In the latest episode of About Your Mother, we have a conversation with Olivia Joffrey. Olivia owns an eponymous fashion line that serves as a love letter to her mother, Anne-Marie. Through osmosis, Olivia absorbed the colorful and artistic life that her mother has led — a life filled with sensory details, records, books, sand, and the ocean breeze.

Imagine putting on a dress and transporting yourself to a different time and place- this is what Olivia's fashion line can do. The inspiration comes from her mother and her once vibrant life in Spain. In conversation, we discuss how her mother influenced her work, helped her find her passion, and we talk about the power of transcendent storytelling through various channels.
My Mother, My Muse
Olivia lets us in on her memories with her mother. She shares how, before being diagnosed with Alzhiemers, her mother had led colorful and free-spirited adventures. This served as an inspiration for Olivia to create a fashion line in her mother’s honor. 

Olivia discusses how, despite being creative and artistic, her journey has been intentionally experimental to pursue something she has never done before. She continues to say she dedicates this line to her mother's grace and the expat life she has led while living in Spain.
“The fashion line is really about grace and the kind of expat life my mom was leading in Spain in that time. Where you can throw on your dress, go out and carpe diem, and go to the market. Even go to the beach in the middle of the day and have your bathing suit on underneath. Really not become a studied fashion person. I like living and feeling good about myself. That's how these women that I observed growing up were. Not just my mom, but these other women who were just intrinsically stylish without trying.” - Olivia Joffrey
My Mother’s Style: A Warm Hug
Olivia opens up on her childhood, her mother's style and spirit, and how her mother raised her on a secretary's salary. She shares how her mother still managed to live her life to the fullest despite their finances. This was a life - full of sensory and beauty - that echoed throughout their home and paved the memories for her childhood. She continues to talk about her mother and how she has shaped the conviction of what she now loves, believes, and her life perspective.
“Her style to me, it was really warm. It wasn't rigid. It was like a hug. When people came to our house for dinner, everything was fully on display. The way she cooked and welcomed people in. There was always really good homemade food and lots of wine and music on the record player. It was very aspheric, despite her kind of salary. She raised me on like a secretary salary, basically. ” - Olivia Joffrey
My Mother’s Bookshelf
In this regard, Olivia discusses her process of storytelling and the times wherein her creative juices are the most prolific. She continues to talk fondly of her mother's memories and how the things she learned from her mother's bookshelf were vast. She talks about how the commerce side was not captivating to her but rather the making sense of a woman's life as a reader.

“We loved each other a lot. The beautiful thing about that is that never dies. It can live in the clothes, it can live in these other things that carry her spirit...Click To Tweet

To know more about Olivia’s story and how she shares her mother’s story through her fashion line, download and listen to this episode.