Vernice Holmes: The Alchemy of Storytelling and Style

Vernice Holmes radiates a quiet, transformative warmth. Instantly, you sense she is someone who has survived and speaks transformation with every word.

A multidisciplinary artist, mentor, and poet, Vernice doesn’t just wear multiple hats. She weaves them herself from threads of truth, experience, and cultural memory. This creative approach guided her as a co-creator of the 2025 Rise & Bloom fashion show in Connecticut. The event featured runway presentations and performances that celebrated identity, healing, and reclamation. At this show, Vernice helped transform the traditional catwalk into an interactive space for the community. Yet, her artistry extends beyond any single event. It is a lifelong journey shaped by joy, grief, and unapologetic expression.

“I believe in coming back home to myself.”

This was one of the first things Vernice said in our conversation, and it landed like a drumbeat. Her journey — both creative and personal — is a testament to the resilience of Black womanhood and the expansive self-expression it embodies. Beginning with her early years in Connecticut, Vernice returns again and again to the sacred act of showing up as one’s whole self.

Her work isn’t just about beauty; it’s about reclamation. "Style was survival," she shared. "Growing up, I didn’t always have the words. But I could show up in an outfit that told you who I was that day." That instinct—to communicate without compromise—became a fashion philosophy rooted in power, not performance.

Rise & Bloom: A Vision Beyond the Runway

This year’s Rise & Bloom event wasn’t a typical fashion show; it was designed as a ceremony that combined traditional runway elements with ritual and communal participation.

Curated by the talented students of the RISE program (Restorative, Invested, Supportive, Empowering), the event highlighted the work of emerging artists and designers. Many of these creators are justice-impacted youth or from system-impacted families. Vernice was brought on in multiple roles, including stylist, creative consultant, mentor, and emotional anchor. She helped guide the participants through the creative process and the event itself.

For her, this wasn’t a gig. It was a calling. “There were moments in rehearsals where you could see a young person try on a garment and suddenly become someone — not because they were hiding, but because they were seen.”

Vernice helped the students turn their lived experiences into visual stories for the show. The event featured bold silkscreened prints that honored cultural roots. Poetry-inspired looks moved down the runway with quiet defiance. Fashion became a direct expression of personal and collective stories.

“I don’t separate the sacred from the stylish.”

To appreciate Vernice’s creative ethos, you must understand her reverence for ritual. Whether it’s threading beads, assembling a look, or sitting in a circle with young women, everything is ceremony. That idea echoes throughout her work.

“When I work with folks,” she told me, “I’m not just helping them get dressed. I’m helping them remember. Remember their beauty. Their power. Their softness. Their fire.”

It’s this intersection of aesthetics and inner work that sets Vernice apart. She’s uninterested in trends. She chooses transformation instead. As she put it, “We’ve been conditioned to believe that beauty is performative. But when beauty becomes embodied? That’s liberation.”

Mentorship as Praxis

One of the most striking pieces of Vernice’s work is her devotion to mentorship. It’s not a top-down exchange. It’s mutual nourishment.

“I learn as much from my students as they learn from me,” she said, smiling. Throughout the RISE program and beyond, Vernice has worked with young creatives navigating complex intersections of identity, healing, and visibility. For many of these students, especially Black and Brown girls, fashion is more than fun. It’s political. It’s ancestral. It’s survival.

And Vernice shows up with the kind of care that says, 'You are not alone here.'

Looking ahead, Vernice’s sense of mission continues to shape her next steps. Building on her work with Rise & Bloom, she anchors several community projects across Connecticut and the tri-state area. At the same time, Vernice is deepening her own creative practice. She is developing a capsule collection that merges storytelling, ancestral motifs, and upcycled textiles. This is a love letter to her foremothers and the next generation of dreamers.

There’s also talk of a podcast, a possible poetry chapbook, and maybe a visual zine co-created with her students. Still, when asked what she’s most excited about, Vernice replies: “More softness. More truth. More joy. However, it wants to arrive.”

Vernice Holmes embodies the power of reclamation. She blends beauty and grief as she supports her community with strength and compassion. In a world that encourages us to be small, Vernice chooses to expand by living fully and embracing her story.

Vernice's most enduring lesson is that style is a narrative. She tells her own story, leading with gentle strength and clear purpose. Her work encourages others to embrace authenticity and transformation.