Interview: Jane Winkworth, French Sole

My latest interview is with 'Queen of Ballet Flats' Jane Winkworth, the founder and designer behind the globally renowned ballet shoe brand, French Sole. I was first introduced to French Sole flats by my super chic godmother and have been wearing them ever since. Elegant and comfy, they are one of my style essentials. I caught up with Jane to discuss her wardrobe basics and the merits of a good pair of flats.

Hi Jane. Where are you and what are you doing right now?

I am currently in the process of designing the Spring/Summer 2014 Collection.

How did you get into design?

I was an art student with a passion for art, design, fashion and shoes.

What inspired you to start French Sole?

I saw a gap in the market for Ballet Flats and decided to start my own company based on my own designs for the footwear that I have worn since I was a teenager.

Why ballet shoes specifically?

I adore the ballet, I love the look and feel of ballet shoes and I am devoted to comfort. When I started my company there was absolutely nobody else on the planet specialising only in ballet flats.

How would you describe the French Sole aesthetic in three words?

Simple, stylish and delicious.

Who and what influences your work?

All my work is influenced by my ability to know exactly what my customers will be wanting next year. I am also influenced by theatre, ballet, films, the catwalk and the footwear that major celebrities wear.

Talk us through the design process.

The design process starts from ideas and sketches which I do every day. Twice yearly I sit down with my assistant designers and we draw up the formal sketches which then are CAD drawn up to go to my pattern cutter and my last maker at my factory in Spain. Once the prototype samples are approved I sit down again with my team to discuss trend colours, catwalk looks and trends from Lineapelle and any other major European fashion events that we attend.

Then we make the collection!

What is your preferred material to use and why?

I love all materials – at the moment I love the new mirror leathers. Baroque satins have influenced my collection for this Fall 2013.

Do you design with someone in mind?

I design with myself, my daughter, daughters in law and my granddaughters in mind as this represents three generations of French Sole devotees.

What should a good pair of shoes do for someone?

I good pair of shoes should ONLY be made in Europe, from Italian leather only and with full nappa or kid leather insoles, linings and outer soles. Money spent on shoes made in China is money wasted because their workmanship may be good but their leathers are terrible and will make only stiff and uncomfortable shoes which not last more than one season. A good pair of shoes should fit perfectly and be comfortable from the moment you try them on.

If you could steal anyone's wardrobe - past or present - whose would it be and why? 

I would steal the wardrobe of Ines de la Fressange – my style icon.

How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your work?

My personal style is semi-formal. I wear only classics with a twist of my own. I love Jbrand 811 jeans, Victoria Beckham, Chanel, Zara and Agnes B. I have also recently discovered Haute Hippie and JCrew.

What are your 5 wardrobe essentials?

My five wardrobe essentials are:

Black Chanel Jacket

JBrand 811 Raw Denim jeans

Striped French matelot tee shirt

LBD

White Anne Fontaine shirt

Any beauty rituals?

I have a manicure and pedicure every week - my manicurist comes to my house in the country.

What’s coming up next for you?

Coming up next is the opening of my two latest stores, one in China in Beijing and one in Manila in the Philippines.

Describe your perfect day

My perfect day is on a Sunday in Los Angeles where I have a home. I spend part of every winter there. I get up late and go to the Polo Lounge at the Beverley Hills Hotel for brunch with a group of my movie industry friends.. I then go down to Malibu to meet up with my family, granddaughters, son and daughter in law, together with my brother and his family who have a house there and we have a long walk on Carbon beach followed by an early supper watching the sun go down over the Malibu pier as schools of dolphins splash about in the sea right in front of us. Back to Santa Monica and I attend the late Mass at St Monica's my local church, where more often than not I sit next to my lovely London Sole customer Maria Shriver and her adorable family.

 For more of Jane's work, visit her website.

Interview: Avenue 32 Part II: Erin Mullaney

In the second part of my interview series with the Avenue 32 girls, I caught up ex-buyer for Browns and Harrods Erin Mullaney to discuss fashion fads and her current Avenue 32 edit.
Enjoy!

Where are you and what are you doing right now? We are in the office checking out NY fashion week on style.com as we missed going due to Snowstorm Nemo! It feels very strange not to be there but at the same time, I think we avoided a disaster and it will be so nice to go into London fashion week rested and not jetlagged and straight off a plane!

Tell us about your past jobs. What lead you to your current position? I have been a buyer for about 10 years now – I started my buying career at Harrods working for Mohamed Al Fayed and then moved to Selfridges when the Weston family took it over, which was an exciting time. I then went on to become the Buying Director of Browns, one of the most iconic boutiques in the world, where I had the great pleasure of working with and learning from the inimitable owner Mrs Burstein. She taught me how to edit and that every single piece must be special. She also taught me never to be lazy – she always has time for new designers and tirelessly seeks out new and exciting product for her customers – this is something I have always been passionate about as well.

What do you look for in the designers you showcase? First and foremost, we have to be excited about the product. If Roberta and I love the product and want to wear it right now, then chances are that designer is going to be a winner. We also look for practical things such as price point, quality is super important and design – is it new and innovative? Is this designer doing something different to all the others? What is their USP (unique selling point)? Who is their customer – does she really exist and where is she going in these designs!? Some designers design for ‘conceptual’ women that don’t really exist…

Who is the Avenue 32 girl? I think we are all the Avenue girl – we always try to think about us and our friends and what they are looking to wear to certain events or to work, etc. Although we try to introduce and support emerging designers on Avenue32, we also want to make sure we are catering to our customer – who is not always a high fashion customer. She has a great career and may spend her disposable income on herself so shopping with us is a ‘treat’, she travels and she is quite independent – she comes to Avenue32 to discover something new, something different that none of her friends will have.

Does your personal style influence what you buy for the shop? Yes and no – I have been a buyer long enough to know that you aren’t buying for yourself 99% of the time. You have to put your customer first.
I think Roberta is our customer though – as is her sister and her mother, so in that way, I do always listen to her opinion but there is also an element of ‘will this sell’ and ‘is this the Avenue woman’?

What is your one piece of fashion or beauty advice? My fashion advice would be: Be true to yourself and don’t follow trends or fads too closely, especially as you get older. I have a uniform when I am not in fashion week and I stick to it pretty closely as I know what works for me now. Beauty advice: look after your skin – sleep, hydrate with water and don’t go in the sun! it will come back to haunt you in your mid 30s…

What does the typical work day look like for you? I love the fact that we don’t have a ‘typical’ day – every day is different. We travel a lot as well for work (4 times a year for market) which helps to break up stints in the office as I always get a bit restless being in an office for long periods of time. Roberta and I have a lot of meetings with our different teams each day – for me, it’s catching up with my buying team, approving and finalizing orders, working on trends, making sure our sales and e-commerce team know what deliveries are coming in, making sure our home page and other communication reflect what’s new, meeting with the marketing team about events and working closely with our PR… every day is busy and totally different, which I love.

What are your 5 essentials?
A great pair of jeans (I am loving my Paige skinnies at the moment)
Perfect white t-shirt (I have about 10 at any one time but James Perse is my favourite)
Chunky knits (by my new favourite designer on Avenue – Cedric Charlier, APC, Acne and COS for high street knits is the best)
Coats/jackets – I am totally obsessed with coats and can’t stop buying them! Current favourites are my Celine grey wool mens coat with leather sleeves, my burberry pea coat in navy blue and my yves salomon army parks with fur hood
Celine bags & shoes – Roberta and I both have a slight addiction!

What are your top three pieces available in the shop right now? FRENDS headphones – the rose gold taylor is our best seller at the moment and everyone in the office is obsessed with them. Cedric Charlier – everything and anything! This new designer is super-hot (he used to be at cacharel and lanvin before starting his own label last year) and his prices are unbeatable – snap up a piece from his pre spring now. Hussein Chalayan’s pre spring collection was to die for – I love this jacket with flouro trim. I can’t wait for our new designer Michaela Buerger’s beautifully handmade crochet t-shirts and collars… coming soon to Avenue32. Get on the waitlist now. Summers must-have.

Any beauty rituals? I am religious about taking my makeup off at the end of the day – especially my mascara. I can’t sleep otherwise. And I have an AMAZING facialist (Roberta and I both go to her actually) called Jacqueline Parker at the SOMA centre (tel: 0207 000 1903) who sorts my skin out once a month with a glycolic peel and Oxygen facial. She has taught me so much about my skin and gives great advice. And my dear friend and incredible hairstylist Bianca Tuovi (with CLM) does my hair colour - I couldn’t live without her!

Describe your perfect day. My perfect day would be a lazy Saturday wandering around Portobello market with my boyfriend, followed by a pub lunch/roast with our friends. I love simple days with no alarms and no plans the most.

What’s coming up next? We are introducing some very exciting new brands to Avenue32 in the next 6 months so watch this space… we will also be doing a lot more offline events and marketing in 2013, including a possible pop up shop.


For more of Erin's work, visit her website.

Interview: Avenue 32 Part I: Roberta Benteler

It's my pleasure to introduce the first of a two part series of interviews with Roberta Benteler and Erin Mullaney of luxury e-commerce website Avenue 32. 

Founded in 2011 by Roberta, Avenue 32 showcases up and coming fashion graduates alongside established industry heroes including Preen, Hussein Chalayan and Zac Posen. The site gives each designer the opportunity to create his or her own online shop, featuring their own imagery and videos, simultaneously creating consumer interaction and giving designers the ability to control their own online presence. I caught up with founder Roberta to discuss the story behind the next Net-A-Porter!

Where are you and what are you doing right now? I am currently in the office. We were meant to be in NYC this week, but unfortunately due to Blizzard Nemo we had to cancel our trip. On the bright side though this means we will be fresh and rested for London Fashion Week, which for me is probably the most exciting one.

Tell us about your past jobs. What lead you to your current position? Originally having worked in finance I decided to take time off to pursue my interest in the fashion industry. In 2010 I worked for a young designer, a key experience which enabled me to see the market from a designer’s point of view. I realised how many of them (young or established) struggle to control the way that their brand is portrayed online and to communicate what their brand is about.  Avenue 32 was born out of the desire to create a platform that caters to and supports customers’ and designers’ needs alike, offering the highest level of service as well as an exciting and fresh brand mix.

Tell us a little bit about the concept for Avenue 32. Avenue 32 is am ecommerce retailer that provides designers with a platform to operate in a multi – brand environment, but where they are able to curate their very own shop in shops within our e-store. Designers are in control of their content, from how their collections are presented to adding different element such as video content, images, catwalk material, inspirational pictures and texts and so on.

At the beginning of the season, we will sit down with the designers and suggest to them the styles and ranges we love and think would work. The designers then select the styles they want to go with and produce them for us. We take care of the rest, such as the photography, warehousing, packaging, shipping and marketing. So instead of buying for wholesale we take a commission on retail, which means designers can earn up to twice as much as with the traditional wholesale model.

What makes Avenue 32 unique? The concept for one, but also the fact that Erin and I have a real passion for discovering new designers, hopefully makes for an exciting and different brand mix.

Does your personal style influence what you buy for the shop? Yes definitely, but it is also important to think about our customers when selecting. My personal taste is definitely not always the most commercial.

What is your one piece of fashion or beauty advice? My fashion advice would be to figure out what shapes and colours suit you and stick to it instead of going with every trend.

In terms of beauty advice, it would have to be hydrate and exercise!

What does a typical work day look like for you? There are no typical days, as we travel so much and there are always meetings and new developments when we are in the office.

What are your five essentials?

My Rag & Bone Wonderland skinny jeans

Isabel Marant ankle boots

Anything Peter Pilotto & Celine

My Balenciaga coat

My Blackberry

What are you top three pieces available in the shop right now?

The Philip Lim Pashley, Marios Schwab Black Cashmere Cut Out Jumper, Chalayan Pop Lime Tuxedo Jacket

Any beauty rituals? I have an amazing facialist who I see every two weeks if possible. I also have a manicure once a week and exercise at least 4 times a week. 

 Describe your perfect day? A summer day at my house in Portugal with my boyfriend, swimming, reading, relaxing, followed by dinner at my favourite restaurant, which makes the best giant red prawns in the world!

For more of Roberta's work, visit her website.

Interview: Caroline Issa for L.K.Bennett

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my love of fashion editor Caroline Issa's style so you can imagine my joy when she announced a collaboration with UK based shoe brand L.K. Bennett. The result is a vibrant and playful capsule collection of shoes and bags featuring Thai inspired embroidery and neon pom-poms! I caught up with Caroline to discuss the collection and her style secrets.

Where are you and what are you doing right now? Sitting at my desk at Tank HQ in Central London - loving it, as have been travelling for the past month and it's great to have some roots for a while!

Tell us about the inspiration behind your collection for L.K.Bennett. I went to the Film on the Rocks inaugural festival curated by Tilda Swinton in Yao Noi, Thailand last March. I picked up an amazing bag in a local market which inspired the collection

How did you come to collaborate with L.K.Bennett? They approached me about creating a capsule collection, and as I had recently been in their stores and was really impressed with the product, the quality and the price point, I decided to work with them on this fun collaboration.

I’m in love with the loafers! Do you have a favourite piece in the collection? I couldn’t possibly choose! The collection is all classic, simple shaped underpinned with fabulous embellishment, the Parrot court and Bamboo slipper have pop poms too, why don’t more shoes have pom poms!

How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your designs? It's so clichéd, but my style is classic with a twist - I'll use colour, or texture to standout from a simple outfit - hence what I loved about conveying in my shoe collection was that you could be wearing a simple pair of jeans and white shirt and let your shoes do all the heavy lifting when it came to style and effort. They are a nice conversation starter, and it's always good to have something to talk about :)

What drew you to accessories specifically? My style philosophy has always been about letting your shoes do the talking - so I tend to dress with shoes as the starting point. My love of talking point shoes is well documented!

Talk us through the design process. I had so much fun sketching out the shoes, and working with Kim Saint, L.K.Bennett’s amazing head of production when it came to sampling the shoes and bags - we wanted to get it just right, and agonized over things like the pompoms, the fit, the contrast heel tip in pink, etc. I was 100% involved and the L.K.Bennett team were incredibly supportive and passionate in getting it right on.

Did you design with someone in mind? The L.K.Bennett collaboration was an opportunity that came about from a conversation…I don’t have any formal design training and would never claim to be a shoe designer, but I certainly have a point of view and it came together when I thought about what I’d want to wear come Spring! I did draw the collection myself, but it’s a skill, and let me tell you: I spent hours and hours on my drawings.

What should a good pair of shoes do for someone? They should make you feel fabulous, confident and ready to take on the world!

How would you describe your aesthetic in three words? It’s clichéd I know but- its best described as classic with a twist (am I allowed 4 words?) I love tailoring and effortlessness-I’m not into fussy dressing- so I’ll choose a pieces or outfits that are easy to pull together, like a suit or a dress that only requires a belt to give it a great silhouette.

If you could steal anyone's wardrobe - past or present - whose would it be and why? Diana Vreeland, Gloria Vanderbilt and Elizabeth Taylor's jewels! They were all so fabulous!

What are your 5 wardrobe essentials? Equipment shirts, Paul Smith suits, YSL tuxedo and Prada shoes and my L.K.Bennett collection of course!

Any beauty rituals? Red lipstick – It will salvage any outfit or tired face. At the moment I love Shu Umura Sensual Red.

What’s coming up next for you? Are you planning a collection for autumn/winter 2013?After a fun fashion month of seeing all the fall fashions, working on my new issues of Tank and becauselondon.com

Describe your perfect day. Reading magazines on my balcony on a warm London day with a cup of tea.

For more of Caroline's work, visit Tank and Because.com
To see the collection, visit L.K. Bennett

Video: Prada Candy L'Eau

Is there any better creative combo than Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola and Miuccia Prada? Loving the Nouvelle Vague vibes.

Style Inspiration: Giorgia Tordini

I first came across Italian stylist, creative director and designer Giorgia Tordini’s style such on streetstyle stalwarts Garance Doré and The Sartorialist and have been following her style evolution ever since. A master in mixing high and low and menswear and womenswear elements, Giorgia’s style is classic with a modern twist... the perfect inspiration for everyday dressing.

(Images: A selection from The Sartorialist, Stockholm Streetstyle, Le 21eme, grazia.it)

Interview: Lynne Hiriak, Cardigan

I first discovered Lynne Hiriak's beautiful line of knits Cardigan New York through Caroline (who models for the lookbook) and immediately fell in love with their timeless and cozy aesthetic. Dedicated to the eponymous item, Cardigan was founded by Lynne in 2008 after stints working with high end designers such as Michael Kors and Derek Lam. I caught up with the New York based designer to discuss Bardot, Birkin and and her rumored 200 and counting cardigan collection!

Where are you and what are you doing right now?

I’m in my kitchen working at my new kitchen table, taking my apartment back (after 8 month-oops!) after moving my design studio out of Williamsburg Brooklyn and back into Manhattan. Love the space, hate the commute!

How did you get into design?

I started sketching when I was young. I was obsessed with dancing and ballet, so I used to sketch all the pretty ballerinas in their costumes. Ballet and costume obsession eventually led me to fashion illustration which inevitably let me to Design.  I had private lessons in high school for foundation art (my mom sent me to privates because she was afraid I didn’t have the talent…) , and then I started getting scholarships to Moore College of Art in Philly for high school weekend fashion illustration programs. And there I was hooked!

How would you describe the Cardigan aesthetic in three words?

American in Paris

Who and what influences your designs?

Each season is always quite different, but the common threads of influence are always iconic women such as Brigitte Bardot, Kate Moss, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, etc. I love maritime and beach motifs, so you can always spy an anchor every once in a while, and of course Cardigan is famous for our take on the French Stripe. Classic motifs such as Dots are always in my design vocabulary both at work and at home. If you ever came to my apartment, I’ve got dots and stripes everywhere! I lean towards clean, graphic and classic.  It’s also how I personally dress.

Talk us through the design process.

Each season I have a very large board about 10 feet tall that I create that particular season’s mood on. Sort of like a live Pinterest board. On this board, I pin up clothes, photos, tearsheets, proportions I am feeling and objects of the moment. I then translate that into a collection and of course, start with sweaters first. Recently I’ve added several other categories such as cut and sew knits, and silk wovens, so it’s gotten a bit more busy at the studio lately!

Who is the Cardigan girl?

Everyone can be a Cardigan Girl.  Cardigan first came about as a way that a customer could buy into her favorite item in her closet. Sort of like your favorite white shirt, or your favorite pair of jeans, Cardigan was meant to be democratic..Something for everyone because I intended Cardigan to be everyone’s favorite go to piece. The one  you throw in your bag, wear on the plane, continue to keep wearing even after there are holes in the elbows. Now Cardigan has expanded beyond just cardigans because everyone kept asking me for cute striped pullovers. My mantra is to keep it simple, keep it real, and keep it colorful.

Are you limiting your brand’s vision to knitwear or will you be expanding into other garments?

This spring, I expanded into silk print wovens. It came about because I’ve been obsessed with soft silk pieces for a while now, and I honestly just wanted some cute clothes to wear with my Cardigan. I was getting bored with how I was wearing it (jeans), and I’ve been into breezy clothes lately. I’ve always been a print girl, and love to wear them, so I decided to create pieces that I needed in my wardrobe. I created essential staples of tanks, tees, dresses and shorts. Spring is launching on the website next week www.cardigannewyork.com  and I’m pretty excited to roll out the new goods and get feedback from our loyal customers. (hopefully positive!)

How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your designs?

I’m a simple person who loves buying in multiples. I have a very simple wardrobe and I have lots of the same items but just in different colors or patterns. I own multiple pair of denim, have tons of  tuxedo shirts, shorts, indian cotton shirts, striped tees and sweaters, sweatshirts, etc. I’m a big accessories person and I shop in multiples also. I have the same bags in different colors, Fringe wedges (I have like 4 pairs), tons of fringe moccasins, lots of ballet flats, clogs clogs clogs, and  tons of leather sandals from Florence. I get obsessed and love to collect as many versions of the same thing. I am also an avid scarf and jewelry person. I own tons!

If you could steal anyone's wardrobe - past or present - whose would it be and why? 

Past- it would be Chanel’s. But It means that I would have to steal her style too. Because I couldn’t pull off her wardrobe without her essence. Her boy meets chic woman style was so cutting edge then.  She was a real renegade, and she dressed so simply. Present- Kate Moss. Her wardrobe is sublime.

What are your 5 wardrobe essentials?

1) Cardigans. Of course. In every possible way

2)My favorite patchwork denim jeans. It cost more to patch it than the jeans themselves are worth!

3) Fringe moccasins boots from minnetonkamoccasin.com

4) All my merino french terry sweatshirts. Two always travel with me

5) My landsend.com  striped sailor tees.

Any beauty rituals?

Yikes. I’m obsessed with beauty now that I’ve turned over 40. (should have started at 30!). I’m into holistic care, so I have pretty much switched over to all natural products. I use a rose face cream from mountainroseherbs.com that is incredible.  I make all my own body oils and fragrances.  I mix several essential oils and give them as gifts to friends. My ultimate secret which I will share is I have been using  an essential oil elixir for my hair from uncleharrys.com for over 15 years that has become my signature scent! I also am a big fan of Peppermint as a cure all and carry it with me at all times. It relieves migraines and hangovers and  helps keep me focused!

What’s coming up next for you?

My Partners in my business are from Peru so I’ve been doing a lot of traveling there lately. I leave again in another month. It’s been very exciting and very rewarding as Peru is so beautiful and rich with culture. I’ve been working more with artisans and getting more involved with making other product besides sweaters and knits. I’m still trying to figure out what it all means, but I am loving every single experience.  My next trip, I FINALLY get to go to Macchu Picchu and I cannot wait!!

Describe your perfect day

My life is so crazy, I love to keep it simple.

Wake up- (preferably upstate NY at a friends house)

Drink my juices and smoothies for breakfast

Swim and be lazy by the river all day.

Drink ice cold prosecco and have a charcuterie with cheese and arugula platter for lunch

Swim and be lazy again

Barbecue outdoors for dinner which includes a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad

Red wine

Lay on a blanket and watch the stars

For more of Lynne's work, visit her website.