Meet real-life Cherry Baby; Vanna Youngstein. Atomic NYC to London jetsetter, MTV house of style enthusiast, and most importantly creator, designer, and CEO of Vanna Youngstein clothing. Vanna is complicated in the best way possible and her magnetic nature and innate flair for kitsch fashion have her clothes in hot and high demand.
Fashion was at the center of Vanna’s life right from the get-go. School uniforms were always styled with big boxy letterman jackets and a scrunchie because accessorizing has always been vital to Vanna. Sketches, styles, and designs were signed, sealed, stamped off to the grandparents regularly, and by 16, V got her first job working a shop in Portobello Market west London. From there she was fully enthralled and completely infatuated with the fashion industry. She continued working at some shops, got a taste of modeling, held an internship with Alexander McQueen, and pretty soon Vanna was off to New York for a role working in design.
But it wasn’t until 2016 that Vanna Youngstein the label was born. “I always designed for other people and it never felt very me,” says Vanna. “So I started making shirts just for myself. The first was the Cherry Baby tee. Whenever I was at shoots or just walking down the street people would stop and ask me where I got my tops. I built the website in one night, very DIY, and that’s how I started”.
The brand is girly but with a totally perfect tomboy twist. Designs are character-driven and majorly influenced by the throwback styles of the ’90s and early 2000s, and the creative process comes so naturally to Vanna, she can literally do it in her sleep. “A lot of my designs come to me in dreams! I wake up and I think, ‘I gotta put THAT on a shirt.’” To design a collection or collaboration Vanna usually starts with a character and works from there. “I have so many favorite characters. Faye Wong in Chungking Express and Molly Ringwald from Pretty in Pink is a big one. She’s kind of in her own world (just like me). I also love Jackie Brown and cartoon characters like Betty Boop or Jessica Rabbit. Oh, and right now I’m re-obsessed with Barry Lyndon. I find my inspiration everywhere. Movies, music, museums, you name it. I try to soak everything in for inspiration until I get that spark. I don’t want my designs to be too much of anything, I like more of a collective look or a hybrid. I’ve always been inclined to more blended styles because of my half and half American and British background.” The mix gives a distinctive look.
The concept of characters and distinct personalities is very important to Vanna, so pieces are made in minimal quantities to ensure quality and enforce identity into each design. The limited-edition lifestyle of Vanna Youngstein gives each piece a mind of its own. Vanna works hard to make each piece completely independent yet still cohesive as a group when visually accumulated as a collection. “My favorite top If I had to pick would be the “Deer Sweatheart” tee. The text reads sweetheart in a girly cursive font and then 2 deers are mirrored on each side. Bambi has always been my nickname and so that one’s special to me.”
In recent years Vanna’s clothes have deservingly taken over the internet. From features in HBO’s Euphoria to Vogue Britain and Vogue Japan, the tops have become a phenomenon, to say the least. “I was in Spain when Euphoria came out and I didn’t realize the impact that the image of Hunter and Zendaya in the top would have. When I came back to New York I was shocked. People were messaging me and stopping me in the street. It was amazing.” As amazing as it is to see your designs on television, V is equally starstruck when Vanna Youngstein styles take the street. “I love seeing people walk past me in my tops. I freak out a bit because it brings me such immense pleasure. Seeing the unique way in which each person styles the piece is my favorite part of what I do. People in different countries, of different genders, all taking the look in a different direction. They love wearing the styles and I love seeing people wearing them; it’s a 2-way street.”
Vanna is proud of each product and every project she produces, but the atomic top is the golden child. “I just love the idea of the deadstock tops and the flocking juxtaposed with the pretty print. A little bit of everything, just like my style”. That’s the key to fashion (and to life), says Vanna; “And especially don’t take yourself too seriously”.
So what’s next for Vanna? Who knows. “I have a fall collection coming that I’m super excited for everyone to see. Hoodies, sweaters, jackets. But after that, I’m just gonna keep designing and I would love to film and direct a concept video for the brand soon and see where that could take me creatively, maybe even in time for Halloween.” To shop the brand and keep up with all the dreamy Vanna content check out Vanna Youngstein’s website, Tumblr, and Instagram.
