How Sierra Rena Went From NASA Intern to Building SIV
Fashion tends to romanticize people who always knew where they were headed. The designer sketching collections at ten years old. The stylist raised on archive magazines. Sierra Rena’s story feels different because, for a long time, fashion was not supposed to be the destination.
Before becoming associated with artists like SZA, Tyla, and Ryan Trey, Rena’s future pointed toward science. Growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, she pursued engineering and technical disciplines, eventually interning with NASA during high school while working on aerospace projects. Fashion existed more quietly through her grandmother, a lifelong seamstress, while an obsession with sneakers evolved into studying style, identity, and the stories people tell through clothing.
While attending the University of Maryland, Rena began sewing garments during Zoom classes, styling independent artists, and building an audience online. By the time she moved to New York to pursue FIT, opportunities had already started forming. A styling assistant role during Bstroy’s collaboration with Givenchy accelerated a career that quickly expanded toward celebrity clients and creative direction.
Still, styling increasingly feels like only one chapter.
The more current story centers around SIV, a project Sierra originally launched during the pandemic through upcycled pieces while changing her college major from neuroscience to business management and marketing. Long before celebrity clients or social media growth, SIV existed as an outlet for experimentation and risk taking.
The relaunch of SIV marks a different chapter entirely. The introduction of the Slickback Bag, the brand’s first move into accessories, reportedly took eight months of sampling and revisions before release. Designed using luxury leathers, with sampled versions incorporating crocodile and ostrich textures, the bag leans into exaggerated buckle detailing and proportions that feel intentionally bold rather than trend driven. Its debut purple colorway was created in honor of her uncle, who passed away in 2016, with purple long serving as a symbol of remembrance within her family. The first release sold out, signaling that SIV may be evolving into something far beyond a personal project.
Viewed altogether, Sierra Rena’s trajectory becomes less about moving from NASA into fashion and more about continuously reinventing herself. Styling introduced her to the industry, but SIV increasingly looks like the world she was building all along.
Explore more of Sierra and SIV here: https://www.sivnyc.com
