A Sea of Pearly Fashion

By Emily Oberman

I caught up with Ms. Geneveive Cruz, designer and master mind behind LA based brand Sea of Pearls, while she was on break from the brands’ most recent photo shoot. Gearing up for the Day to Night Fashion Show at the W Hollywood last Thursday, she was eager to tell me all about the brand. 

A little back story: Geneveive graduated from FIDM in ’96, at the ripe ol’ age of 17, and has since been working in the industry for almost 2 decades. She hails from a family who’s been in the industry (fashion industry that is) forever, so she was pretty much born into it, so to speak. Her mom owned factories and did production work, and Geneveive’s own experience ranges from sales to retail entrepreneurship. Having logged time at Ed Hardy (back in the day), and made appearances at 7 for All Mankind, you could say she definitely knows what she’s talking about. 

After realizing her true passion lay in design, Geneveive created Sea of Pearls, a very “LA brand” as the designer herself puts it. Sea of Pearls keeps it very California casual; high-quality pieces that are very light, and can be dressed up or down. The essence of the brand is really just to have fun. Everything is done locally in LA, and the main focus of the brand is to give back by working with charities. Every month they partner with a new charity to help support a new cause. Amazing.

Having only been around for 11 months, Sea of Pearls is making a lot of traction on the local LA fashion scene, and Geneveive’s creative process for the brand definitely comes through. With different themes a prevalent force in the brands’ aesthetic, the materials they use lean towards the eco friendly side of the spectrum as well.

Thursday nights show captured the evolution of “the Tee”, which is the true mainstay of Sea of Pearls. For more info about the show, check out Parker Whitaker Productions…For our favorite looks, check out the photos we captured at the show below, walking the runway with ANTM alums Naima Mora and Shei Phan. To shop Sea of Pearls, visit their website. Coming soon, they will have a list available on their site with all of the boutiques that carry their merchandise worldwide!

Why Sea of Pearls? 

“To me, women ARE pearls. Every woman is a pearl and it's a sea of pearls [out there]. We are all different, but we are all beautiful.” - Genevive Cruz, founder and designer of Sea of Pearls