NEED TO KNOW
Alicia Martinez gathered with four generations of family to celebrate her great Aunt Vi’s 103rd birthday
Violet LaVigna Breeckner was studying art in her teens when she created fashion sketches that are going viral on TikTok
Alicia and Vi tell PEOPLE what this moment means to their family and how it speaks to Vi’s life’s journey
Alicia Martinez has long loved that her close-knit family shares it all. Recently, she decided to share a bit of their history with the world.
“I come from the kind of family where ‘family’ doesn’t just mean parents and siblings, but also aunts, uncles, cousins, great-aunts and even great-cousins. We’re spread out across the country — my dad is in Mississippi, my mom in Pennsylvania, my Uncle Steven and cousins in Nebraska, more cousins in Washington, and my Great Aunt Vi and her kids in Florida,” she tells PEOPLE.
The family recently got together to celebrate Vi’s 103rd birthday. Born Violet LaVigna, she was raised in the Bronx, N.Y., before taking up residence in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“To have her with us at this milestone was incredible, and it meant so much to be able to gather for her. Moments like that are priceless — especially watching my 8-year-old daughter spend time with her great-great-aunt and seeing four generations together in one place,” Alicia shares.
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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet LaVigna Breeckner as a teen
“My mom and her cousins — Aunt Vi’s daughters, Marylinda and Regina Breeckner — grew up incredibly close. When they get together, the stories just pour out. Everything from hitchhiking to Woodstock to running around New York City — it’s like stepping into living history,” she raves.
“Around the table, it’s nonstop laughter, storytelling, pasta and meatballs. And of course, a little fashion show courtesy of Marylinda’s closet — her style is truly unforgettable.”
“Because we’re all spread across the country, moments like this feel even more special. It’s a reminder of how rare and precious it is to come together, to share stories across generations, and to simply be in each other’s company.”
During the gathering, the family took in a book of sketches that Vi drew from ages 13 to 16. They found themselves “completely in awe.”
“I always knew my Great Aunt Vi was artistic, but during this most recent visit, I discovered something I had never seen before — her fashion design collection. My mom pulled out a portfolio and said, ‘Look at these,’ and I was completely in awe. The sketches dated back to 1935, which meant Aunt Vi was only about 13 years old when she began creating them. I couldn’t believe the talent, the detail and the imagination she had at such a young age,” Alicia says.
“At first, I only wanted to capture the moment on video for family memories. But when I got back home to Santa Barbara, I showed the collection to my mother-in-law, who happens to be a local seamstress. Her reaction — the way she lit up with admiration — made me realize that this work deserved to be seen beyond just our family,” she continues.
“That’s when I decided to put together a short video and share it on TikTok. What started as a simple way to honor Aunt Vi’s creativity has become something much bigger.”
For Vi, learning that her video has amassed nearly half a million views has been a thrill.
“I can’t believe it! Can you imagine that? It makes me feel good, oh my God!” she shares. “I had these drawings here and we never [thought] much of it, until someone commented on it. My girls, Marylinda and Gina, and my niece Diane, are amazed and try to encourage me to have them made,” she tells PEOPLE.
“Today, people don’t dress like that, but when I read all the comments on how many people want them, I can’t believe it.”
Vi explains that she started high school at just 13 and went for two years, during which time she “won many awards for these designs.”
“I was born in 1922, and I guess I started drawing fashion designs in art class in 1935 and 1936. All the designs came naturally to me,” Vi shares.
“They were just in my mind, and I drew them. I was voted the most talented at graduation. And the most popular… Can you imagine?”
Vi was making her way through high school when her parents, who recognized her talent, made moves to get her into the Pratt Institute.
“My parents and the high school saw that I was talented, so they sent me to this famous visual art school at 15/16 years old in Brooklyn called Pratt Institute. It is very hard to get into. I had to take a test to get in,” she recalls.
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet as a teen
Fashion was a family business, in a sense, with Vi’s father and brother starting a cashmere business.
“It was the original cashmere; no one else in America had it. They opened a factory in NYC and made beautiful cashmere coats and suits for women and sold them all over the world. We were on the cover of Vogue and The Times and other magazines. Our name, LaVigna, became huge and started the cashmere business in America,” she shares with pride.
“Women were wearing a lot of suits during that time. I got to watch my dad create these beautiful coats and suits every day. People wore a lot of coats, and they are not like they are today. Today they wear an overcoat, and it’s just plain. But in those days, it was fashion — especially in New York. Everyone was trying to have a suit made or a coat and they had to be fashionable… Today, it’s so different. I remember having clothes made for me.”
For Vi, the trek from the upper Bronx to the Brooklyn campus was two hours in either direction, but she was pursuing her talents. There was an opportunity to live in a dorm, but Vi’s family wasn’t comfortable with her living away from home. Instead, she endured the commute.
“There I learned to [make] sculptures and create different mediums of painting, which I was very good at. This school was not for fashion design, so I put [that] away and became a painter, which I loved.”
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet LaVigna Breeckner
Of her unique talents in fashion, she explains, “I loved to design clothes, but never thought they would be created for people. My family wasn’t happy for me to be working; I was supposed to get married and have children. I always had my things on display at that time. It was good. It was a big thing. But you know, I put them away, and that was it, and 90 years later, recently, I just started looking at them again. I was very proud of them and kept them because they were special to me.”
Seeing people “loving these designs” has left Vi in disbelief.
“The girls in the family would love to see these made, but I guess people like them! Thousands of people?! I can’t believe it, I can’t stop smiling. It is kind of a surreal thing.”
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet and family
Vi is touched that so many appreciate her designs, especially considering how much fashion has changed since her teen years.
“Well, I always dressed up. We would wear gloves and hats. As I look back, that was very special. Even putting bows in my hair. Everything had to match, not like today. Today everything is plain and this and that you know, and they don’t dress like we did,” Vi says.
“I took great pride in the way I dressed. Of course, my designs were too fancy for me to wear and would be too expensive, but to tell you the truth, I never thought about having them made.”
Ultimately, life would take Vi in another direction.
“When I got married and had my children, everything changed. After my father retired, my brothers and husband went into the business, and then they all retired, and my husband passed away, and that was the end of it.”
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet and her great, great niece
For Alicia and the rest of the family, it’s been special seeing “so many people connect” with Vi and her talents.
“The outpouring of love and admiration has been overwhelming in the best way. People are inspired by her art, encouraging us to bring her designs to life, and even calling on well-known fashion houses to help showcase her work,” Alicia says.
“The most meaningful part has been watching Aunt Vi’s reaction. Seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, and watching the joy on her face as we tell her how much the world is celebrating her talent — that’s priceless. To think that sketches she made as a teenager in the 1930s are finally being appreciated nearly a century later is just incredible. Sharing her work wasn’t about going viral; it was about giving her the recognition she’s always deserved. And now, to see her celebrated in this way, feels like the most beautiful gift.”
Vi is excited to see where this moment takes her, sharing, “I don’t draw much anymore; I could still do it, but I’m a little lazy… I did do a few sketches when I was 100. I would like to start again as I have these in my mind, but my fingers aren’t as good as they use to [be]. I do think about it.”
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner
Violet surrounded by family
Alicia, a mom of two, is dedicated to sharing Vi’s history and the rest of the family’s interests with her own kids, insisting “family truly means everything.”
“Even though we’re scattered, whenever we come together it feels like no time has passed at all, as if we’ve been living under the same roof the whole time.”
“We have strong Italian roots on my mom’s side, so the culture I grew up with is very collective, very open. The door is always open, there’s always a fridge full of food, and there’s always room for one more at the table. That’s how I was raised, and that’s the spirit I want to pass on to my own children.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.style.yahoo.com ’
