"What I would wear today if I could..."
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| Jumper(£36.00)Topshop, Trousers(£29.99) Zara, Necklace(£15.00)Etsy, Bag(£34.99) Anabella-Rose on ASOS Marketplace. Shoes(£64.09) Nastygal. |
These printed trousers from Zara take obvious inspiration from Mary Katrantzou's AW13 collection with their dark moody colour palette and manipulated tree branch imagery! I am really happy to see that high street chains are being inspired by this collection as I have recently carried out a freelance brief inspired by Katrantzou's ink wash backgrounds and tree branches, hopefully this means the prints will sell.
The weather isn't too great today so I have traded in the strappy cami top for a basic piece of lilac knitwear which brings out the small areas of lilac in the trousers and brightens up what could be a really dark outfit. I have chosen more flatforms(the obsession continues) to wear with this outfit, I love the holographic strap on these and think the white platform on the shoe prevents the outfit from looking too wintery.
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| Details from the Katrantzou AW13 collection. |
As you may be able to tell, I am in constant awe of Mary Katrantzou's digital prints and her Resort 14 collection completely lives up to what we have come to expect!Bold colours, immense amounts of detail and body contouring print placements, if these are the resort looks, I can't wait to see what she has lined up for her SS14 collection.
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| Mary Katrantzou's Resort 14 collection. |
Interview with Ryan Wayne(Senior Print Designer at Peter Pilotto)
Before I started my current job I was due to carry out a 4 week internship at Mary Katrantzou, where I would have been working on the Resort 14 collection shown above. After seeing the completed collection and the amazing print designs I am a little envious that I was unable to be part of the creation process, sadly my bank balance at the time demanded that I take the paid job over the internship. Despite this I have stayed in contact with Ryan Wayne, who used to be Head of Print at Mary Katrantzou. Ryan has recently taken a job as Senior Print Designer at another of my favourite design teams-Peter Pilotto.
As a graduate I know I found it extremely difficult to break into the fashion industry. I worked night shifts in a Textiles factory for 4 months hoping that it would get me that little bit closer to achieving my dream of moving to London and having a design career.It is so difficult not to give up after graduating and the realization that, actually, the hard work hasn't even begun yet is quite hard to swallow. I thought that it would be really interesting, as part of this blog, to interview designers in a variety of different areas of fashion in an attempt to find out how they got to the position they currently hold and what advice they would give to new graduates and designers. Ryan Wayne is the first of these interviews!
Interview:
M-Me R-Ryan Wayne
M: Have you always wanted to work in the fashion industry?If not what made you want to work in this area?
R: Since I was about 15. But realized at about 20 I just wanted to do surface design and textiles. I was more a fine arts person than fashion but because I had the knowledge of making garments it just happened that way.
M. What was your first role in the fashion industry?
R: An intern. I don't think there's any other way to get in our industry and I don't know anyone that didn't start out as one. But my first paid job was a print designer for Mary Katrantzou.
M: Did you do any work placements/ internships before your first job?If so, where?
R: About a million! I interned or 'assisted' for Jane McMillan, Jonathan Saunders, Oxford Apparel in NYC, and Mary.
M: What made you decide to move from Mary Katrantzou to Peter Pilotto?
R: I was a manager at Mary's and with any company I think the higher your position gets the less design and artwork you actually get to do because you're busy with emails and printers and the day to day. Moving to Peter has allowed me to get back to the creative side and also it's a different aesthetic which is very refreshing and challenging.
M: Do you do any personal work outside of your full time job?If yes, what type of work do you?
R: I mess around with mixed media compositions and more artwork involving printing and photography. No fabric or fashion! It keeps me from becoming totally consumed.
M: What are your main sources of inspiration?
R: It might sound strange but I get a lot of inspiration from my home and interior design type blogs like Apartment Therapy(http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/). It's something about the different applications of print and colour an the arrangements. I've never really been able to find inspiration directly from fashion and fashion designers. But then again I'm a printer not a womenswear designer.
M: What advice would you give to people who have just graduated?
R: Intern if you can, but if you've thought about doing your own thing do it now because its harder when you grow up and it's riskier to take that leap. It's grim out there and that's just the honest truth. But if this is really what you want to do you really have to persevere and eventually it will happen.
M: What new upcoming designers have caught your attention and what trends will you be following in AW13 and SS14?R: Kenzo definitely. That being said I really like Opening ceremony too. I also really liked Givenchys recent couture show. But usually I'm a bit more minimal in my tastes. Peter pilottos SS14 should be great!
M: What do you think about British street style?Do you think it is influenced by the catwalk or do you think high end designers are inspired by street style?
R:This is a question that could be taken on for discussion for hours. But very simply I believe in the trickle down effect. Meryl Streep really did say it best in 'The Devil Wears Prada'. However there are subcultures (or streetwear) of fashion that exist and occasionally inspire a designer to go in a certain direction. I'll stop there.
The Meryl Streep quote being referred to here is:
" You go to your closet and you select...... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? ... And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin."
M: Where is your favourite place to shop and why?
R: Ha. I actually just bought my yearly crop of shoes. I'm not a big shopper. I don't like having to be rushed in with crowds so I'm more an online shopper. COS is a big one for me because its minimal but really nice materials and cuts. But if I could afford it it'd probably be Jil Sander and Kenzo.
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| Givenchy's AW13 collection, Kenzo advertisement poster, Meryl Streep's character Miranda Priestly from 'The Devil wears Prada'. |
Ryan Wayne is a living testament to the simple fact that if you want to 'make it' in the fashion industry, particularly as a textiles/print designer, you have to work hard (sometimes for free)and you need to persevere.
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