show at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami during her spring break.

The budding designer cites the late Alexander McQueen as the creator whose work is most like her own: dramatic, technically brilliant, and highly artistic. Sophia especially favors tailored lines, and though abstract, her work incorporates elements of functionality. She points out that her personal style is not at all like what she creates, describing her look as conservative and monotone. Black is her color of choice.

Taking Flight

For her junior design collection, which took the runway this past April, Sophia curated and presented five looks titled “Palate Cleanser.” She says food has always played an important role in her life. “I learned [about food] from my mom; I love cooking for people. It is my love language.” Her collection became a tribute to her appreciation for the culinary arts. She presented silhouettes inspired by flavors she believed worked well together, similar to how a Michelin-star chef might present food on a plate.

In contrast, her sophomore collection, called “Organic Formality,” explored the commodification of the tropical landscape and its wildlife through the eyes of a native Floridian. Her Great Egret dress, with a pointed hip crinoline cage, was the centerpiece of the collection, which attempted to draw attention to the loss of wildlife habitat. “I used to focus on more sober topics,” she notes, but she grew tired of being sad, serious, and activist. “When I pivoted to food, I loosened up and had more fun. My work is better for it,” she says.

Sophia has achieved recognition for her creativity beyond school assignments. An open call to students and alumni of her school sought design proposals to create an outfit embodying the future of General Motors, based on the company’s archives. Sophia was one of two artists chosen to submit a design for a six-month display within the General Motors Technical Design Center in Warren, Michigan. “I chose to focus on the Corvette,” says Sophia. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” She was invited to return as a guest speaker this past February for one of the car manufacturer’s youth programs.

In addition, Sophia won the Darby Jean Award in the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment, known to many as the Fight Club of Design. It’s a live sketching competition in which designers compete under strict time constraints focusing on automotive and sneaker design. Sponsored and juried by Nike, candidates competed in two rounds of sketching (30 minutes each), based on a provided prompt. Sophia won for her creation of a men’s golf shoe that seamlessly transitions from tee time to streetwear while reflecting Nike’s bold expression. The win did not yield any financial compensation, but, reports Sophia, “I’ve already heard from Nike’s global recruitment department,” though she adds there is only a small chance she will get a position.

Focused on the Horizon

Sophia is not worried about what comes next. When she thinks about her future, she says she would be ready and willing to work in a corporate job first, whether with the likes of Calvin Klein, Nike, or another firm. Her dream is to then transition to creating her own brand.

This young talent credits her parents with instilling professionalism, poise, and confidence. They taught her that if she wanted to pursue her passion and do what she loved, she should always be professional. “They encouraged me to go for opportunities; they reeled me in when I chose some wild and crazy paths,” she says.

Another positive influence in her life was her ceramics teacher, Adam Meistrell. Now an art teacher at Community School of Naples, Meistrell describes his former student as a natural talent. He says every medium she put her hand to she did with excellence, and he adds, “She attended every class with dedication and effort, putting in the work.” He remembers that Sophia always had a strong vision yet was very teachable and believes she has exciting opportunities ahead of her.

Life will no doubt take the young fashion designer, who identifies as a big-city girl, to many stylish destinations. But well-grounded by family, Naples will never be far from her heart.

Story Credits:

Shot on location at Method & Concept, Naples

Hair and makeup: Nelly for Duality Artistry

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