Louise Sigvardt and new minimal luxury

Louise Sigvardt

- Describe yourself as a designer and as a person. Do you see big difference between both describtions?
- As a designer I am minimalist. I have used many references to minimalism in my collection, first of all because luxury term use a lot of minimalistic rules when it comes to the compostion of the clothes. And what I like about the minimalistic design is the tight dogmas, which dictates the outcome of material.  I like the way every detail has a something practical or logical, so design reminds me almost the mathematical equation. As a person I enjoy simple things in life. So in that way my approach to both design and life is quite similar.


- If you remember, what was your first made item you were proud of?
- I think sometimes it could change. That would be some of the latest projects I have done, because I make a progress in my style language. My latest project is my graduation project, which I am very proud of, because  I feel that my expectations and skills where connected.  I had the time and ablity to get the result I wanted.

- How did you realised that you want to become a designer?
- As long as I remember myself I was always interested in fashion. At the beginning I wasn‘t aware so much about fashion, but I was always aware about how other people and I looked and dressed. Later I began to notice the "works" of fashion, how and why people choose their clothes and the way their outfits becomes a reflection of their personality. That is what makes fashion interesting and makes me want do more and better designs.


- Why did you choose to create womenswear?
- I was always inspired by menswear, but I used the look and expression to design womenswear. At some point I would like to design menswear as well.

- The shapes of your clothes are aesthetically minimalistic and graceful. Maybe you can expand and tell more about your relationship to minimalism and vision for new kind of luxury concept?
- I was inspired by "new luxury" term. It means that the term of  luxury has been divided in two parts, where "old luxury" is defined by the "good old" values in high quality products, such as classic and expensive materials. When the "new luxury" completely distorts the old definition by using unconventional materials in a new way. For example by elevating a pair of jeans to a very exclusive and expensive piece of clothing. So my collection is the clash between Christian Dior 1950´s "new look" and the 1980´s sports/grunge crazyness.

- What are your main inspirational sources?
- I am very inspired by Phoebe Phelow, she is one of the first "new era" female fashion designers. She took the design philosophy from Coco Chanel and made it into her own expression. She focus on simple approach to design, which cuts away all unnessesary details.

- Do you have some special rituals before you start to create?
- I usually work very conventional and I actually use most of the skills I have got from my eduction at Kolding design school. First of all I define a story/concept, after that I do research and gather inspirational images. But one thing I really enjoy is to go travel before a big project. This is a great way to get a new perspective and prevent yourself from doing the same design over and over.


- What are the basic values for you as for designer?
- I would like to think that I don‘t have one style, but at the moment my style is very inspired by a combination between european and japan minimalistic design, where the materials and construction is in main focus.

- Tell me more about the photoshoot. Had you had the clear vision before the photoshoot? If you had, what was the reason to shoot in the street? Maybe there are some hidden symbols or messages beyond these images?
- I found most of inspiration for the clothes: I wanted to make the photos have with a connection to my collection. My main inspiration for the "scene" was few drawings from the german design school Bauhaus designers, where the composition and the color combinations was the most important part of the image.

- You are based in Denmark. Had it influenced your expression somehow?
- Yes, fashion is very influenced by the geographic location. The first designer that I noticed was someone from our danish designers, and later it spred out to other european designers too. Scandinavia especially Denmark has always been known for simple, minimalistic design, and I see it as a part of my herritage.

- Do you feel that you need to mach and fight to get everyone’s attention?
- Recently I have been very lucky with attention for my graduation collection. My pictures have been featured in a lot of magazines, videos and blogs. All of this was because of my graduation show in Copenhagen.


- If you can name it what is the biggest achievement in your young career?
- After all attention for my last collection, most of the items are being produced by companies in Denmark. For example I did some amber jewelery in collaboration with a company called House of Amber, which later decided to produce some items for sale at worldwide shops. The same was with the leather bags, they where made for show, but the company chose to make a very limited number for sale.

- Future plans, hopes and dream collaborations?
- Currently I work for a new design studio in Copenhagen, Denmark, called "femmes regionales", where we are designing for all aspects of fashion design, from the identity to grapichs of fashion brands. Also I would like to be head of design at a major fashion design brand.

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