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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet LaVigna Breeckner as a teen<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
“My mom and her cousins \u2014 Aunt Vi\u2019s daughters, Marylinda and Regina Breeckner \u2014 grew up incredibly close. When they get together, the stories just pour out. Everything from hitchhiking to Woodstock to running around New York City \u2014 it\u2019s like stepping into living history,” she raves.<\/p>\n
“Around the table, it\u2019s nonstop laughter, storytelling, pasta and meatballs. And of course, a little fashion show courtesy of Marylinda\u2019s closet \u2014 her style is truly unforgettable.”<\/p>\n
“Because we\u2019re all spread across the country, moments like this feel even more special. It\u2019s a reminder of how rare and precious it is to come together, to share stories across generations, and to simply be in each other\u2019s company.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
“I always knew my Great Aunt Vi was artistic, but during this most recent visit, I discovered something I had never seen before \u2014 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\u2019t believe the talent, the detail and the imagination she had at such a young age,” Alicia says.<\/p>\n
“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 \u2014 the way she lit up with admiration \u2014 made me realize that this work deserved to be seen beyond just our family,” she continues.<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s when I decided to put together a short video and share it on TikTok. What started as a simple way to honor Aunt Vi\u2019s creativity has become something much bigger.”<\/p>\n
For Vi, learning that her video has amassed nearly half a million views has been a thrill.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Today, people don\u2019t dress like that, but when I read all the comments on how many people want them, I can\u2019t believe it.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“They were just in my mind, and I drew them. I was voted the most talented at graduation. And the most popular\u2026 Can you imagine?”<\/p>\n
Vi was making her way through high school when her parents, who recognized her talent, made moves to get her into the Pratt Institute.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>
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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet as a teen<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Fashion was a family business, in a sense, with Vi’s father and brother starting a cashmere business.<\/p>\n
“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<\/em> and The Times<\/em> and other magazines. Our name, LaVigna, became huge and started the cashmere business in America,” she shares with pride.<\/p>\n“Women were wearing a lot of suits during that time. I got to watch my dad create these beautiful coats and suits every day.\u00a0\u00a0People wore a lot of coats, and they are not like they are today. Today they wear an overcoat, and it\u2019s just plain. But in those days, it was fashion \u2014 especially in New York. Everyone was trying to have a suit made or a coat and they had to be fashionable… Today, it\u2019s so different. I remember having clothes made for me.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n\n<\/div>
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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet LaVigna Breeckner<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u2019t happy for me to be working; I was supposed to get married and have children.\u00a0I 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.\u00a0\u00a0I was very proud of them and kept them because they were special to me.”<\/p>\n
Seeing people “loving these designs” has left Vi in disbelief.<\/p>\n
“The girls in the family would love to see these made, but I guess people like them! Thousands of people?! I can\u2019t believe it, I can\u2019t stop smiling. It is kind of a surreal thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet and family<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Vi is touched that so many appreciate her designs, especially considering how much fashion has changed since her teen years.<\/p>\n
“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\u2019t dress like we did,” Vi says.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Ultimately, life would take Vi in another direction.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n\n<\/div>
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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet and her great, great niece<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
For Alicia and the rest of the family, it’s been special seeing “so many people connect” with Vi and her talents.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“The most meaningful part has been watching Aunt Vi\u2019s 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 \u2014 that\u2019s 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\u2019t about going viral; it was about giving her the recognition she\u2019s always deserved. And now, to see her celebrated in this way, feels like the most beautiful gift.”<\/p>\n
Vi is excited to see where this moment takes her, sharing, “I don\u2019t draw much anymore; I could still do it, but I\u2019m 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\u2019t as good as they use to [be]. I do think about it.”<\/p>\n\n<\/div>
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Courtesy of Marylinda Breeckner<\/p>\n
Violet surrounded by family<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
“Even though we\u2019re scattered, whenever we come together it feels like no time has passed at all, as if we\u2019ve been living under the same roof the whole time.”<\/p>\n
“We have strong Italian roots on my mom\u2019s side, so the culture I grew up with is very collective, very open. The door is always open, there\u2019s always a fridge full of food, and there\u2019s always room for one more at the table. That\u2019s how I was raised, and that\u2019s the spirit I want to pass on to my own children.”<\/p>\n
Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n