- - Influencer Joe Ando Reveals Unexpected Inspiration Behind His Custom Gown for “Love Island USA ”Winner Serena Page (Exclusive)

Zoey LyttleFebruary 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM

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Serena Page; Joe Ando.

Robin L Marshall/Getty; Robin L Marshall/Getty

Working with the bright hue of a green screen, Joe Ando managed to fashion a chic, form-fitting ensemble for Love Island USA winner Serena Page

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the dress, which was made to celebrate the launch of H&R Block's Creator Suite

The new platform was designed to help influencers navigate the gray areas when it comes to content creation and business management

Joe Ando seamlessly combines his passion for fashion design with his work as a content creator. Recently, however, he managed to weave it all together in the name of something slightly less intuitive: tax season.

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal Ando's latest wearable masterpiece, which he custom-made for Love Island USA winner Serena Page. The green dress takes inspiration from H&R Block's brightly colored logo, as Ando and Page's collaboration celebrates the launch of the tax prep firm's new Creator Suite.

Designed to financially empower the rising generation of content creators and influencers, the platform includes a new online tax filing tool built to help social media stars handle their most complicated tax filings.

Joe Ando's dress for Serena Page.

Courtesy Joe Ando

Ando tells PEOPLE that he's personally excited about the space H&R Block is opening for creators, especially considering the way he encounters some ambiguity in both his fashion pursuits and digital content work.

"Artistically, trying to navigate taxes is really bizarre. Also, just as a content creator, [there's] just this weird, weird gray space where you don't even know if what you're doing is even considered a real job by a lot of people," the viral dressmaker explains.

In tandem with the new platform, H&R Block gathered data through its 2026 Creator Pulse Survey. The polling system found that despite the rapid evolution of the creator economy, there's still vast uncertainty: for example, H&R Block reported that seven out of 10 influencers were not aware that brand trips were taxable, nor did they know which forms to use when filing.

"What they're trying to highlight is people like us, who don't really know if we feel like we have a real job," adds Ando. "We're being given a space to figure out how to really approach that and take care of our business."

Page echoes the sentiment, noting that behind the scenes of "the content, the glam, the fun," creators are truly fulfilling "full-on businesses."

"When my career took off, finances and taxes got complicated real fast — I mean, I had different brand deals, trips, projects — and I wish I’d had the right tools like Creator Suite to help me stay organized and feel confident when prepping and filing my taxes," says the reality star. "Having support like this from H&R Block that is specifically built for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and creators will make that transition feel way less intimidating.”

Hand-beading on Joe Ando's dress for Serena Page.

Courtesy Joe Ando

As for Ando, beyond his practical appreciation for the platform, he was also glad to have creative freedom with the dress he made for Page. With hand-beaded detailing and a form-fit made from jersey material, he worked on the impressive garment for four full days.

The dress was made to double as a green screen, representing creators' limitless creative potential and H&R Block's foundational backdrop for their financial lives. Despite the open-ended nature of the prompt, that doesn't necessarily mean the green was an easy fit for fashion. Luckily, Ando was grateful to have a great model in Page.

"If she didn't look really great, it wouldn't look good," he says. "Mainly making something that fit her really well was really satisfying ... the dress stayed functional for that green screen element, being able to turn it into anything."

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Ando adds, "When you try and mix that green color with something, it's like, 'Oh, how am I going to make this look flattering on someone?' Because I've never tried to take the risk. But when we made it and put it on her, Serena actually wanted to keep it ... I think it's just nice to know that their preference actually pushed me to make something that I was like, 'This is really cute. It actually looks great.'"

The FIT graduate — who boasts 5.8 million followers across his Instagram and TikTok platforms — has gone viral with his behind-the-scenes content captured with the talent, whether it be the mid-design process as he did with Johnson or at the actual event as he did with indie rock artist Holly Humberstone at her concert.

Over the years, Ando has sewn gowns for the likes of Dakota Johnson, Millie Bobby Brown and Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff, who wore her Ando-made frock to the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”