British womenswear designer Simon Christopher Waller, who launched his debut fashion collection of Christopher Waller in July 2010, has emerged as a new star in the fashion realm with his craftily-made garments with minimalist design, squared cut and ingenious use of fabrics.
Christopher Waller has shared with Remedy Rouge about his inspirations of the latest A/W 2012/13 collection and how he positions his London-boyish-chic brand in Asia.
But before that, let's see Remedy Rouge's favorite looks from the A/W 2012/13 collection:
Jin: How did you found your brand? What motivated you?
CW: It was more of an accident really. I went to do an art foundation course which is a requirement in UK before you can go onto a creative degree. And the idea was to then do graphic design, however my portfolio after a year ended up being more fashion based so that then took me into studying a fashion degree. After working at John Richmond for a couple of years I thought it would be good to try out my own brand and see where it took me. It’s a lot more interesting working for yourself, following your own briefs instead of someone else’s.
Jin: What other brands can describe your CW's style the best?
CW: CÉLINE, 3.1 PHILLIP LIM.
Jin: Where do your inspirations of the AW 2012/13 collection come from?
CW: The brand’s handwriting of ‘London boyish chic’ was developed with a progression into leather panelled outerwear, digitally printed silks and jersey and lace combinations. The muse for the season was Jean Seberg in the French film “Breathless”, who I think captures who the Christopher Waller woman is for AW12/13.
Jin: I noticed that a lot of CW's pieces are in monochromatic or basic hues with unique cut. Asian people tend to wear clothes with lots of details and are less concerned about the cut. How would you position CW in Asia?
CW: Actually we have found that Asian markets seem to really like the minimal look of Christopher Waller’s garments. Since we’ve been online we have had quite a lot of interest from various Asian countries. I think that style-savvy Asian customers really appreciate the products that come out of Europe as European and British fashions can have a real feeling of quality and style but without adding all the details. The cut of Christopher Waller garments is really important, and since the cut of CW’s garments is often quite squared, so they are quite flattering for a number of different body shapes.
Jin: What kind of Asian people would be the best to sport your brand?
CW: In our campaign this year, we used a British actress called Sophie Wu, who is part Chinese – I think she represents the brand really well for AW12/13. Also, I think that the Chinese movie star, Zhang Ziyi, represents glamorous Asian women very well, and I would imagine that a lot of Asian women would aspire to be like her.
Jin: Can you use one sentence to define CW?
CW: Christopher Waller is defined with sporty elegance and a chic wearability derived from elegant and boyish references.
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