http://ilanakohn.com
1.
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
My background is in
illustration. That’s what I did
professionally for close to a decade before arriving in fashion.
2.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO
START YOUR OWN WOMENSWEAR BRAND?
I always loved clothing
and had a desire to make my own. I
started sewing while I was in grad school and the company just kind of
‘happened.’ It was so natural. And I couldn’t be happier with where it’s all
led me!
3.
WHEN DESIGNING, WHAT KIND
OF WOMEN ARE YOU DESIGNING FOR?
Me! Every collection starts & ends very
selfishly with me pretty much designing only what I want to wear. Granted this is not entirely true, because if
it were I would only design jumpsuits…
4.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
YOUR STYLE, DOES THIS INFLUENCE YOUR COLLECTIONS?
I would describe my
personal style as pretty pathologically causal and tomboy-ish. This absolutely influences my designs! Case in point, I loathe designing skirts…And
on the rare occasion that I decide to attempt one, they always come out pretty
meh because I’m so ambivalent about them in the first place…
5.
BESIDES YOUR OWN LINE,
WHO ARE YOU FAVOURITE WOMENSWEAR DESIGNERS?
I’ll go ahead and list
the obvious, love me some Suno for their prints & Isabel Marant for her
perfectly slouchy, tomboy-ish silhouettes. I absolutely love Black Crane as
well. No one does perfect, comfortable
simplicity like Momo.
6.
WHERE DO YOU FIND
INSPIRATION FOR EACH COLLECTION? DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE CAFÉ, BOOKSHOP,
WEBSITE, BLOG YOU GO TO FOR INSPIRATION?
Inspiration is usually
pretty random for me for the most part. I did, however, just discovered the
most amazing little African Mart around the corner from my studio though and
you can bet I’ll be in there with a camera in a month or so when it’s time to
start designing AW14!
7.
IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE
WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD, WHO BE THIS BE? WHY?
So many people I would
love to collaborate with but one I’ve been fantasizing about in particular
would be Loeffler Randall. I would love
to work with them to create some prints for their amazing shoes & bags!
8.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING
ABOUT DESIGNING YOUR OWN LINE?
What’s not to like? J I enjoy every bit of
it, even the stressful bits. I love
having my freedom and being able to fully enjoy being able to devote every
waking minute to bring creative and doing what I love most.
9.
DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC
WHEN YOU ARE DESIGNING? IF SO, WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
There’s been a lot of
Spoon & Sunny Day Real Estate blasting around here lately. I’d say it’s pretty 50/50 in terms of having
music on though. I can’t really do email
with music playing..
10.
WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE
YOU HAVE RECEIVED?
I’ve received so much
generous advice from people since I started, it’s hard to narrow it down. I was lucky enough to be able to participate
in the DENYC program this summer, however, and that has for sure been one of
the most valuable learning experiences of my career. I would hugely encourage anyone in the design
biz to apply!
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR US?
Just enjoy the journey
and don’t stress. Stay grounded and be
content with the moment. It makes the
journey so much more pleasurable.
12.
ANY UPCOMING EVENTS, NEWS, COLLABORATIONS YOU
WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
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