Growing up in Peru in a affluent family our social life was extremely active and if you have visited South America women there are really well out together. I guess this is due to the large European influence in certain sectors. However, looking the part took a lot of work. Our family had a seamstress that would make our especial occasion clothes. So most of our wardrobe was bespoke. We had no acc
ess to fashion what so ever, even fabrics were hard to come by. So I learned to design my clothes since and early age. Later on while studying for my Master's degree I worked as a runway model for 6 years. This is what catapulted my decision to become a designer when I was faced with the decision to stay in California and get married or go to Washington to pursue my PHD. So I chose love and fashion. I enrolled for 3 more years in FIDM to pursue a degree in Fashion Design and finished my studies in Paris. There I was taken under the wings of an amazing couturier who had a boutique 2 doors down from Chanel in Rue Cambon. From there I worked with a knitwear company in Peru and later I started my own brand. In 2007 I decided to start my dress line called Jessica Barkley. Since then I have been creating dresses for the most demanding clientele in the OC and LA. I have a real passion for my clients and what I do. My duties go beyond creating the dresses for my clients I help them style the whole look more often than not. It is really extremely rewarding when my clients see me and mentioned how many compliments they got when they wore dress I made for them. That really is my reward.
