Interview: The VOID Graduates
Georgina Evans poses questions to the graduates of 1 Granary’s VOID initiative - Bianca Saunders, Camilla Damkjaer, EFTYCHIA, Arnar Mar Jonsson and T/SEHNE.
Georgina Evans poses questions to the graduates of 1 Granary’s VOID initiative - Bianca Saunders, Camilla Damkjaer, EFTYCHIA, Arnar Mar Jonsson and T/SEHNE.
Describe your work in three words.
Bianca Saunders: Subversive, empathetic and subtlety
Camilla Dankjaer: Imperfect, moulded and layered
Arnar Már Jónsson: Icelandic, Sports and Modern-Wardrobe
Eftychia: GIRLS who are BOYS,
Who like BOYS to be GIRLS
Who do BOYS like they're GIRLS
Who do GIRLS like they're BOYS
Always should be someone you really LOVE
T/SEHNE: Tailored. Reduced. Constructed.
When do you think education ends?
BS: Never! Especially with fashion, it’s never-ending. You think you know everything then next week you don’t.
CD: Never.
AMJ: I don't think it ever ends. Or at least I hope it never ends. It's never good to be too comfortable.
E: In terms of academic education, when you feel ready you can self-guide yourself by using the foundation you've got already. Education in the sense of personal growth? Never.
T/S: While college education typically ends with graduation, I believe that the process of learning and being educated never really ends but adapts to your current situation. I have realised that, while working on our first collection after graduation, we have developed a whole new set of skills and have learned tremendously from others who had already gone down that road. I think it is important to keep an open mind and take on board what you can, to build upon the foundations you have built previously.
What's the best mistake you've made?
BS: Doing a masters. I wouldn't call it a mistake. But it was never a long-term plan. It was a suggestion after doing Graduate Fashion Week with a tutor then I thought I would apply and see what happens.
CD: I don’t think I remember one specific good mistake but the best mistakes always happen to me when I completely forget what I was aiming to do and get caught up in the process. I will accidentally burn the vinyl in the heat press or forget to change the pressure and something unexpected and great comes out.
AMJ: I think my work is often influenced by mistakes, I try to embrace them and use them as part of my design process. I think the best one is forgetting denim in bleach to find out just the time for it to be soft enough to be made with sportswear techniques.
E: Well not sure if it's a mistake yet - future will only show - but I guess starting a brand. Especially when my percentages were 100% negative about starting one and 98% sure of not wanting one! I think Stavros triggered the 2%.
T/S: There isn’t really just one mistake to point out, but a whole list of mistakes. They happen on a daily basis (big and small) and are hard to take in at first. But they are great, as you mostly end up a little smarter and in a better place.
What's next for fashion?
BS: Small brands becoming more important than big fashion houses.
CD: It seems like fashion is moving slowly towards a much more collaborative attitude instead of competitive. Friends are helping each other out and employing each other. I think it will be interesting to see how that will affect the fashion industry in the future.
AMJ: More sportswear. It's not a trendy thing like some are saying. I believe the future wardrobe will mainly contain garments that are based around sportswear one way or another. Next should also be less. More sustainable; making clothes with so much care that the person will never want to throw it away and will last.
E: Wearing the same clothes every day for a week.
T/S: What’s next for the industry as a whole I feel is hard to say. For a while, it seemed to me that many things were going towards a similar direction. On the other hand, there is also great potential and growing interest in brands that serve a niche and have a unique standpoint. This is giving young designers like us a chance to move forward with our own work and present it to the public. For our S/S 19 collection, which we are presenting this June, we have been inspired by American painter Patrick Angus.
What's your dream for the future?
BS: To continue the Bianca Saunders brand and make more thought-provoking films... expand my reach as a multidisciplinary artist.
CD: Right now my dream is to be able to keep doing what I am doing. It is not easy to create a business that will sustain, and do it in a way that you believe is right. So it's definitely not something that I take for granted.
AMJ: My dream for the future is to dress all the people around me and those that I admire.
E: EFTYCHIA to reach 1 year.
EFTYCHIA to reach 5 years.
EFTYCHIA to reach 10 years.
EFTYCHIA to reach 20 years.
And so on...Growing and sustaining.
T/S: To be able to continue and further develop what we have started by creating a brand. It’s a long and hard way to go but I do hope that we can manage to sustain and grow it into something that has a meaning to us, and hopefully to many others.
