Story / Augusta Gail
Photos / Kristy Benjamin
As if Valentineâs Day couldnât get any cuter, try celebrating it by hanging out with Bunny Holiday. Weâre talking cuteness overload. When Bunny walked out to meet me for our interview, she was dressed in a pair of velvet pink leggings (her own design), a white tee, and white sneakers with glitter hearts painted on the front. Her waist-length, brunette curls were tied in two ponytails, and brightly colored hair jewels shimmered pink and blue and gold in the sunshine.  Not only did she look adorable, she looked familiar â which I soon realized is because Iâd seen her face on mega huge ad campaigns. She used to model for American Apparel, and does most of the modeling for her current brand, self-titled Bunny Holiday. We met up to discuss her fashion line â a colorful, sexy, super fun collection of sheer dresses, mesh body suits, vinyl skirts, and more (all made in the U.S. and made ethically!). We talked about her time with American Apparel, the importance of girl-power, social mediaâs impact on the fashion industry, and wearing swimwear to parties (because, why not?).
Are you a California native?
No, Iâm from Canada!
Oh! I love Canada â there are so many awesome people from there. How long have you been in LA?
Iâve been here for 8 years. I came to work at American Apparel, because I was working at one of their stores [as a sales associate] in Canada. And I actually got discovered, because I was wearing a pair of leggings, that like, Iâd altered myself, and Dov randomly came in the store and said, âYouâre not wearing American Apparel!â And I was like, âI am, I just altered them.â And then we made the high-waisted leggings!  So yeah, then he shipped me to Los Angeles and I started working here.
Oh how cool. What were you doing?
Kind of like, product development and graphics….and I learned about the sewers, I had to go to stores and do all the merchandising. And I did the online merchandising, I was basically trained all around. And then I started modeling at the same time.
Would you say California has influenced your style and your line?
Oh of course! My line with American Apparel was actually called Cali Sun & Fun.
Oh my god *having a girly freak out* thatâs your line?? I LOVE that line â I have so much stuff from Cali Sun & Fun!
Oh Iâm so glad you like it! *we have a several long minute discussion about our mutual love for spandex and swimwear*
How would you describe your line? If you had to pick a couple of words.
Itâs kind of like if Barbie went to an outer space rave!
I love that. Coolest Barbie ever. Okay, who are your style icons?
I love Vivienne Westwood, sheâs one of my favorite people. I love Cindy Crawford. Oh and Paris Hilton! Thereâs actually a picture of her in my clothes in Galore Magazine, which I was stoked about.
Whatâs your favorite style era?
I go betweenâŠitâs like I combo 60s and 90s/early 2000s. Itâs like I slam them together!
Those are both such great eras, and I can totally see the influence from both. Whatâs your favorite part of designing clothes?
The initial sampling and creating of something. And I love looking at fabric, and when I see a fabric that I get excited about, I love the feeling of like, ooohh, what am I going to do with this?
Itâs so cool that youâre hands-on with everything. I donât know how you stay organized.
I try to keep the wheels on the track. *laughs*
Social media â what are your thoughts on it in regards to being a creator? As a designer and a model, how do you feel about it?
I mean, you have to do it to have a brand right now. I donât love it, but itâs part of my work. Sometimes it can be fun. But it has taken over the industry. If you donât have the followers you canât make the sales. You really have to create that following and you have to dedicate the time for it. You have to have your stuff on the girls who are big on Instagram. Which is great! Itâs a great platform for people to see your stuff. You can use it to your advantage, but itâs also highly competitive.
Have you wanted to be in the fashion industry ever since you were little?
Yeah! Totally. Since I was a child, Iâve been dreaming of having a store. When I was little, my aunt â who does a lot of sewing and knitting â we would make Barbieâs outfits together. She totally turned me on to crazy fabrics.
I was looking at the bio on your website, and you describe yourself as being full of girl power, and I just wondered what does that â feminism, girl power, etc. â mean to you?
I guess, I mean, just being powerful as a girl and as a woman. Like, you have to stand your ground with guys sometimes. And in this industry, even fabric vendors, all that stuff is run by men. And Iâm constantly having to haggle and stand up for myself with these dudes.
And youâre like this tiny, adorable person.
*laughs* And yeah, I want girls to feel confident and good about themselves. I want them to wear what they feel like, and not be afraid about reflecting their personalities and their styles. You donât have to hide. When I moved here [to LA], I realized you donât have to feel restricted â I mean, I always dressed kind of crazy, but then once I came here I was like, âIâm wearing swimsuits to parties, as if I give a fuck!â *laughs* Thatâs amazing. Thatâs totally how it should be, so thank you for creating a line that allows girls to feel that way.Â
Okay, so what do you do when youâre not working?
I do work a lot! But then when Iâm not working I host the party Bouncy Castle at The Lash. And thatâs super fun â itâs like rave music. And then sometimes I make music on the side, and I love styling young artists too. Ooh and I love baking and cooking.  And exercising!
All of the good stuff! So whatâs next? Whatâs in the works right now?
Right now Iâm working on spring/summer. Working on knocking out some new swim, and Iâm going to do someâŠI get a lot of requests for some of my old styles from Cali Sun & Fun. So I might update those a bit! Oh! Iâm also trying to break into Japan. I love Japan and I love super kawaii, Iâm very influenced by that tooâŠand itâs pretty cheap to get a retail store there, so I actually might get a store in Japan before here!
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