Get in the holiday spirits. That’s some advice from Earlecia Richelle, the North American brand ambassador for St. Germain. The mixologist has spent decades at the intersection of fashion and food, curating cocktails for Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, and other major names who need her help perfecting VIP events.

We asked the Washington DC native how she found this industry niche, ways to spice up our own drinks, and how she takes the runway to the bar cart.

When did you first get into drinks?
I came to New York at the tender age of 17 to pursue a career in fashion. Waiting tables was my main source of income while I was interning at fashion publications. I eventually moved into styling, which can be lucrative for a month, then you have no job for 4 months. After working in the industry for a couple years, I wanted to create my own magazine, so I went to grad school at the London College of Fashion. When I got back, no one understood what my degree was in the United States, so I found myself back in restaurants.

Did you go back to being a server?
I started bartending at an Italian bar in Harlem, and a colleague encouraged me to enter a cocktail competition. I won 2nd place and realized I could tell stories with cocktails. I continued to do these competitions, and eventually my mentor Colin Appiah introduced me to the world of brand ambassadorship. He encouraged me to apply for a role as a Grey Goose ambassador and I ended up getting the position. I’ve been on this side of the bar for almost 4 years now.

How do you tell stories with mixology?
Just like you have conceptual chefs and chefs that literally create art with food, that’s how I saw [cocktails]. I’ve always had a sense of different flavors, different cultures, different ways to approach food. That interest and my understanding of the visual side of textures and color—I combine those with my passion for taking common things and creating stories out of them. I’ve created cocktails focused on racism, a cocktail focused on women’s liberation, and cocktails that take you to another world.

What brought you to working with Anna Sui?
We worked with Anna Sui for New York Fashion Week, and her whole collection was based on this tropical getaway. She had [her show] at a legendary restaurant in New York City and wanted a cocktail to be a part of the experience. I partnered with St. Germain and created a bespoke cocktail [based on] the inspiration and colorway of her collection.

What’s your process for translating a collection into a cocktail?
I’ve always looked at it very similar to how I would look at a design. Most designers have mood boards that go deeper into the feeling they want, and sometimes they have things like pictures of locations or foods. I take those inspirations and start thinking in terms of flavor. Anna had prints with hibiscus flowers, so I incorporated hibiscus into the cocktail. Then [for our 2nd collab in December] it was, “How can I take tropical influences that would make sense for holiday?”

And the answer was?
[Anna Sui’s] beaded bag has these beautiful greens and purples. I knew I wanted to do something that had that rich green color to it, using hibiscus, herbs, absinthe—which feels very celebratory, almost art deco-esque—and then champagne.

What other flavors should we add to holiday drinks?
I definitely think champagne, prosecco, cavas. Bubbly reminds me of celebration so that brings joy. Also, aromatic flavors! We think of herbs as being very spring / summer, but a lot are year-round. I love to use mint or tarragon—sage is another great one… Rums are a really great spirit for the holidays. And a lot of people think of St. Germain, which is an elderflower liqueur, only as a spring and summer flavor, but it extends all throughout the seasons.