Archive for the 'Interview' Category
I am an avid fan of Project Runway and Nina Garcia, ELLE Fashion Director. I was excited when I found out that some of my favorite fashion blogs managed to send in their interview questions and have her answer them! Nina shares some great advice. Here are some of my favorite Q&As:
Advice for Your Closet
What is one item should every woman own?
Without sounding cliche, I think the one item that every woman should own is a little black dress. A little black dress looks great on a variety of body types, is polished, slimming and versatile. It is a blank canvas that can take you from day to evening simply by changing out the accessories. Also, the little black dress is understated, provocative, simple, mysterious and endlessly chic.
Can you recommend guidelines for mixing and matching your wardrobe?When mixing and matching your wardrobe I tend to invest in classic pieces, like trench coat, handbag-Chanel 2.5, Hermes Birkin or Louis Vuitton Speedy, Little Black Dress and more decorative accessories. When it comes to trendier pieces, I go to places like Zara and H&M and also incorporate vintage finds like colorful dresses and bohemian-esque embellished belts. Shopping at different price points gives your wardrobe texture and personality. You do not need to be in head to toe designer to look great.
What are the rules for mixing prints? And colors? Can you mix different shades of white in an outfit — such as true-white pants with an ivory coat? Or do they all have to be the same shade of white? As I keep seeing folks mixing bright brown colors with black I have to ask, it is now acceptable to mix these colors?
The rules are there are no rules! Mixing prints can be an intimidating and potentially have disastrous results if not done in a subtle way. I recommend looking at the Dries Van Noten Spring ‘08 show where he paired various prints together with beautiful results. Mixing solid colors is less daunting and I think that mixing various shades of white is a very modern and chic silhouette. Brown and navy are classic colors that work well with black. Although I still find that women are hesitant to put the dark colors together, I think by combining navy or brown with black softens the look and makes it more modern.
Should your bag be in a seasonal color?
When it comes to handbags, I stay away from colors and opt for neutral tones that can go with any outfit, day or evening. Think black, camel, tobacco, even white leather bags. For evening is when I tend to be a little more experimental with my handbag. I always carry a clutch and love to have them in playful colors, exotic skin or embellished to add a little flair to your evening attire.
Advice on Trends
Your honest opinion about the skinny-jean trend.
I think that skinny jeans are a great style but do not necessarily work on everyone. Trends are a great way to be inspired but should never dictate one’s personal style. The key is to wear clothing that works for you and only you, once you abandon that philosophy then you end up in the category that no one wants to be: under fashion victim.
Advice on Packing for Travel
What pieces do you think are essential when traveling with very limited suitcase space for an extended period of time?
I think when traveling with limited space for an extended period of time you should keep to the basics-Trench coat or classic pea coat, button down shirt, cashmere cardigan, high heel and ballet flat, a pair of dark denim jeans and, of course, a little black dress. I would also include a couple of statement pieces-jewelry and other accessories-to personalize your look.
For more of Nina Garcia’s blog tour Q&A visit the sources below:
Also be sure to purchase her book, The Little Black Book of Style
Last week, I introduced darUSHA. Today I bring you an interview with the delightful store owner, Hiba. I’m sure by the end of the interview you will be as entranced by her as I am.
DarUSHA is an unusual name, does it have any significance to you?
Well “Usha” is the nickname of my beloved daughter. And “Dar” is for house/ room in Arabic, which I thought would be perfect to convey the cozy, homey feel of the place.
What inspired you to start your store? When did you first open?
You know Zahra, I just wore the “hijab” a couple of years ago. And i just found it difficult to find me suitable clothes, or even a decent long top to wear with my jeans. It wasn’t until a recent vacation to explore India that I ran into an Indian designer who insisted on inviting me to his fashion show. When I went there, I was pleasantly shocked to see some really amazing pieces, I was introduced to the “Kurta“, “Kurti“- conservative embroidered tunics of different style and lengths that would look just great worn over jeans, and I just thought “Wow! I definately should bring some of those back home with me“. That’s how the idea of darUSHA was born. I opened the store a year ago but the formal openeing was only last May.
What clientel do you cater to?
My first collection ever was dedicated to girls with “hijab“. But then my sisters and friends were outraged that i didn’t think of them too. So I expanded my collection to satisfy all tastes. I’m also open to suggestions, as one of my customers asked me to get some flowy loose dresses that she can wear when she gets pregnant. I did, and they were a success!
What are some of the leading brands? Where are you brands from and how do you select which merchendise to bring in?
My most treasured brand is Anju Modi from India, amd Geisha Designs. I also like dealing with new fresh talents, not necessarily big names in the industry. Moreover, we recently started penetrating and acquiring from the American designer market- this collection will be availabe this fall.
To stand out from the rest, I only order very limited quantities of each style to maintain the level of exclusivity. I don’t like it when i see someone wearing what I wear, and I treat my customers the same way. I have pieces in the store that only comes in single editions, and that way my customers feel that each item they buy is special.
Our latest addition to darUSHA are the accessories. We are proud to present the luxurious Vita bracelets, as worn by celebrities worldwide. The special things about these bracelets is that it looks great even with the tiniest wrist ever as they don’t slide over the hand but the 24kt gold buckle closes up to lightly hug even the smallest hands.
What is the one thing you wished you knew before opening the store? Any words of advice for future store ownes?
God has blessed me by making the set-up of this store a very smooth ride. I was very lucky to have my cousin offer me this perfect space. It really fit what i had in mind, a small exclusive haven away from the conventional, overly commercialized shopping malls. It was a dream come true- Love you Marami!
I really can’t offer any piece of advice to future store owners as I am an amateur myself. But I can tell you this; always be passionate about whatever you do and you’ll do fine. I quit my boring day job because I finally found something I’m excited about, something I love doing- It’s truly a blessing!
What is the most memorable experience you’ve had since opnening your store?
Oh I get excited over the simplest things *smiles*
- The first costumer that ever set foot to the store when first opened, I still remember her name, that was exciting!
- The first time Mom saw a stranger at a dinner party wearing one of my outfits, she barely held her tongue not to go over to her and proudly announce “That’s from my daughter’s shop”!. Same thing happened to my sister who saw a colleague in her workplace wearing something of mine, only my sister couldn’t help but comment “What a lovely dress!”. “Thanks”, she replied, “It’s from darUSHA”. My family was proud of me and it was then that I first realized that I’d built a name of darUSHA and strangers are actually buying my stuff- not just friends & members of family!
- The first time i sold to customers outside of Kuwait. They had saw pictures of my collection and wanted some. I don’t do that, but they just insisted I ship it out to them. I got a call later from them telling me how happy they were with the outfits and that they were the envy of their friends!
What future plans do you have for darUSHA?
Now that’s an embarrassing question as i don’t have any! If I see a good opportunity- like for example the accessories line-, I’ll take it. Otherwise I’m quite satisfied with what I have. Everyone is pushing me to open a branch in one of the big shopping malls but I refuse to do so. This is exactly what i imagined my shop to be, a welcoming cozy space to friends and customers tuck away in this antique house. I just love it, and hope your readers will love it too.
Describe darUSHA in 3 words.
Only 3 words?!! Well, alright:
Exclusive. Different. Unique.
Join the darUSHA group on Facebook today!
Kuwait-Style.com thanks darUSHA for the generous interview. Knowing you are doing your family proud is reward enough but I still wish you all the best.
It’s wonderful and inspiring that so many women in Kuwait are finding the strength to follow their dreams instead of being chained to a day job. Congratulations on a fabulous store, Hiba, and I wish you all the success in the world!
As you can see from last month’s post about Seven Minutes, I am a huge fan of Dina and Lina. I requested an interview with the fabulous Seven Minutes designers and they agreed! I couldn’t be happier!
First of all, I’d like to thank you for accepting to this interview. I love your bags! How did you get started?
Dina: Thanks a bunch! They love you too! Well in New York, Lina started sewing clutch bags just for her to wear. Don’t ask us where she picked up the sewing, but we figured my grandmother might have something to do with it.
Lina: Yes I started picking it up and was doing it more of a personal thing because I would always find it hard to match a bag with what I was wearing. So I would sew one for myself. Then when we came back to Dubai, we had the idea of th Trigger bag with the gun. It then got back a lot of comments everytime we would go out, so it started to become a business idea as well as something we really enjoy doing. We wouldn’t design anything that we wouldn’t wear. Everything we do, we go out with.
Why did you choose the name Seven Minutes? Is there a special significance to the name? You’re twins so I am guessing you are seven minutes apart in age.
Dina:Yes, we are seven minutes apart, I am older though.
Lina: She always has to say that.. hehe
How does it feel to be designing with your twin? Do you have defined roles as the Creative person and the Business person or do you share job responsibilities?
Lina: It is great hamdilla to work with Dina because we were separated all through our education so that we can develop individual styles. So we both have a different way of approaching things and working and we both critique each other, which is always good.
Dina: It is always a good thing to work with someone I can trust as a person and as a designer to make choices, and I can relate to. We make great partners because we both have our hearts in this and are loving and enjoying it, and of course if we do fight, we hug and its all back to normal again.
Can you tell me more about the creative process in how you come up with your bag designs?
Dina: We never sit and brainstorm, i always carry a sketchbook and black pen wherever I go which is more valuable to me than anything else. When we are out or in the middle of somthing and we get ideas, we start shooting them out and noting them down. We have no worries trashing each others ideas too. Some work, some don’t.
Lina: Our ideas always come in the most random moments sometimes, we just sketch them. We then get back to them and see how we can take them further and what materials we can use and sizes and etc.
What materials do you use in creating your bags? Do you have a preference?
Lina: We use a lot of different materials, leather, canvas, linen, the Palesinian flag, beads, sequins, embroidery and a lot more. Our car is full of every kind of bead, materials, colors and everything we want to work with and experiment with.
Dina: Our preference is to use any material we think is suitable for the idea we originally had in our heads to begin with. We sometimes try it out and see if its what we like and with trial and error now, we are keeping in mind which material works for what.
How often do you design bag collections?
Dina: We are constantly designing, its making them that takes a little longer because it is all hand made and some are exlusive pieces.
Lina: We have new collections every 2 months to start off with around 12 - 14 bags each time.
What are your most popular items?
Lina: Trigger clutch, Yaffa clutch, Zaman clutch, Woodpecker and Camouflage bag are the most popular.
What are your price ranges?
Dina: Everything depends on how much time was put into it, work and materials bought for it as well. Prices range from about $50 USD - $200 USD
I see from your group that you design passport covers and belts, are there any other paths you hope to branch into?
Lina: At one point, we would love to do jewelery. It has always been an interest of ours.
Dina: Mens and women graphic shirts with my illustrations.
Which do you enjoy more, designing bags or clutches?
Lina: Both.
Dina: It is all about the idea in the end, so definitely both.
What is the most memorable experience you’ve had since starting your Facebook group? Did you encounter any funny stories with customers?
Lina: Everytime we check Facebook, we get new members which is always great to see people we don’t know commenting as well as the people we know.
Dina: We love the fact that everyone can see what we have been designing and doing.
What advice would you give aspiring designers?
Dina: Just do what you have in mind. You won’t know if it takes off or not unless you try it for yourself. You will love doing something you can call your own too.
Lina: Just get started, that’s the hardest part.
And there you have it, you too can become a designer if you follow your passion and your dream. Thank you Dina and Lina for this interview. I wish you all the success in the world and can’t wait to see the launch of the Seven Minutes website!
