New Canaan High School junior Sara Brindisi recalls sitting on the floor next to the sewing machine as a 5-year-old while her grandmother bent over the contraption, working away on yet another original Halloween costume—a purple velour “wizard” get-up with a cape and a hat.
New Canaan High School junior Sara Brindisi. Credit: Michael Dinan
“I sat there at her feet, with my hand on pedal, saying, ‘Can I press it? Can I press it?’ ” Brindisi recalled with a smile on a recent afternoon outside NCHS.
That’s as far back as Brindisi can trace the seed of what has evolved into her abiding, focused interest in creating clothes. After filling notebooks starting in kindergarten with sketches—crayon drawings of mermaids, fairies and princesses—Brindisi began sewing with her mom and grandma, making pillow cases and small dolls, then outfitting American Girl dolls with her own creations.
Amanda Dobbin modeling a Sara Brindisi-designed skirt. Credit: Kayleigh Pace (Photo courtesy of Caren Forbes)
This month, the teen took a massive step forward in showcasing the talent she’s been nurturing for more than a decade, and toward realizing her abiding professional aspiration in fashion design.
After taking three classes at South Norwalk’s New England Fashion + Design Association this past spring, Brindisi created—that is, she conceived, sketched, purchased fabric (at Banksville Designer Fabrics in Norwalk) and materials for, then cut and sewed together—a circle skirt with waistband and zipper, and wondered whether it may be good enough to sell professionally.
This past weekend, a few short months after introducing herself to the owner of her own favorite local shop—New Canaan’s Caren Forbes—Brindisi began taking orders through Caren Forbes for the skirt.
Emma Smith modeling a Sara Brindisi-designed skirt. Credit: Kayleigh Pace (Photo courtesy of Caren Forbes)
“It’s amazing,” Brindisi said. “It’s like a taste of what I could be doing for the rest of my life and it’s fantastic, because I love it. I love the whole process.”
She’s taken in more than a dozen orders for the wool skater skirt, which retails for $40, comes in maroon, grey or black and, Brindisi said, “flares out and hits at mid-thigh.”
“It’s wool but it feels like heavy cotton, so it’s flowy and flippy and kind of warmer than a cotton would be,” Brindisi said.
And for Forbes, the skirt itself—fashion-forward, well made and timely—is a testament to Brindisi’s rare and multi-dimensional natural ability. The teenager’s ascent—Forbes had been first approached by Brindisi at this summer’s Sidewalk Sale, and instructed the teen to direct message her on Instagram—is a testament to a perhaps even more rare quality of gumption.
Catherine Koennecke modeling a Sara Brindisi-designed skirt. Credit: Kayleigh Pace (Photo courtesy of Caren Forbes)
“She did just the right skirt, it’s something you see on the runways,” Forbes said. “It is a skirt of the fashion moment, and I think that she can draw and style as well as make the clothes, so based on that, I would say to her, ‘Bring me anything you’ve got.’ ”
“She has the talent to be able to do this, fashion design, professionally,” Forbes added. “She really is thinking when she is creating something about the next thing.”
Brindisi had sent Forbes a picture of the skirt via Instagram as well as her own bio, and the two reached a formal professional agreement between designer and retailer, and Brindisi has found herself busy with custom orders.
“This is what I want to do the rest of my life, I would love to be a designer,” Brindisi said. “I would love to be that person on the red carpet where the actress says, ‘Yes, that’s who I’m wearing,’ and just that feeling of someone wanting to wear your clothes, it would be just fabulous.”
Sam Sorbara modeling a Sara Brindisi-designed skirt. Credit: Kayleigh Pace (Photo courtesy of Caren Forbes)
The daughter of creative types—a painter and avid scrapbooking mom and architect dad—Brindisi (who came up through East and Saxe) said she gets huge satisfaction in seeing through the process of making a piece of clothing (she’s done tops, too) from A to Z.
“I really love walking into some place and having the feeling of someone asking you, ‘Where did you get that?’ and knowing no one else can get it, and you have it because it’s your design,” Brindisi said.
For Brindisi, there never was a question about which local shop, or local fashion guru, she wanted to approach with her designs and clothes. Caren Forbes’ eponymous boutique “isn’t just nice,” Brindisi said, “but it’s the perfect price for teenagers, for people my age, and it is definitely more fashion forward than most stores in town.”
“When I first went in, she [Caren] was always there and she comes over and tells you what looks good and what doesn’t and really helps. So I have always loved being in her store because it’s so welcoming, and I just thought it would be great place for me, because it’s what I would want my store to be like.”
Meaghan Lawrence modeling a Sara Brindisi-designed skirt. Credit: Kayleigh Pace (Photo courtesy of Caren Forbes)
Brindisi counts Vogue magazine spreads among her biggest inspirations—particularly the work of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen—and, asked whether she only creates women’s clothing, answered, “So far.”
As a NCHS junior—who manages to find time not only to be a full-time student but also a year-round gymnast (at the Wilton Y) who plays volleyball for the Rams in the fall—Brindisi said she’s thinking about college. While there’s appeal in the idea of attending a design school, such as Savannah College of Art and Design, Brindisi said she’s also weighing the pros and cons of earning her degree through a more general liberal arts program that offers a design option.
For Forbes, a supporter of local causes such as Thursday night’s Pink Stroll, part of what’s been rewarding in working with Brindisi is in helping a motivated young woman toward an important goal.
After Brindisi introduced herself and shared some work, Forbes said she congratulated the teenager on not just dreaming about fashion design, but hustling to make something happen.
“I think everyone has ideas, but what I admired is that Sara really followed through.” Forbes added with a smile: “That’s what separates the girls from the women.”