August 28, 2011 |
FROM THE VAULT (SUMMER 2011)
NAME: Isabel Marant.
AGE: 43.
OCCUPATION: designer, Isabel Marant.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
“I started with a jewellery line in 1989, saving every penny to design a small knitwear line. Then, in 1994, I felt ready to launch my collection.”
FASHION IS…
“Allure, style and attitude.”
DO YOU EVER WEAR YOUR OWN DESIGNS?
“Always! Whether I create a pair of trousers, a jacket or a dress, the garment has to be functional. I am my first client, I need to try everything on myself to know how it fits, and I have to really like my designs.”
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
“When I first started to design clothes my references were much more obvious, like my travels and foreign cultures. Now I can be inspired by more subtle things, from people in the street, a book I’m reading, a film I saw. Inspiration can come from very simple and random things.”
HOW IMPORTANT ARE HEMLINES?
“For me, the details are very important. I always chose carefully all materials and hemlines. The whole fit of a garment depends on those, and this is essential when it comes to giving a look the right attitude.”
ARE YOU ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST COLLECTION?
“Once the show is over I tend to be very critical with all my collections… I would rather think I am as good as my next one… ”
ARE YOU/WERE YOU A JUVENILE DELINQUENT?
“I was quite a tomboy but never a delinquent…”
DO YOU GET JEALOUS OF OTHER DESIGNERS?
“Not at all. Actually I admire the work of many other designers. I enjoy buying beautiful pieces from others just for the pleasure of having them, even if I know I will never wear them. It is a way of recognising somebody else’s work.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE WAY MOST PEOPLE DRESS?
“I try not to judge anyone. I like women who don’t show off, but still care about how they look. That’s the way I approach dressing, mixing chic and basic clothes to create a look that might look casual and ‘décontractée’, when in fact I’ve put a whole lot of effort into the attitude.”
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN ALL ABOUT FASHION?
“When I was a little girl, I never dreamt about making clothes but very young I already had a precise idea about what I wanted to wear. I began to do my own clothes and, during my teens, I designed and made some for friends. Little by little I decided to make it my job.”
HAVE YOU EVER LIED IN AN INTERVIEW?
“I am a very honest person. Sometimes, I speak too frankly, but I can’t help it.”
DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR? A MUSE? WHO/WHAT ARE THEY?
“I don’t really have a muse, but there are a lot of women who I admire for their stylish way of being, such as Frida Kahlo, Diana Vreeland, Simone de Beauvoir. They were very confident in themselves, and they had a very strong and personal attitude.”
CAN YOU WRAP YOUR LEGS AROUND YOUR NECK LIKE JANICE DICKINSON?
“I have been practising yoga for over 12 years so I am quite flexible…”
WHAT IS GOOD DESIGN?
“When I’m designing a collection, my aim is to create clothes that a woman can wear every day – truly wearable pieces. It’s important to me that my creations stand the test of time and that they will be worn over and over again – maybe it’s because I never like anything that looks too ‘new’. A good design is a piece you just bought but feels like it’s always been in your closet.”
WHAT’S VULGAR?
“To me, ‘fake’ is vulgar. I don’t like when a woman wears clothes in which she’s not herself. I hate to provide recommendations, what fits one doesn’t fit another, but the most important is that she has to feel comfortable, and happy to wear them. I will always prefer a girl who feels herself in her clothes than a girl who is trying too hard to follow trends.”
by Natalie Dembinska
Photograph by Andre Wolff – www.andrewolff.com
