Healing the Fashion Industry w/ Veronica Marrinan

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Podcast

[00:00:00] Hi guys. What’s up. Welcome back to another episode of Hear and Now Podcast. I’m so excited to welcome Veronica onto the show. Hi Veronica. Hi. How are you? Good. How are you doing pretty great. I got my coffee I’ll as well. Oh my gosh. Well, happy Friday and I’m sure while you guys are listening to this it’s Tuesday.

Yeah. But anyway, I’m so excited to talk a little bit more about faith & fashion. again, from a Catholic perspective. So Veronica, why don’t you introduce yourself where you’re from, what you do, things you want the audience to know. Okay. well, my name is Veronica. I am 23 and I live in Brooklyn. I, goodness, I’ve been, I’ve been a cradle Catholic my whole life.

and I started getting really into my faith in high school. I had some amazing girlfriends who really, I think the change was that, or the thing that really kept me. Loving my faith was the fact that I had people my own age, who were so passionate about it and really running towards Christ with me. and so I started caring a lot about modesty that age.

and I took sewing classes to make [00:01:00] friends when I was little. So I just started making my own dresses for school dances and, I really liked it. And people would be like, Oh my gosh, I can’t wait until you’re a fashion designer. And I would be like, shut up. That’s so like, that’s so cliche. I’m not going to be a fashion designer.

That’s so shallow, all that stuff. I was going to be an interior designer. I took like, you know, art classes, all that stuff.  but yeah, I just really thought that fashion was this very shallow thing.

And, I really, I have OCD. I have a religious I’ve CDN relationship OCB. So scrupulosity really made me feel like, the fashion just wasn’t something that I could be interested in and also be Holy, you know, and then I started reading theology of the body in college. I started making more friends who I went to fit for fashion design.

Actually. I was like, okay. I just really love this. I need to just trust God when he gives me passions and. And go for it, you know? and he really, he really affirmed to me that this is what he wanted me to do, you know? And then I met Olivia Swinford and she was going [00:02:00] to Parsons and she’s my co-founder of litany.

so we really wanted to heal the fashion industry. We were both doing internships and in school, and we saw so many things that were. Just in, in session eight of grace, from just how the models feel all the way to who’s designing the clothing, who’s actually sewing it, how people feel when they wear it.

and so we really wanted to create this experience of fashion that was dignifying and contemplative, and really put the person at the forefront of I had made and made fashion about the, the person wearing it. And. Their lives and supported them in that. instead of making them feel like they needed to fit into a box, in order to be good enough, you know, I’m all about that.

I love that so much. And I think one of the coolest things that you’re saying is like healing, the fashion industry, which healing can come in like so many different ways, but that’s one of the aspects that you don’t. Always think about it might need healing. cause you’ve always seen those people who are like, kind of on the extreme side of like fast fashion and like, you know, just wanting all of the big brands and real retailers and all those [00:03:00] stuff.

So we’re going to talk more about that for sure. I’m so excited. so yeah, and so I wanted to just like preface this a little bit. you reached out  to be on the show and I can tell you, I don’t think I ever heard of your company before. And I looked into it. I was like, wow, this girl’s got it going good.

Like, this is awesome. Like I’m all for it. And I was, I actually was thinking about being in fashion last year, too, but I. So, I guess taking the back by the fact that there are so many, like. It matters cultures and just like all of these aspects and stereotypes surrounding the fashion world. And so I’m really glad that there are some people out there who are thinking the opposite.

so I’m so glad and I love that so much. So. Tell me a little bit about how you guys decided to start this company, and going into it with this just I guess, healing and grace mindset. Hmm. Okay. So it kind of comes back to Lord’s cause we never, Olivia and I never actually went to [00:04:00] Lord’s together, but we both went there separately in college and we had such healing experiences there and it kind of really.

It really brought into like a crystallized into reality, the connection between our body and our soul and, and made it so clear what we were learning about in, you know, hanging out with our priest, friends and hanging out the Catholic center and NYU, and in this community where we were learning about our faith, we were like, Oh my gosh, this is it.

Like. God wants to come to us through corporeal reality. He wants to be a part of our physical lives and that’s why we have the sacraments and all that stuff. So, so yeah, we both thought we would just, you know, maybe one day in our late thirties, you’d get to start a fashion line together. And we were like daydream about it and stuff like that.

and we came up with a name cause of the litany of saints and we were like, Oh my gosh, we’ll do it one day. You know? And then I had worked at a hijab company right out of college because I wanted to understand what, like it was for other women of other fades dressing, modestly and kind of what that culture was.

and then I lost my [00:05:00] job there. And then a year later I was doing like, freelance photography and film. And then for another year, Olivia was working at, a company called Zac Posen. She was in production and then they just like tanked, like everything. When after she knew like a week before, you know, that things were okay kind of off, and then there was a Friday and they were just like, all right, guys, don’t come back on Monday.

And she was like, Oh, and it was right before. I mean, sometimes stuff just gets crazy. You know what I mean? So, it was right before Christmas and I was kind of like, I know Olivia’s discerning religious life, so we might not have till our thirties to do this. And so I kind of. I had studied entrepreneurship as well in college, I did a double degree.

And so I had done a business plan or litany as my capstone. So I kind of like made some tweaks to it. And I was like, no, just look this over, over Christmas, you know, think about it. And, and then, and she, we were both praying about it and stuff. And then she came back. She was like, yep, we need to do this.

[00:06:00] Like I’m entering in a year. This is our chance. And. and then COVID hit. So she was in Arizona, and we just designed the whole collection together over Skype. and it was just such, it was such a grace to be doing it with someone who knew me, not only as a designer, but also as a friend and really understood my heart.

and it really worked out well because she, Parsons is very, how do I put it? It’s very. Concept oriented. So she took like a whole year of like foundations of art and all this stuff. And she is, her mind is so great at just thinking up these ideas of like, Oh, we’re going to work with the theme of healing.

What are some ways that we can maybe work with that theme in like fabric and draping and all that stuff. And then I’m really good at the technical stuff. And I took, NFIT we take so many classes and tailoring classes our first semester. So, Yeah. And then our friendship too, she’s introverted. I’m extroverted.

So it worked out so well. and then we brought McKayla onto the team in August and everything just like flourished. It’s been. God knew what he was doing really bad. Yeah, absolutely. [00:07:00] No, that is done as amazing. And, Oh my gosh. It’s like, I think one of my dreams that I was a kid to be like a fashion designer, like, that’s it, but like to add this aspect of faith into it, like how cool that you get to do both at the same time, you know what I mean?

Like that is so cool. So you’ve made it girl. You’ve done it.

I love it. So, I wanted to ask, so what if some of your favorite aspects of your company actually, I should ask, how long have you guys actually been an official company? January. So we had, we literally, right before things started getting crazy. We were like, we made it an LLC. We, you know, we went out with her drinks with our friends.

We were like, you know, and yeah, and then everything got crazy, but, but we launched the actual collection in August, so, or no September. Yeah. September launched it. Yeah. Perfect. That’s awesome. Exactly. Only to Catholics now. And then our, our, our photo shoot was on [00:08:00] the feast of Saint Maximilian Coby.

I was like we’re we’re would it have been better? Oh my gosh. Yeah. So that’s awesome. And I, like I said, I was checking out some of your clothes. They’re beautiful. Like, Oh my gosh, I love it. So just as a little side note, all of the links will be down in the show notes for you guys to check out as well. But what have been some of your favorite aspects of the company so far?

I think really, I mean, gosh, just all of working with our suppliers in other jobs that I had worked before, founding that knee, it was very, you know, it was just a business. You know, you go to your suppliers, you asked for the fabric, you, you know, you count them to get your samples in and. maybe you get to have a fun conversation every once in a while, but that’s not really been at the forefront of things.

And, and on photo shoots, it’s always just been so like  and busy and running and all this stuff. And I thought that that was going to be how it has to be for litany, just because that’s how I was used to it. But. Are one of our suppliers are [00:09:00] the guy who sends us our line in, called me on the phone today.

And I was like, hi, Issac. I goes like I was in the, after brushing my teeth. I was like, did we miss a payment? Like what’s going on? And he was like, no, no, no. I just wanted to call and see how you’re doing. How does Olivia in the convent? And that’s been the way it’s been with like all our suppliers. And I think that’s just been such a gift of that and our photographer and our makeup person and our hair person and all of these, the models, even, it’s just been such a gift to see.

how it can be when you really put attention and love to people at the forefront of something, you know? and it just came so naturally, and I really love that about what we do. and I love somebody, so it’s great. I mean, I get to right now until we grow, I’m sewing every single garment. So it’s just such a gift.

I get to like listen to podcasts or audio books, or we put on praise and worship music sometimes. And I’m just like sitting at the side machine, you know, ironing, it’s a dream. And yeah, I just. I can’t believe that I got to do it. No, I know that’s so, so, so cool. [00:10:00] God is so cool in the way he works like that, too.

and especially when you got the opportunity to glorify him and things that you wouldn’t have thought otherwise to do, yeah. Sitting at the sewing machine. Yeah. God, thanks for putting this in my life. Like how . That’s amazing. so what is one of the things that you want or multiple things you want to convey when people come to your brand and maybe purchase your products?

I want people to feel seen, known and loved, in who they are as a daughter of Christ, you know? and I know a lot of, I mean, not all of our customers are Christian even, but. I think that treating someone with attention, I there’s this quote, I love it says, to pay attention as to love everything. And I feel like when you really pay attention to a person they are seeing, like, you can be kind of a little micro chasm or a little glimpse of God’s view of that, you know?

and I really want people to, to experience that gaze and, to know they’re good, true, [00:11:00] beautiful as they are. And then. I’d be like, Oh my gosh, this love has to come from somewhere. You know, this I, this isn’t, you know what I’ve experienced in clothing before, you know, this, this has got to mean something.

And I really want people to feel like I’m supported in their lives. You know, I think clothing is a beautiful thing, but we spend so much of our days like pulling at things and making sure they’re fitting. Right. And, you know, I mean, I hate wearing tights with skirts. You’re always like trying to make sure that it’s not coming up.

I want clothing to be something where a woman puts it on in the morning, it’s this contemplative experience she’s reminded of who she is. And then she goes about her day and it doesn’t move it. Doesn’t like do things that you don’t want it to do. It’s just it’s there. And, and you don’t have to worry about it.

You know, you’re presenting yourself to the world as your true self. and you know, and then maybe when you look down at your Capote on the subway, you’re like, Oh right. This was inspired by our lady of Lourdes. And then you like say a little prayer, you know, that’s, that’s the [00:12:00] dream. but I really just, gosh, I just want people to know that they are good and beautiful the way that they are, you know, and just, they don’t need to fit themselves into any certain size garment or anything like that.

They just, you know, the clothing comes to them. That’s that’s the goal. That’s amazing. And I, like, I just wanted to take a step into, to like, kind of reflect on that only because like I know from personal experience, you know, throwing on an outfit in the morning is like, for me, it’s a no brainer, but I also spend a lot of time like thinking about it, but to actually be like, okay, clothing can be a prayer.

How cool. Is that like, to be able to incorporate that into your lives? and I know I I’m literally doing it right now. I’m like adjusting my clothing. Like I’m sitting here just like moving my sweater around. Cause like I’m uncomfortable. But to be able to have that mindset going into it, not only from the design perspective, but from like the wares perspective.

So cool. I love that so much. So, so I kind of wanted to [00:13:00] transition the conversation a little bit about. to, I guess, fast fashion, ethical, sustainable fashion, and you love, I can already tell you love talking about that. So, I guess in your own words, how would you describe fast fashion to somebody who might not know what that means?

Okay. So I would say mostly everything that we buy right now is fast fashion, whether we want it to be or not. because basically the industrial revolution happened, right. Clothing used to be made to measure for each person. And now suddenly you can make all of this clothing all at once. And it’s great.

So now you have a bunch of different sizes and you just make the sizes and then you put them in the store, you sell them. and that was, you know, that was kind of, it wasn’t quite the entirety of fast fashion that we’ve seen now. but things were getting made at higher rates. Right? So then you get to a time like now where you go to H and M and there’s something new every single time you go.

because things are just being created at these rates that are like insane, you know? and we’re kind of being fed this, instant gratification, even in what we put on our bodies. [00:14:00] And it makes you just want more. So then you go out and you go, it’s not satisfying. You know? I mean, I think in truly satisfies except God, but there’s this sort of like, it falls apart after a couple of wears it’s not really made.

And then you also think about the price tag. I mean, I remember the first time in college that I looked at it, the graphic and saw the price breakdown of like a t-shirt for $5. And I was like, Oh my gosh, Someone’s getting paid like 12 cents to make this t-shirt like you, you know, because of all the markups that go into something, when you see something on sale at a store they’re still making, they’re still at least breaking, even they’re likely still making a profit.

And so, you know, dividing all that up and looking at it and thinking, okay, the fabric has to cost something. It’s cheaper to create something that’s not ethically made. It’s not good for the environment, unfortunately. And so, you know, cheaper things. And the experience they make, they’re bad impact on the environment.

They’re not good for the people who live in those environments where people who work. and that was like a really, really [00:15:00] hard change for me to make when, I was in school because I was just like, I’m so used to, you know, to spending 12 bucks on a pair of jeans at like, you know, forever 21. I don’t know how to, how to change.

And so I started thrifting more to help with that. And yeah. Yeah, it just fast fashion is just not, it’s not satisfying for anyone. Yeah. When you, I mean, when you break it down that way, like, it’s crazy how I guess easy it is to go to target. I’d be like, okay, they have all of these sizes there, but to actually think about and put it in perspective, what somebody else is losing that a large retailer is gaining.

It really is kind of like disheartening for those people. You know what I mean? And, you know, like you said, think about all those millions of people that have kind of lost their jobs because the industrial revolution has taken over. it’s fascinating from a technological perspective because how fast things can be made.

But from the other perspective, like all [00:16:00] these people are losing out fashion designers. Like this is their dream to be able to get to do these things. And so if the machines are taking over, it’s kind of like their worst nightmare realized. I remember being in, I interned at this. Swimwear company in college called black postman.

And they’re like a high-end swimwear company. And I remember being there and they’re so great. Oh my gosh. They’re, they’re such a great team. And I remember being there and being like, Okay. I’ll, I’ll pack up the bags. And then I realized, you know, if you see anything in like a little tiny plastic bag, when it gets shipped out to a store or something that they’re called poly bags, that those poly bags are not put in by a machine, a person does that.

And I think that we kind of get this, like now we have sewing machines and that’s kind of like the machine that does everything, but there’s still someone who has to sew it and read the machine and, and do all of that work. And. I mean that is work, you know, and people should be getting paid fairly for that.

and you know, 65 cents an hour is just not cutting it, you know? Oh my gosh, no, I was mad [00:17:00] when I was losing my $9 an hour to tax. Like what the heck? and I was working retail at a dance store and. You know, like I said, just to see how much goes into that. It’s like, that’s not fair, but like there’s other people that are kind of having it worse than we are.

This is so not fair for them either. so what do you think are some ethical ways that we can start to almost heal the fashion industry? I think first off is. buying secondhand, if you’re going to buy, if you, if you don’t want to save up for a garment or it’s just not in your budget at the time, secondhand is the way to go.

I think I hadn’t thought about this until yesterday actually, quite as much, but we went and volunteered at this organization called fab scrap and they, they, recycle like bits and bobs of clothing. So like I was going through like samples and samples of jeans from like express, you know? and we, you know, Put it into whatever it’s supposed to go into in terms of fabric, content, or fiber content.

And then it gets used for [00:18:00] different things. Right. And I remember I was thinking about it and I was like, Oh my gosh, there’s there was spend X and literally everything I put into these bags and I was realizing. There are microplastics in, in everything that’s made like polyester, like man-made fibers.

and so when you wash things, those come off in the wash and they get into the water. And so yesterday I was kind of like, it would be so great if someone could make like a filter first, like a washing machine. And, and then literally everyone in the DMS was like, Hey, do this. I just looked it up. So like getting that for your washing machine, they have like little bags that you can put like polyester garments in or, and a filter that you can actually put on the washing machine if you don’t live in an apartment building.

and then also just like looking at your closet and looking at what you actually wear on the regular, you know, keeping that, and then. You know, saving up for things that are gonna last you for a very long time, because even if you don’t want to wear it for a very long time, you can resell it. You can give it to a friend.

and I mean, our goal at Whitney is to make something that literally last your entire lifetime. [00:19:00] So, and that’s why it’s made with people’s measurements. And, you know, we have lifetime operations and stuff like that. So, yeah, but that’s like, One little part of it, you know, there’s so much that each of us can do that to sort of help you commute.

Yeah. Yeah. Have you put any thought into, I guess like other ways, other than what you just talked about, that we, as like the listeners can take action for as well? I mean, definitely all of, like getting a little baggie to put your, your, polyester garments and, mending stuff. If it rips like. You know, there, if you have a friend who knows how to sew or, you know, how to hand stitch like Mendez, you know, you can put a patch on a pair of jeans if they rip, instead of just throwing it out, you know, recycling, like looking up ways to recycle clothes, like pap scrap.

if, you know, even, I mean, this is going to sound gross, but even like old bras can be recycled. So you know, that stuff can be turned into, insulation that goes into like moving blankets, you know? So literally, you know, If it, if it’s in your hands, something can [00:20:00] be done with it. and, and yeah, just like buying things that actually make you happy too.

I mean, this sounds like a no-brainer, but then you’re actually going to want to wear it all the time and it’s going to actually be meaningful to you and. It’s not just going to become something that sits in the back of the closet or that ends up in a landfill, you know? Yeah, absolutely. And it’s funny you say that because I was, this is going to sound so stupid, but I was watching, sweet, licensed Zack and Cody on deck.

Oh, not stupid at all. So London said actually made me think, was that she said something about wearing her outfit. We’re like, Oh my gosh, I have to like rewear this outfit. I never wear an outfit more than once. And so it didn’t really occur to me until just now, but like, how do you, how do you break that stigma?

How do you break that mindset of rewearing things is okay. Even if you have a social media platform where it’s okay to rewrite our three, where things and repurpose them in other clothing and outfits you wear, [00:21:00] I think honestly just. I mean, we just need to start wearing our clothes more often, you know? and I mean, there are like clothing rental services that have like craft up to kind of create another solution to this, which is like, you just read clothes, like three garments for a month or whatever.

and I think that’s great for people who are like very much in the public lie, like the first lady, the Congresswoman and stuff like that. because yeah, that is a stigma that exists in it. Stinks, but it’s there. but I think for each of us, I mean, I love just like on an afternoon, like going through my class and thinking of different ways that I can put things together and stuff like that.

And I think that really just like getting creative with things. and honestly, like I, when I was in college, I studied abroad with Franciscan university for a semester and I would wear something to class and people would be like, right. Oh my God. Anyway. And people will be like, Oh, my gosh, that looks so good.

And I can never pull it off, but you can cause you, you study fashion and I’d be like, no, like, you know, just don’t be afraid to dress up. You know? And I think that that sometimes we like put ourselves in a box where we’re not [00:22:00] going to wear something again, because we think there’s only one or two ways we can wear it.

But like techno, you know, turn a address into a shirt, tie it up, you know, and put it over, like, you know, even putting shirts over dresses is like my favorite thing, because suddenly you have a skirt, like where did that come from? That’s awesome. and something you just said, just made me think, so how has COVID affected what you choose to wear at a day? Cause I know a lot of people, including myself have chosen to just stay in lounge, wear all day, but. It’s a mindset that I’m willing to break.

Let’s just say let’s just put it that way. Yeah, I think, I mean, honestly, if I’m being for real right now, I am wearing PJ pants while we’re doing it. and I definitely have so many days where I’m just like, Nope, we’re going to, because he can’t be at the beginning of COVID. I was like, I am dressing up like.

My mentality was like, I don’t have anywhere to go. So every day, I mean, I like [00:23:00] the person, Dwight Schrute quote, where he goes every day is black tie optional. Like, that’s kind of how I live my life. And I was like, fall down to the living room. I was like, I’m going to rip out my prom dress. We’re going to, we’re going to go home.

And then after a while I was like, this isn’t comfortable, you know? so yeah, I think, but I think that, Challenging myself to wear things that I would normally wear out has been really good for me because it gets me more productive. and it actually, it keeps me from like sitting on my bed, which sounded like the littlest thing.

But once I got on my like, it’s relaxing time. Oh yeah, my cat and a cup of tea. and then I don’t get work done. So, Yeah. Even something as simple as throwing on a pair of jeans or like a nice skirt has been so helpful for me.

I was gonna say like my day pretty much consists of coming downstairs, eating breakfast, sometimes recording podcast, then going back upstairs to do schoolwork. So I’m not really leaving the house. But there’s some days where I’m like, no, you’re putting on a sweater. You’re putting on earrings. That way you feel a little bit more put [00:24:00] together.

I will say that year things and hats are game changers for me. Like that is really like, by the way I wear this, like all of my interviews, not our, my gosh, it’s like your interview hat. You wear a lot and this is one of them. That’s a perfect way to put it, but yeah, I think, I think of the 12, most recent Instagram posts I like put up, I think nine of them have featured this hat, so that’s okay.

I’m using it. I’m using it a lot. I’m getting a lot of wears out of it. Okay. So that makes me feel a little bit better. So yeah, no, I think. I think just changing that mindset of like, okay, well, you were really, really affects how you feel like mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. and so that kind of leads me to another question is, do you think there’s a contemplative aspect to wearing clothes, in creating and in the wearing perspective?

I think absolutely. I mean, Olivia, I [00:25:00] mean, Olivia is a Dominican sister right now. She’s a postulant with, with the Dominican order and, Hawthorne, New York. and so obviously Tom mystic thought was like a big part of our friendship and still is. And so, they talk a lot about the fruits of contemplation and, and we like.

That’s when we first got our scarf samples in, they were the first thing we made. These are the literal fruits of our contemplation, like holding them in our hands. And I think that, you know, it’s so easy to, as a designer, just look at like a theme and say, okay, like we like the seventies, the seventies are in right now.

So we’re going to design a collection inspired by the seventies. And that’s it. You can get to the bottom of that after awhile. You’re not going to feel inspired anymore. but actually, I mean, something that never ends is our relationship with God because God never ends. Right. There’s always so much more to learn about our faith.

There’s so many more ways to grow. I’m never going to be the same person that I was yesterday. and that continuous, like renewal has just completely changed the way that we design, [00:26:00] Because there’s always something deeper and it’s a little vulnerable because there’s something very personal about it, you know?

because this is our prior life, you know, we’re, we’re sort of putting our hearts into what we make. but I think that that really brings something to another level where. You know, if we’re contemplating, as we design than someone who’s wearing it and knows why we’ve made it this way and what we did, we have like a whole page on our website about it.

Someone knows that, and they have that information, like that changes the way that they wear a garment, you know? And so something as simple as like tying in a different way, Like if we have a lot of gathers and we kind of think of that as like Mary gathering us in under her mantle, you know? And so you go and you gather something differently and it, the idea is that suddenly this is something different, you know?

this is something more, more spiritual. and I think it should be that way because, you know, I think our clothing can be an outward sign of an inward reality, you know, kind of like the sacraments. Yeah. And I think that, I mean, God [00:27:00] wants to come to us. Through our entire selves, you know, and that’s why we have the sacraments.

And I think that, you know, bringing that through that line of thought and contemplation through clothing is really. It’s a place that, you know, it’s fertile ground. Let’s put it that way. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I honestly don’t think I would have ever put it into perspective that way, because there’s just, there’s so many things out there that God is working through, but you just don’t take enough time to stop and really think about it that way and putting it into that perspective.

Yeah. and so I think one of the coolest things from taking philosophy classes, is kind of putting this like contemplative aspect into things. and so right now we’re really studying metaphysics actually. So I will be praying for you, girl. You guys thank you. But I will say like, It’s kind of one of the most fundamental things that people need to know, but it’s so overlooked.

And because [00:28:00] there is just this transcendental aspect of metaphysics and philosophy and theology, that it’s something that you don’t often think about from this world. And so right now we’re studying, you know, the good versus the evil aspect and how our soul and our bodies are really. Just in the Manichean perspective, this is

in the Medicare perspective. You know, our body is we’re evil. Our bodies are considered evil. They’re matter. They’re not created by God, but in the Catholic perspective, they’re like, Oh no, honey, so wrong. And how our, how our bodies just have vanished. Perfect can like perfect union with our souls to make us who we really are.

And so I’m like, I’m so happy right now. I’m on cloud nine and talking about

pumping right now, but how’s it, it’s just this union that without our souls and without our bodies, we wouldn’t be who we are. And [00:29:00] so do you think that this is how I’m bringing it back? Do you think that there is a connection to. Are outside our bodies and our insight and our souls within the clothes that we wear.

Absolutely. I mean, you kind of said it so well earlier that like what we were even just in being at home, putting on something different can totally affect our spiritual life, our physical life, you know, how we feel emotionally. and I think that that really, it becomes so much deeper. In the Catholic perspective, because I mean, we believe in the resurrection of the body, which I think is just the coolest thing ever.

and you know, so I mean, our bodies will live on in eternity, so whatever we do with it now is happening. It’s, it’s, it’s never going to end, you know? and I think that that’s just. That’s not so much to say that, you know, that we have to wait until things are, are until our bodies are complete and full and wonderful and beautiful, although they will be in the resurrection of the body.

I think it just, it really puts into perspective. What I’m doing now has ramifications in eternity, [00:30:00] you know? and so that’s just crazy to me. Oh my gosh. but yeah, I think. the fact that, you know, the fact that in Genesis, when Adam and Eve made, you know, close out a fake leaves, God was like, no, I’m going to make you something better. And he killed one of the animals to make clothing for them. And that was the first time that God had ever like, killed one of his creatures, you know?

but it was like, this is a worthy sacrifice. For your body to be clothed with dignity. and I think that just has, has multitudes to say about how much God cares about our bodies and our souls being connected and just even what we wear matters, you know? Yeah. Oh, I love it. This is so inspiring. I’m so happy.

That’s why like religious communities where I have, it says something about their life. And I mean, it’s like, people were not called to wear a habit specifically, but we can still wear something that has [00:31:00] meaning and says something about who we are and our relationship with God, you know? Absolutely.

Absolutely. And you know, it doesn’t necessarily, I think a lot of people have a limiting mindset that wearing things to glorify. God is limited too, I guess. Sacramentals and certain religious items like a cross or a crucifix or things like that. but to take it a step further, what you wear, what you do and what you like, and body is, that’s another thing.

And then in of itself, and I think that is so cool. And that there are some people out there that kind of make that connection like you. And I think that’s just so amazing. I love that so much. So if you could leave the listeners with any piece of advice today, regarding healing, the fashion industry, what would you want to say?

Hmm. I would say start with healing yourself as the most important part of. Like what you, where you’re the most important part of the outfit, you know, and I think that so much [00:32:00] of the brokenness in the fashion industry has to do with individual people feeling small about themselves and not feeling like feeling that they need to prove themselves in a way that, that that goes against their dignity, you know, You know, I need to be like, you know, models who don’t want to eat a lot.

Most of the models I’ve worked with for it are hamburger onset, which makes them so happy. but you know, trying to fit ourselves into a mold that, that isn’t who we are, you know, whether that’s physically, whether that’s like. Design wise, you know, I had so many professors in college who would be like, okay, but like, I want you to design like a collection in all black.

And I was like, okay, I get that. I have to do that because you’re my professor and this is a class I don’t want to, you know? And I think that just really, you know, so often when we are broken in ourselves, which, you know, we’re on earth, we’re always going to be to some degree, but. when we don’t have that close connection with God and a true understanding of who we are, it shows in everything we do.

and I [00:33:00] think that, you know, learning how to, live out of that, that place of love and pay attention to ourselves, you know, And, you know, so that we can pay attention to people around us. I mean, our goal is I want women who were one of our garments to be moved and changed within themselves. so that then, you know, by wearing the garment and then they are more fully themselves and they’re able to bring Christ to the world, you know, and I think that’s not that’s that relies mostly on, on these women, you know, their coworkers and in this work and, and just being comfortable, being fully themselves, you know?

And so I think that really like bringing that to God and, and asking him who I am, you know, like tell me who I am. Tell me how on yours. and. So that I can live out of that truth. Absolutely. That is so inspiring. And I want to leave it there. [00:34:00] My job, I love it. So good. So the last thing I want to ask you is where can listeners connect with you?

Hmm, you can find us on instagram@litany.nyc. we have a website, litany nyc.com. you can email me, honestly. I, so just chat with people at mines, Veronica, the nyc.com. and yeah, you can find us there. was the other one. It’s on Facebook. So yeah. Yeah. All of the show notes we’ll include all of her links as well.

So Veronica, thank you so much for coming on the show. I had such a wonderful day. It was so great to meet you and meet someone else. Who’s just so overflowing. Thank you guys so much for tuning in this week. to this episode of here now, podcast, without further ado, I’m going to close this out, have a wonderful week and we will see you next time.

Bye.