Gina Vincenza Van Epps, a Frewsburg graduate who is now an Emmy award winning celebrity seamstress, most recently designing costumes for Lego World’s first parade. Submitted photo

A graduate of Frewsburg Central School has made a name for herself as a seamstress and designer, most recently designing costumes for the first Lego World Parade in Carlsbad, California.

Emmy Award Winning Celebrity Seamstress, Gina Vincenza Van Epps, began her interest in sewing when she was eight years old, learning from her grandmother.

“My grandmother, Emma Nalbone of Jamestown, taught me how to sew ‘lap robe’ quilts when I was eight,” Van Epps said. “She cut up rejected clothing from the church thrift store, to make the squares and donated the tiny quilts to people in need. By the time I was in high school, I started making my own clothes because my worst nightmare was wearing some outfit from ‘the mall’ that everyone else was wearing.”

Van Epps was a concert tour celebrity seamstress for over a decade. She’s had four Emmy Awards Nominations and one win for her work on Shakira’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Costumes. Her work began getting a lot of attention after that, she said, including many offers to design entertainment costumes.

For two years before designing costumes for Lego World, Van Epps spent time designing and managing production on over 400 costumes, including some fiber optic designs, and 200 boots for Enchant Christmas, which sets up a holiday long stadium show in five to nine cities throughout the United States. Van Epps owns a full service Design House, has done film work, industrial and tactical design, fashion, has work in three museums and all kinds of other sewing related projects.

For the Lego World Parade, Van Epps said the goal was to design the costumes to match the theme of each toy-like float for the performers to wear as they danced alongside each Lego themed float. The six floats involved represented a line of toys from Lego, including a LEGO® City Fire Truck, a swashbuckling pirate ship, and floats inspired by LEGO® NINJAGO®, LEGO® Friends, LEGO® City Deep Sea Adventure, and LEGO® DUPLO®.

This is the first parade that Lego has ever done for their theme parks, launching in May at Legoland in Carlsbad, California. The parade features six LEGO® themed floats, an exclusive ensemble of LEGO® characters and more than 50 performers. With the successful launch of the Parade, there is great potential that it could march its way to other LEGOLAND® Parks, like LEGOLAND® New York, in the future.

“It was quite an honor and a challenge that lasted over a year developing the designs,” Van Epps said. “As a former Costume Fabrication Specialist for Universal Studios, I had the unique perspective of working on parade costumes for several years. I believe my experience as a pattern maker and seamstress makes me a better designer over people who don’t have those additional skills.”

In the future, Van Epps plans on opening a sewing maker space through her nonprofit. This space can be franchised by anyone wanting to start a local artisan design and sewing center, with the goal being to “support local design and production vs fast fashion and forced labor at slave wages.” One of the reasons why Van Epps wants to begin having local sewing maker spaces is because of her experience taking a Home Economics Class.

“I became an award winning seamstress and designer after learning more sewing skills in Mrs Cable’s Home Economics Class at Frewsburg High,” Van Epps said. “That was the first and last sewing class I’ve ever taken. Because they’ve removed these kinds of programs from schools, is one of the reasons why I’m working on a plan for local sewing maker spaces.”

Besides the Home Economics class, Van Epps also credited her grandmothers and great grandmothers for helping her develop her interest in sewing.

“I definitely have two grandmothers and two great grandmothers who were seamstresses, to thank for putting so much ‘thread banging’ in my bloodline,” Van Epps said. “Anyone who remembers me from high school will tell you what an ‘interesting’ wardrobe I had, compared to everyone else at school. I was known as ‘Black Gina’ and to this day still wear a mostly black wardrobe. So much for that being ‘a phase’ I’d grow out of.”

Overall, Van Epps said there are many different ways to make a living as a seamstress.

“I followed my passion, quit my day job, and found a multitude of ways to make a living designing, making patterns and sewing,” Van Epps said. “By constantly sharing my work and keeping my profiles updated on my website at ginavincenza.com, LinkedIn and all over social media, fun work finds me, regularly. I think it’s safe to say ‘I made it’.”