We’re looking forward to introducing you to Adaline Griffin. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Adaline, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Fishing has been a recent comfort of mine. All of these bring me joy in different areas; fishing keeps me grounded, and I often find myself in conversations in my head discussing topics such as the psychological and emotional impacts of colours and their use in patterns, or remembering my dad taking us fishing on our pond on Saturdays and our post-church walks on the property on Sundays. During these fishing sessions, I often found myself meditating on scriptures in the Bible, applying them to past experiences, and began to realize God’s providence in my life. My savior, Jesus Christ, speaks to me the most when I spend time in His word, and begin to talk to Him like a friend. His Word is Life everlasting and filled with His joy. The more I pray, the more He speaks.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Adaline and Company houses my fashion label, Adaline Griffin, AG, as well as my modeling academy, AG Academy of Modeling. Since 2021, Adaline and Company has collaborated with multiple businesses, such as Cone Denim, Boomerang Water, Rowdy Energy, and Yotrio Outdoor Patio to name a few to create wearable art. Moreover, AG has debuted twice in New York Fashion Week. In September of 2023, I showcased the “Van Gogh Collection”, eleven pieces hand-painted inspired by Van Gogh’s artwork; this collection was photographed in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), The Metropolitan Museum of art, and showcased on Runway 7’s Sony Hall.
This year, I presented three collections. On September 12, 2025, the “Reflections” bridal collection, featuring hand-sewn mirrors, and “From Your Mom’s Closet,” a streetwear and semi-formal denim featuring a collaboration with Cone Denim Mills, were showcased in the Flatiron District with Charlotte Seen. The next day, September 13th, I debuted “Memoirs of Seamstress” at Runway 7 with Charlotte Seen’s Seen Experience—a capsule line inspired by Salvador Dalí’s Persistence of Memory and my personal journaling during its creation.
AG creates art in harmony with personal storytelling, each collection showcasing a new narrative and deeper meaning. Designing bespoke pieces for women who embody art itself, and unapologetically embracing art in its rawest form. Each piece of art is a reflection of my personal story- resilience through adoption, salvation through Jesus Christ, and a reflection of God’s boundless love and forgiveness to all.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Manufactured goods have an origin story. Read the label, and you often see “Made In China”. Like these products, I too, was made in China. The difference is I do not know my origin story. I was two days old when my parents abandoned me on a bank’s doorstep in China. I do not know my parents or where they might be. As far as I know, my old life started and ended there. I was adopted at eight months old by the Griffin household. A new chapter, a novel, had commenced without my consent. I grew up in what many consider a perfect family with an older sibling and two loving parents. As I grew older, I noticed an absence, what I called a hole in my heart. There were days I would ask my mother and father who my parents were, and they would respond, “We don’t know, but we do know they loved you because you were found fully clothed.” My questions persisted: “Did they love me?”, “Do I look more like my biological mom or dad?”, “Do they regret their decision?” and “I wonder if they think about me?” I hungered for answers but was satisfied by the feeling of abandonment. The emptiness flooded my mind and twisted the knife in my heart until it left a deep, unanswered gash.
Adoption became my identity. I would hear how I was lucky to be saved from China, how fortunate I am to have a loving family, to be protected from a life of a factory worker, or worse, the potential of being sex-trafficked. These thoughts manipulated my perception of adoption. Adoption had become the savior of my doomed origin; I was saved from the alternative future others prematurely dictated before it occurred. From the mere age of five, I grew up knowing I had people beside me who cheered for me, but when the crowd left and the lights dimmed, I held on to some dangerous assumptions. My self-image was slurred. I told myself I was alone, unloved, and forsaken because of the hole in my heart. Through years of unspoken questions, silent battles, and a broken soul and spirit, I wanted to flip to the back of my storybook and see the answer key; however, I did not find the answers I craved on my own.
I dedicated life to God in first grade but had a limited understanding due to my age. People told me I was adopted into the family of Christ, but I did not understand what spiritual adoption truly meant. I learned about the Lord’s love throughout my upbringing but felt I had to earn it or, like my parents, He would desert me. I learned to acknowledge this is not the case. My relationship with the Lord grew more profound, and I slowly began to understand God’s truth. I was blessed with three specific people who picked me up when I was at my lowest, and like water, they poured truth into my life. All my life, I prayed for a real family. and though they are not blood, I was answered with three.
When I reflect, I understand my life is not a mistake, and although my biological parents neglected me, God did not. The Lord had a plan and used my adoption to help me ascertain what family truly means. I have found my family through Him. They say blood is thicker than water, but I argue water provides the sustenance for blood to exist. I now understand my actual family is those who have poured into my life and shown me God’s eternal and never failing love. I may not know my biological parents, where they are, or even if they are still alive, but I am confident I have a home and family in the Lord.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Be unapologetically you-write more, love harder, and laugh louder.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
People who face homelessness are just as human as we are. This past Spring, I was a finalist and award recipient at North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles and Wells Fargo’s “Pitch to the Pack,” a Shark Tank–style competition where students, staff, faculty, and alumni pitch textile-related business ideas. Thirty-five entrepreneurs received mentorship, training, and the chance to present to judges from both industry and academia. Then, twelve finalists competed for funding, resources, and accelerator opportunities to help bring their innovations to life. I pitched my business, Rest for the Weary, a product to give comfort to the shelterless, to raise awareness towards people facing homelessness.
As my dad and I were walking down a street in New York, a hunched-back homeless man was smoking his last cigarette and eating a small portion of lunch. He kindly tossed a portion of his small sandwich to a pigeon. In this small but impactful moment, God revealed how little things can bring purpose into a person’s life. He spoke to me about worldly possessions and how vain they are, and it is when you have nothing, you have everything. For us, the newest phone, more money, a larger house, the next collaboration, or achievement will bring us purpose to our monotonous life; however, it is the speck of sandwich- the only meal a person might have for the next week- given to a bird bringing selfless joy and a purpose to continue life. This story may not be the most glamorous or predictable, but it is one of my favorite lessons.
Through the past lesson, I wanted to raise awareness towards those wonderful people. For others to look at them without contempt or displeasure, and to remember they are someone’s child, past student, and friend. During middle school, I witnessed housing and food insecurity for the first time. My friends would tell me how their only meal was the state-issued school lunches. Stories about how a twelve-year-old had to support a whole family and how she dealt with her own mental health issues. I witnessed overwhelming and functioning grief in my friends’ lives and their resilience during the hard times.
Rest for the Weary is my passion project, and I am honored to have been the youngest participant and to be awarded “Most Sustainable” in the pitch competition. I plan to further my research on the product and continue to bring awareness to homelessness.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I loved the Lord and had an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. My fashion collections are testimonies of God’s salvation, and my life’s purpose is to bring others to Him and share the good news of forgiveness and salvation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://adalineandcompany.com/
- Instagram: adaline.griffin & by.adaline.griffin
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adaline-griffin-34b1881a8/
Image Credits
Shawn Salley, Devin Steele, Adaline Griffin
