TATA CHRISTIANE 2011 AUTUMN／WINTER SEASON － BRAND Q&A
Q1. Please outline your concept for AW11 and the reasons behind it.
The collection “Iqôn in Cabin fever” is inspired by a journey in Kiev where Tata Christiane performed at Gogol Festival with Russian photographer Daria Marchik and Russian top model Danila Polyakov, icon of crazy and melancholic fashion. It proposes a mixture of religious icons and pop icons.
The first part of “Iqôn in Cabin fever” was presented at Berlin Fashion Week last January. A continuation will be shown next June at Fashionclash Masstricht and at Berlin Fashion Week next July. Cabin fever is the title of a piece of brian jonestown massacre, the feeling of claustrophobia and cutting off on itself.
The collection one is put in perspective of this game of images and the iconoclastic conflict. The attention on detail, simplicity of the port and bearing, casualness and humor. The paradox between the peace and the internal light appropriate for the icon, that is appropriate for every person, and its confrontation with the outside which sometimes confines him in a kind of madness of inadequacy.
The uniqueness of the icon and its work handmade in a workshop is a reference for the realization of unique pieces in the fashion
Q2. For this season, what fabrics are you paying attention to?
I am not working seasonally because my clothes can be worn throughout the whole year. But I am paying attention recently to different kinds of leather and printed polyester and cotton with rich colors. Wool is always part of my pieces as well, fabricated with the crochet hook. Especially with leather you can be very creative with pattern creation out of small pieces which are connected to each other.
Q3. What role does color play in your AW11 collection?
Colors are a main thing in all my collections, the combination and playfulness, the contrary. At the moment I’m sensitive for pastel colors.
Q4. Please choose 3 key items from the collection and outline why you chose them.
One of my favorite items from the collection is the coat made of organza glitter because it was a long and meditativ handwork, to transform the material and shape the piece. Beside that this piece has a nice history, it found the owner. It is now sold to a pharmacian who really loves it. The piece was then like a perfect expression of the fantasy of this man. My orientation in my collections is mostly not about key elements but a travel through all the pieces in the line and their combination. Choosing key items is like howling at the moon without the wolf.
Q5. Please tell us what things are important to you when thinking of a new design.
I get inspired and excited by the fabrics itselves, the shape, form, habits of the fabric in terms of how you can work with it and how it feels. I want that the pieces surprise, is easy to wear and comfortable. I’m searching the good balance inbetween.
Q6. What do you think of fashion in Japan?
It seems to me that fashion in Japan is less conventional, it unexpectedly combines many influences and histories. I like the impressions I get here from the Japanese fashion.
Q7. Is there any news of your brand?
The collection with new pieces will be presented in June in Maastricht and Tallin and in July at the Berlin Fashion Week with the collective The Offer Berlin.
Q8. Finally, please give us your thoughts on our website JAMOOL.
The website is pretty comprehensive, it’s very nice driving through the stories.
Even though it’s a Japanese page it is clearly experiencable for a non-Japanese reader with the English parts.