'Glee' Star Jenna Ushkowitz Unveils Fashion Line at Southridge Mall

I have a confession — I'm a "Gleek!"

It's hard to believe that someone as serious as I am can be a closeted Glee fan. I just spent the entire summer catching up on the show on Netflix. Now you can understand how excited I was when I heard Glee star Jenna Ushkowitz, who plays Tina Cohen-Chang on the show, was going to be at the  unveiling her new fashion collection by Wallflower Vintage.

Before Saturday's debut, I sat down with Jenna for a one-on-one interview. Though I was a little starstruck, I managed to keep my composure and act professional. Here's how it went:

Me: Tell us about the line.

Jenna: Wallflower is really great with a junior feel of the denim line. We collaborated in this line inspired by my own personal style and half-inspired by the things that Wallflower came up with that I got to choose and sort of pick out, which is really great. There is something for everybody. I really think it’s comfortable and cute. You can dress something up and dress something down.

Me: How did you get involved with this? Did you say “I want to start my own line”?

Jenna: Sort of (laughs). Wallflower approached me to be their spokesperson for the year, which was really cool. We sort of just went into this. The relationship went really well. I always wanted to collaborate with something along these lines.

Me: Are you touring all over the country?

Jenna: A little bit. We’re visiting Bon-tons, Boston Store and Kohl's and all the places where the line will be sold. We’re really excited to launch it today.

Me: So this is the first launch?

Jenna: Yes, today. We’re also launching the new renovated Boston Store as well as showing the line here today. It’ll be in other stores in September.

Me: Is this your first time in Wisconsin?

Jenna: Yes. I just got in yesterday.

Me: Any fun plans?

Jenna: I went to dinner last night. It was really great. I love the vibe. It’s really fun. One of my best friends is from here.  We got to go out a little bit and see the city.

Me: What restaurant did you go to?

Jenna: La Fuente. It was fun.

Me: Tell us about the upcoming season of Glee.

Jenna: Tina sort of grew a backbone this year. She’s a little bit more confident, which is really fun to play because she was always in the background. It’s been fun to have her come out and be this completely different grown woman. She’s a senior now and taking a step forward.

The first few episodes we were doing Britney (Spears) week, again. It should be a good season. It’ll be very different but it’ll be good.

Me: Nice. I’m a huge Glee fan. I spent the entire summer catching up on the seasons.

Jenna: Thank you!

Following the interview I went to the center court of Southridge Mall for the fashion show. It was adorable! Southeastern Wisconsin girls ages 12-19 modeled Jenna's Wallflower Vintage collection. 

A portion of the proceeds from Wallflower Vintage purchases from Aug. 25 through Sept. 7 will be donated to Stomp Out Bullying™ as part of Boston Store’s Back-to-School initiative.

If you're a Gleek, make sure to check out the new season premiere at 8 p.m. Sept. 13 on FOX6. And if you're not a Glee fan, you should be!