Stiaan Louw interview

Stiaan Louw designs dress. This would be less compelling news if he were a womenswear designer, but the Stiaan Louw line has always been about elegant streamlined pieces for men. "The male dress is what we're calling it", Louw clarifies. This in no small accomplishment in a country where traditional views of masculinity dominate. "I've been lookingat a variety of things for this collection : Maasai culture, ancient Roman culture, ancient Greek culture", Louw says from his studio in Cape Town's Woodstock district. Two things seem to bind them together : a warrior tradition, and tunics. "What I like about their dress is that it's often one piece of fabric that's used in such an original manner", Louws says. "If you think about Maasai culture, you're thinking about masculinity -but these dresses, if that's what you may call them, are quite drapey, with feminine undertones. I'm interested in challenging those norms -or if not challenging them, showing in my work how young men are shifting away from them, and finding a different kind of voice". Independant fashion labels are new to South Africa (Louw dates their inception to 1998 or 1999) and lines for men are fewer still. he was recently named the continent's best menswear designer at the African Fashion Awards, to his own surprise. "I expected there to be more people working in menswear in South Africa, or any other part of Africa", he says. Is life as a menswear designer in South Africa a perilously lonely enterprise ? "I love this country, and I want to work from here", he replies. "I can't see myself setting up anywhere else".

Picture by Justin Polkey

Interview :
Lestat : Who is Stiaan Louw ?
Stiaan : I'm a 33-year-old South African designer based in Woodstock, Cape Town. Stiaan Louw is my eponymous brand name.
Lestat : How did you start your career ?
Stiaan : I studied film and then fashion, graduating in 2001. I started as a stylist and then progressed to accessory design and womenswear design, launching my own label in 2004 in South Africa. I refocused my brand in 2008 to menswear as I felt frustrated with the options that were available to South African men. I also feel that my design aesthetic is better suited to menswear and it allows me to subtly shift boundaries.
Lestat : What’s a working day like ?
Stiaan : There is no structure to my working day. A single day can include constructing patterns for a specific style, producing garments with my seamstress, coordinating shoots for the brand and communicating with clients interested in it. I have a small team who assists me in the design and manufacturing process. Everything is produced and designed inhouse. We do use accessories from a brand called Missibaba who specialises in leather and silver jewellery from Ida Elsje.
Lestat : Who/what inspires you most ?
Stiaan : I am continually inspired by social and sexual subcultures and shift in modern masculinity all in relation to South African and African men, but also within a global context. Our latest collection is specifically focused on exploring a modern African menswear aesthetic and also questions what it means to be a modern African.
Lestat : How was the process of the design of this 6th collection ?
Stiaan : It was quite an organic process. It started off with a study of wrapping and draping in different indigenous African cultures and then expanding to the study of the Maasai and other African tribes. It is easy to tap into the inspiration being based in Africa. We worked exclusively with natural fibres and especially fabrics that had a soft drapability to it. This is a non-seasonal project that we will be working on for some time. The next component will explore what we call the states of dress and undress. We explore how modern men define themselves through what they wear but also the controversial subject of male nudity in society, traditional and modern.
Lestat : There is a lot of faded colors (but the red)… why ?
Stiaan : We started the collection with a more typical palette associated with the brand, the greys, nudes and softer tones, but wanted to evolve the handwriting of the brand. We looked at the Maasai in particular who traditionally use red and ink blue in their traditional dress and evolved the collection towards the end to include these colours.
Lestat : What are your projects ?
Stiaan : We are about to work on the third shoot in our '6' series loosely titled 'states of dress and undress' which will be released shortly. The series will then change direction slightly and introduce our next collection. Other than that we are looking at exporting this year and also showing at other platforms, both locally and internationally.
Lestat : Is love important to you ?
Stiaan : At this point I find love to be a distraction from my goals as a designer. I think it is important in the long run but I love being a designer at the moment and that is fulfilling.
Lestat : What do you wear to bed ?
Stiaan : Nothing.
Lestat : Do you spend much time on the Internet ?
Stiaan : The brand has an online focus. But I have recently been able to step aside and allow other memebers of my team to work on the online strategy.
Lestat : Answer the question you’d like to be asked.
Stiaan : I think you have covered most of it with your questions. I like your blog Morphosis !

Hyakinth

A graduate of Łódź Academy of Fine Arts, Polish designer Jacek Kłosiński, the man behind new label Hyakinth, is a specialist in printing on textiles. His works were shown at the Salon Indigo of Première Vision trade fair in Paris. "When I started making this collection, I realized I was able to express ideas, stories and moods more effectively through clothing than I ever managed to through art. The challenge of having to overcome the restriction of menswear motivated me to be a menswear designer. In contrast to womenswear, menswear is very much rooted in tradition, in which what is appropriate for a man to wear is clearly defined. My work is very much based on the tension created in the process of testing these limits. A good example is the jacket, a classic men's garment but executed in own designed digital printed textile. I discover the beauty of faulty and damaged things, when people tend to look the other way. This environment's imperfection inspires me to make hand-dyed garment", reported the designer.

Interview
Lestat : Who is Jacek Kłosiński ?
Jacek : I'm 25 years old, I'm Polish, I grew up in Łowicz and I now live in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland.
Lestat : How did you start your career ?
Jacek : When I was a student, I made some womenswear collections, but when I started working with Tatuum as a menswear designer, I thought that this was it ! However I quickly noticed there were plenty of restrictions with selling and I started feeling under big pressure. So I decided to work on my own, and I took the chance to achieve my ideas. Moreover I guess it's easier for me to design for men as I'm as a man . I always think of what would be suitable for me.
Lestat : What's a working day like ?
Jacek : I've just started in actuality, so I haven't my own workshop yet, I live and work in the same place, so it's a bit difficult at the moment. I make patterns and cut fabrics, have coffee, I sew, design prints, and I send e-mails ! Sometimes I have appointments. Everything depends on what needs to be done. I have also some lazy days... I currently work alone. But I hope it will change soon !
Lestat : Who/what inspires you most ?
Jacek : Oh I dont like this kind of question. Inspiration is a very complex case. First of all, I like surfing on the Internet to catch the global mood and second of all, I look into my memories, my impressions. For example the next collection I'm preparing is mainly based on my pictures from kindergarten. Trying to recall the atmosphere of those days but in a modern way. Effects soon !
Acording to people, I admire Vivienne Westwood for her absolute distance and sense of humor.
Lestat : How was the process of this first Hyakinth collection ?
Jacek : I started from the digital scan of a photographic film of my trip to Ireland. Then I sorted the images with similar colors out and fixed a mood-board. I was also inspired by Caspar David Friedrich's paintings. Next I designed textile prints. I put together this collection so that all elements can be juxtaposed to individual outfits. Kind of an open composition.
Lestat : Please explain your choice of faded colors.
Jacek : The colors come from the process I've just described. It was very foggy when I reached the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and I used my analog camera to take pictures. The quality of the scans wasn't so good, but this imperfection gave me a color palette ready to use !
Lestat : What are your projects ?
Jacek : I have no clue. The future will tell. But I keep it up.
Lestat : Is love important to you ?
Jacek : Of course it is! Love inspires and gives the feeling of security. I've been in a relationship for eight years, and this is fascinating for me how the love from high scool is maturing.
Lestat : What do you wear to bed ?
Jacek : I know the right answer is nothing ! But the reality is other, I sleep in tee-shirt and boxer shorts.
Lestat : It was my stupid question, but there's no good or bad answer ! Do you spend much time on the Internet ?
Jacek : Few hours a day. In fact I'm always connected on Facebook with my cell phone.
Lestat : Answer the question you'd like to be asked.
Jacek : I dream of my own showroom, and I wish I could sing !
Oh and by the way, my name Jacek comes from the divine hero Hyacinthus (in Greek, Ὑάκινθος Hyakinthos) from Greek mythology, which explains the name of my label Hyakinth. Hyacinthus was Apollo's lover. Jealous Zephyrus killed him. When he died, Apollo didn't allow Hades to claim the beautiful boy; rather, he made a flower, the hyacinth, from his spilled blood.

Model : Jan Burchard (part 2)

Interview
Lestat : Who is Jan Burchard ?
Jan : My full name is Jan Hannibal Burchard, I'm 21. I reside in Berlin, Germany but the world is my home, I don't have my own place yet and I'm used to living in models' apartments or when in Berlin, with my parents. After highschool, I started to work in clubs as a bartender and threw my own parties. In 2009 when I got kinda bored of Berlin, I moved to London where I met a party promoter who introduced me to a good photographer and the CEO of D1 Models. I got signed after my first test shoot. A year later, I came back to Berlin and signed with Izaio that now is my mother agency and has me travel the world.
Lestat : Great start ! How do you feel about modeling ?
Jan : Very good, I meet loads of people, I love traveling, and the creativity of the job as each assignment is different. Many people of this industry are really inspiring, I get close to other cultures and languages, and let me tell you I learn quite alot from and about fashion. "Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It's movement, design and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we'd like to be". The quote comes from Gossip Girls but I like it !
Lestat : What's a working day like ?
Jan : It depends on many factors. I may have casting calls all day, running from a place to another. I may have a photoshoot, a runway show. There I gotta be self-confident with the clothes on ! It's a lil'bit like acting, it's like a role I play. Lensmen and designers have a vision and the model's job is to make it come true. That's the key of it all. I guess personality is a major asset. It makes the difference between thousands of good-looking guys. And so does luck ! Other than that, I also am a photographer myself. My modeling career gets me in touch with many people as I said. Most of these are beautiful models I get along with, so it's easy to shoot them. I started in Summer 2010 and I've been learning quite alot ever since. I own up learning alot from the snappers who shoot me in actuality !
Lestat : What or who inspires you most in life ?
Jan : Traveling and meeting people, plus all this creativity around me.
Lestat : How was your last assignment ?
Jan : I was in Milan some days ago for the Fashion Week. It was my first time in there. I walked for Missoni. In December I was in Madrid for the Spanish Marie-Claire and Tendencias as you know, I saw the editorial of Tendencias on Morphosis (here) ! The shoot took place in an anciant movie theater and as you could see, I had to wear jewelry ! I love these pictures ! I also had a great time with Marie-Claire. We shot in a studio decorated as a film set. It was a wedding story, we looked like real actors in a fancy car. The girl wore a wedding dress and I had a formal suit. Pretending to drive around our mini pig (a real one)... it was all so cute ! Then there was this picnic and the pet pig lay with us like a dog !
Lestat : Funny thing ! But what's the downside of the job ?
Jan : Traveling is okay but leaving people is not. I always miss someone. You know what it's like, you share a place with other models and you gotta keep a distance at the same time. I guess it should make me stronger and improve myself.
Lestat : What would be the next perfect assignment like ?
Jan : A big campaign, I assume. Featuring on a billboard ! I'd also love to go to Tokyo and New York some day. I wanna see the other side of the world so bad ! I know it'll happen anyhow, the world for us is alot smaller than what it was for our grand-parents ! Nowadays you can go anywhere for chicken-feed !
Lestat : What will be the next step ?
Jan : I'll probably go to Madrid again for an assignment soon, then to Hamburg for another one, then back to Madrid for the Fashion Week. I have options for good jobs at the moment, I hope they'll be confirmed ! Other than that, I will also shoot as much as I can. But I'd love to act in a motion picture. Besides, I love singing too and a song of mine would be a dream ! But acting and singing are long-range plans. I gotta learn first of all, I need lessons ! Well, I'm currently focusing on modeling. Everything in its own time. As the saying goes, don't cross your bridges before you come to them !
Lestat : You are right ! Is love important to you ?
Jan : It is ! But I can't get it from a relationship right now because it's too difficult as I don't have the time for it. I get love from my family, my friends and my dog !
Lestat : What do you wear to bed ?
Jan : I sleep naked. I like being naked in general. I dig clothing-optional spas !
Lestat : Do you spend much time on the Internet ?
Jan : I do. I check my schedule online and confirm requests and assignments on it. I stay in touch with my family and friends on the Internet, Skype or Facebook. I also read blogs and news, watch vids and often check Google maps to find directions !
Lestat : Answer the question you'd like to be asked.
Jan : What kind of music do I listen to ? Fever Ray, Florence and the Machine, Róisín Murphy, Lykke Li, Robyn, The Knife, Marylin Manson, Rihanna, LCD Soundsystem, Alicia Keys and Paul Kalkbrenner make my days !