Jennie Garth, the 52-year-old actress, advocate and designer, has teamed with QVC on the launch of the “Me” by Jennie Garth collection.
An exclusive for QVC, the apparel collection premieres on QVC.com on July 29 at midnight EST with Garth, followed by monthly drops.
Garth explained that the “I Choose Me” brand came from an episode on “Beverly Hills 90210” when her character, Kelly Taylor, was asked to decide between Brandon and Dylan, and Kelly said, “I choose me.”
“I felt there was a gap in the needs of people my age, 40s and 50s, something that was easily accessible and effortless and an easy decision to make every morning,” said Garth, in a telephone interview from her home in California.
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“That’s why I’m heading this ‘I Choose Me’ world with a podcast alongside my clothing brand, to empower women to wear what feels cute, what they like, what feels comfortable, and not put so much pressure on themselves every day,” she said.
According to Garth, the collection is an opportunity “to speak to women in the QVC audience, and a lot of people in my audience too who have grown up with me, and love my style, or said, ‘Where did you get that dress?’ It’s for all those people.”
A big traveler, Garth said each monthly drop is inspired by a different location around the world. For example, the first one is Big Sur, Calif., which has a hazy, gray-at-the-ocean vibe, and the second is St. Ynez Valley, Calif., which is a more easygoing cowboy vibe. There are 12 to 20 pieces in each drop. She will go on-air every four to six weeks to sell the line.
Garth said she has never designed a fashion collection before. “It wasn’t even on my radar until it was presented to me, and I thought, ‘Why me?’ I haven’t really been super integral, by choice, in the fashion world all these years, and then I realized I’ve been being dressed by some of the top costume designers for screens all my life, and I think I know a little more than I’m giving myself credit for,” Garth said.
“I didn’t go to fashion school,” continued Garth, a mother of three children. “I have a daughter [Lola Facinelli] who’s actually doing that. She is my design partner. She’s 21. She’s gotten to learn every step of the way alongside me, and learn what’s it like to build a brand, design a fashion line and curate collections monthly.”
In describing her personal style, Garth said the collection reflects different sides of her personality. “I’ve gone through so many different personal styles. Some days I wake up and feel girly and soft. Some mornings I want to feel like more of a boss, some days I’m into a ‘tomboy’ vibe. So I would say I have a lot of different styles and wouldn’t want to label myself as any one thing. Every day we wake up is a new day to define or reinvent ourselves and that’s the great thing about being a woman and getting to choose how you dress and how you feel about yourself. This is my way of helping women choose themselves.”
Garth is not new to the QVC family and has had a seasonal home collection with her friend, Tori Spelling, called The BFF Collection by Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, which launched in January 2023.
When asked what makes the Jennie Garth collection unique, Rachel Ungaro, general merchandise manager and vice president of fashion merchandising for QVC, said, “Well, first of all, her. She makes it unique.
“When we saw her on air, and started to connect with her, we thought with her amazing sense of style and she fits into our Q50 Ambassadors, she was the perfect fit for us. She’s stylish, she’s a great designer. She has a definite point of view of her brand, and she’s just a pleasure to work with. She’s super passionate about this, and that’s important for us,” Ungaro said.
Garth described the collection as “an easy, effortless chic, everyday kind of clothing line.”
She said she loves wide-leg jeans. The first jean is called The Jennifer. They will also offer traditional, flare and boot-cut. The first showing will have a wide-leg jean and a straight-leg crossover front jean with a cuff on the bottom.
All of the denim pieces, including jeans, jackets, jumpsuits and skirts, use “Repreve Our Ocean” fabric, recycled polyester made from post-consumer plastic bottles at high risk of ending up in the ocean. Each denim item in the collection is made with anywhere from 13 to 28 recycled plastic bottles.
“One of the biggest parts for me that is so important is sustainability and trying to push that envelope with QVC and move that needle for them,” said Garth, adding she’s most excited about using Repreve Our Oceans for the denim.
Ungaro said the collection features both casual looks, that are rooted in denim, along with a dressy component. “She does a lot of satin, she’s doing some shine for holiday and a little bit of sparkle, done very much in the Jennie way. It all can be very versatile,” Ungaro said. She said the collection also has a faux fur component. “There’s definitely ways to take it from day to night. It can cover all different facets of your life,” Ungaro said.
The collection offers such details as pleats, ruffles and pin tucks and Garth has signed the inside pockets of the denim.
“There are pieces for everything. I wore one of our debut dresses to a wedding,” said Garth, describing a silk dress with lace detail, which she wore with one of the new sweaters over it.
While the collection has knits, wovens, dresses, skirts, blouses and denim, the first collection features more basics than the later deliveries. Sizes range from XXS to 3X or 0 to 32, and prices go from $49 to $129. Garth is launching with 18 pieces in the first drop. Ungaro said the line is created by QVC’s internal design and development team.
Although the collection is geared to the 35-to 55-year-old customer, Ungaro sees it attracting a wider audience. “We pretty much do everything that’s ageless. She [Garth] is a little more chic and contemporary, so it does have a little bit of a flair in that direction. It’s appealing to a lot of people. I think it will appeal to our current core customer as well as hopefully new customers who don’t shop QVC who know Jennie and follow her,” Ungaro said.
Garth can also see her 21-year-old daughter wearing it. “That’s one of the fun things of having my daughter codesign with me. She can bring a fresh perspective. There are options that honestly all different ages can wear, it just depends on how they wear it and how they style it and how they give it that personal touch,” Garth said.
As for bestsellers, Ungaro said, “I definitely think the denim pieces because our customer loves denim. She’s also doing a big sweater presence, which has been a decent category for us, with novelty stitches and yarns. Satin is another fabric that looks really fresh. She’s doing it in a way that can be super casual, but then it can be very dressy at the same time.”
While Garth has been acting since she was 15 years old, she said the apparel collection is a top priority right now. “Currently I’m just working on building the brand,” she said. She said when she turned 50 two years ago, she realized that she wanted to do something different. “I felt there was more for me to achieve than just waiting for the phone to ring. I decided to face my fears and take a risk on myself. It’s been in development for two years, and it’s all starting to fall into place in a beautiful way,” she said. She said the collection is exclusive to QVC for two years, “and then we’ll see where it goes.” Ultimately, she said she’d love to add footwear and jewelry to complete the look.
In addition to the apparel collection, Garth is busy with the “I Choose Me,” podcast that started a month ago. The podcast is about positivity, sharing vulnerable stories and messages, and having her friends come in and talk about things. “It’s a feel-good podcast to help people cope with things that they’re going through in life. And to connect the dots with similarities in all of our lives,” said Garth.
Asked about the recent death of her friend, Shannen Doherty, her costar on “Beverly Hills 90201,” Garth said, “To know Shannen was to love her. I am struggling honestly to believe she’s not here anymore. It happened so fast. This is such a loss for not only myself, our 90201 family, but for everyone who loved her. She was always an inspiration to me, and that’s how I will remember her.”
Garth is part of QVC’s Age of Possibility and is a Q50 Ambassador.
“Through QVC’s Age of Possibility platform, we are championing women 50-plus to live their best and fullest lives and bringing them fresh products and brands that celebrate this vibrant stage in their lives,” said Ungaro. She feels Garth will encourage women to connect to a mindset of self-care and self-love.
