The thing no one really tells you about fashion is that you're never done.
When I thought I was finally finished with the Fall/Winter 2016 collection - I didn’t realise how wrong I was. I sat on my speckled cowhide rug in the studio, staring at the midnight silk charmeuses, the dark as night velvets, the caramel-champagne golds hanging ceremoniously on evenly spaced laser-scorched Jasmine Chong hangers (a habit I picked up at my showroom internship at Halston). Here was the result of months, even years of experimentation, uncertainty, and work. Here was the single most tangible manifestation of the late nights. I almost felt done.
There was a sense of relief, perhaps even liberation, but also a precarious feeling of being plunged yet again into unknown waters.
When I decided to work on the collection, I was designing 8 full looks. This then became 9. And one week before the show, 10. Of course, my team looked at me like I was insane to add a full look on such a tight deadline, but I knew without a doubt I wouldn’t show at New York Fashion Week without this look that had settled deep inside my head. The Archer Jacket and the Catherine Pant were pieces so central to Fall/Winter 2016 that I needed to offer my woman a luxe interpretation of it. So, it was born in midnight silk velvet, and this velvet powersuit became the strong, modern antithesis to the Runaway Gown, because I’ve always felt like my woman is just as likely to get married in velvet suit as much as a velvet gown. I’ve never regretted it once.
This is what I have begun to love and hate about fashion. You’re never really finished, and you’re never really sure. Your collection will ask you questions at ungodly hours of the night, and you won’t have an answer, so you’ll get up from your bed and sketch ideas until you feel satisfied. Your work will be more demanding that the most complex, demanding relationship you’ve ever had, but you will love it so much that it will all be worth it.
Thank you for following me on this journey, it means the world to me. I can’t wait to share more with you.
