Meet JN Llovet, The Young Designer Creating The Wildest Customized Jackets
Jacqueline Nicola Llovet Garcia opens the door to her showroom, extends a hand and starts smiling. And boy, can she smile: Llovet Garcia, the designer and owner of clothing label JN by JN Llovet, has one of the warmest smiles in the business.
Together, we step into her showroom, and the building blooms into grandeur: high, carved ceilings, exposed walls and massive windows that allow the entire studio to be washed in sunlight. The sunrays shine on Llovet Garcia’s designs, placed in the middle of the showroom, like a natural spotlight, and I immediately notice how perfectly her offbeat creations contrast with their posh home.
Llovet Garcia designs individual, statement leather, jean and army jackets that are as vibrant and vivacious as her personality. “I think the typical girl who wears my clothes is a bit like me,” she shares, her eyes shining. “She enjoys life and expresses her inner feelings through her clothes. She’s not afraid to get out of her comfort zone.”
As I peruse the racks of colorful jackets, I express my agreement—JN by JN Llovet is certainly not for the timid dresser. Every single jacket Llovet Garcia creates makes a major statement. Her designs are wild at heart and are as unique as her customer base, which stretches across multiple continents.
The label, which was launched five years ago, offers two different design processes: Customers can visit Llovet Garcia in her showroom and completely design their own luxe, bespoke leather jacket or shoppers can visit jnbyjnllovet.com and work with an online configurator to customize a more affordable jacket option.
“I started off with only bespoke,” she explains. “In the beginning, I would only have people visit my showroom to design every detail of their jacket. After a while, I noticed my customers really loved the designs I personally created to show them what was possible. So, I started selling my own collection online. For me, it was important that the idea of customization was still there, so the online portal allows you to add your own text, images and patches to the jackets. Every single design—bespoke or from my online collection—is unique.”
And with the “selfie generation” increasingly demanding customized beauty, fashion and lifestyle products, Llovet Garcia certainly entered the market at the right time.
“The idea came about five years ago when I was traveling in South America. I did a backpacking tour with my sister,” said Llovet Garcia. “In Bolivia, I went to a leather market, and I designed my unique leather jacket. Everybody on the trip LOVED the jacket. It definitely wasn’t as crazy as what I’m doing now, but it was still different from what you usually see. When I came back home, all my friends were like, ‘Where is this leather jacket from?’ And then I had the idea: Maybe I should do custom leather jackets.”
But as many of us know, the idea is the easy part. It’s turning that idea into a reality that’s the actual challenge. And at only 27 years old, Llovet Garcia was able to do what still paralyzes many people twice her age with fear—take a risk to convert an idea into action.
“After I had the idea, I just jumped right in,” Llovet Garcia continues. “I never really thought about it not working out. Luckily, I had the support and encouragement of my family and friends. I think that’s crucial.”
Like any entrepreneur, Llovet Garcia of course faced her fair share of challenges after launching JN by JN Llovet, quickly learning that in order to survive in the fashion industry, you must have a thick skin.
Llovet Garcia recalls that many distribution agencies pushed her to become more “commercial” and “mainstream.” They wanted to set her crazy creativity on a shelf in the name of making a profit. “I eventually learned to just say, ‘No. I’m going to do it my way,’” she remembers. “I felt much more comfortable after I took a stand. It’s super important that you just stick to what you want to do and don’t really listen too much to what other people want you to do. Because when you’re not in it with your heart, I don’t believe it will work out in a way that you’re truly happy with. With my new distribution agency, Modeagentur Mindner, I found the right partner—one that believes in my designs, specifically the idea to offer something diverse and unique.”
Today, Llovet Garcia’s designs are even crazier than when she first began the label, and she’s not planning to pull back anytime soon, saying it would be “amazing” to collaborate with Rihanna or Lady Gaga on a jacket. But while she waits for that dream to come true, she’s chasing another vision. Up next for JN by JN Llovet is a small collection of tees, sweaters and sweatpants, which, of course, are customized with patches, prints, stitching and a lot of color.
As my chat with Llovet Garcia draws to a close, I ask her a question that she’s certainly been asked a thousand times—her advice for other young entrepreneurs. Despite having probably shared this wisdom a few too many times Llovet Garcia, still beaming, gives a stellar response: “As long as you have an idea that you’re really passionate about, one that brings this glow into your eyes, you should go ahead and do it. There are so many possibilities and people that can help you succeed and give you support, but I think the most important thing is to just do it. Because if you don’t try it out, you’ll maybe sit there in five years saying, ‘Oh damn, why didn’t I do it?’ It sounds cliché, but you only have this one life, so you should do what you want to do—something that you’re 100% happy about.”
Follow Llovet Garcia on Instagram @jnbyjnllovet, and shop her designs here!
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