Episode 16: Jay Jaxon: 40 Years of Fashion Design Brilliance with Rachel Fenderson Part II
Taniqua chats with Rachel Fenderson, fashion designer, curator, historian and lead authority on Jay Jaxon, about the life and career of designer Jay Jaxon and her exhibit at the Queens Historical Society. As the first American to lead a French Couture house (Jean Louis Scherrer), Jay Jaxon paved the way for French and American designers today.
About Rachel Fenderson:
Rachel Fenderson was born and raised in Queens, New York, to Jamaican parents. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Hofstra University and later attended Parsons The New School for Design to complete a Fashion Studies, Applied Associates Science degree of Fashion Design. On January 1, 2011, Rachel Fenderson and her sister Marsha Fenderson, founded a womenswear company monikered: Pepper Jacques.
By 2016, Fenderson furthered her education at Parsons Paris: The New School for Design in Paris, France. She completed her Master’s thesis JAY JAXON: A Biographical Study and Media Discourse Analysis Reinstating A Designer Into Fashion History. Pursuing this degree gave her the opportunity to write the first biographical thesis study on the designer Jay Jaxon.
Fenderson displayed her first exhibition on Jaxon at the Mona Bismarck American Center in Paris (2018). At the Queens Public Library in Queens, New York, Fenderson brought her exhibition on Jay Jaxon to the United States for the month of August 2019.
To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Jay Jaxon’s historical Couturier role, Fenderson will exhibit his work at the Queens Historical Society from February 2020 – December 2020. ---- Source: Queens Historical Society