It takes a while before we start shooting. I’ve already apologized for being late, and for having to catch my breath like a grandma after walking up five flights of stairs in heels and a dress that’s way too heavy for this brutal heat, and for starving and urgently needing to chow down the bag of sweet potato chips I grabbed in the deli across the street. But after thirty minutes of idling, I realize that Brianna is a chatterbox. Not one of those annoying ones that make you want to pull your hair out; on the contrary: I’m learning things! While I quietly sit, she tells the PR lady that she stores her furs in the freezer – “that’s the only way to keep them from falling apart over the summer” – and that her kitchen cabinets hold no food, just folded garments  – “Unfortunately I like clothes more than food so I make space for my priorities. I can offer you dark chocolate and sweaters, that’s it.”

They discuss the untraditional ways of dating in New York City, how she dropped out of Parsons, her band Bad Girlfriend and why she loves real life muses like Alexa Chung so much. When we touch on the subject of work-outs, she remarks that it makes sense that one’s arms get muscular from riding a bike because hers were practically incapacitated after taking her first riding lesson a few weeks ago. “I had a fight with my dad when I was learning [as a kid] and refused to finish the lesson because I didn’t like his attitude!” she laughs. “But recently on a weekend trip my friends were determined to teach me. They took me on a little road and held the bike until confident I could go on my own. I crashed so many times – stopping is not my forte – but no major injuries. And my arms killed the next day from bracing myself with fear!” So yeah, there is no shortage of entertainment in this small Lower East Side apartment.

“Do you want me to turn on the AC?” she finally asks, observing my reddish face with painstaking pity. “Or I can give you a slip dress to wear?” I beg for both. She offers me a light grey, vintage silk dress and suggests I go barefoot. Thank you. Much better. I never met Brianna before today but this act of soldiery kindness makes me believe we will be friends. She loves to iron – so do I. She bursts out laughing every eight minutes – hello. And she has such a passionate love for vintage that it became her job – same. For the past five years, she has been working as Head Designer for Reformation, an increasingly popular, sustainable clothing brand with just one mission: to make women look good, while being eco-friendly. “We try and make the best choices for the environment possible when manufacturing, which is all done in house in Los Angeles. But we don’t want the ethics behind the clothes to play into the appearance. We want girls to buy the dresses because they love them. The “green” aspect is just the way we feel clothes should be made.”

Brianna Lance grew up in Dallas, Texas. She’s a Southern lady who doesn’t reveal her age because “it’s forbidden to answer that question”. Her mom was a nurse who went back to school later in life to become an interior decorator. “Her specialty is kitchens and baths and she is wonderfully creative,” smiles Brianna. Her dad was a aerospace engineer, then a telecom VP, and now an urban fantasy writer. Her older brother plays upright bass in Country & Western bands in Austin, and her older sister trains horses in San Diego. Though she had her share of ridiculous summer jobs – at one point she was a wedding cake decorator for example – Brianne always wanted to be a fashion designer. “I used to steal and cut up my dad’s beautiful socks and make them into minimal dresses for my Barbies,” she smirks. Her first vintage purchase was a pair of minimal platforms. “They were so chic: two thick black straps across the top and a wooden sole. They looked like the ones Celine did a few seasons ago. I was so proud of them.”

Much of Reformation’s philosophy and design penchant shines through in Brianna’s own closet (and kitchen cabinets). She loves comfort and mixes glamour with dorkiness. “I don’t like feeling controlled by my clothes,” she shudders. “I think you should be able to walk or dance in whatever you wear! I love to mix really feminine and glamorous things with something masculine or dorky, like bias cut slip dresses with Adidas or a big colorful vintage fur with some old Levi’s. I also like to show a bit of skin whenever possible…” She’s basically a “Ref Girl” herself. “We want women to feel confident and love their bodies no matter the shape so it takes some confidence and free spirit to wear our things.” And there’s no shortage of that either. Over the course of the next three hours I am more and more convinced that Brianna is the real deal. She’s sincere when we talk about the world, but doesn’t take herself too seriously. And she doesn’t know where she will be in ten years; she’s too modest for that. “I always used to have a clear idea of what I wanted,” she says, “but recently I feel that life has given me opportunities that I couldn’t have imagined. So I try not to predict anymore and just be open to new turns.”

Brianna is wearing a combination of Reformation dresses, Alex Olson T-shirts and her own vintage treasures.