POP 602 Monday 30 May 2011

Today’s POP is Stephanie.  Stephanie had a quick chat with her nearly name-twin Steffie.

 

Designer

Steffie Christiaens got her start in the ateliers of Balenciaga and Maison Martin Margiela; now she’s got her own label, studio and a slot on the Paris Fashion Week Schedule.

 

 

 

 

Your design concept is really driven by nature.  What are your favourite places for inspiration?
I can find inspiration everywhere on the world, and it doesn’t have to be enormous or beautiful, even a strange beam of light in the metro could inspire me. I like silent places in nature or even abandoned industrial sites where you meet unexpected people and where you are totally disconnected from the city.
 

 

What is your method when you’re about to create? How do you translate movement and space into your garments?
Creating a new concept is the first step I take before I start designing, finding new images by capturing the coincidence that is created by the forces of natural mythology (wind, water, air, gravity, heat…). I try to find new silhouettes that are caused by a reaction that we find in everyday life, but that we never expected or captured before.

I strive to obtain a level of ‘post-construction’. After studying the concept I transfer all the ideas into 3-D volumes. In this way I design the total perspective of all views of the garment. Special garments with a strong identity are created with new lines, volumes and shapes. With the know-ledge of mixing conventional and new pattern making I delve into deep and often scientific research, which gives me the possibility to invent, and to let the garments speak for themselves by showing new shapes and silhouettes.

 

You worked in the atelier at Balenciaga and Maison Martin Margiela for a few years. After working for such developed brands, what made you decide to leave and start your own label?
When I started studying fashion in Arnhem, I knew since the second year that I wanted to do my own label. I had this passion and I retained it until I found a way to make it real. As long as you never give up your dreams, you can find a way to reach your goals. I love challenges in life, and now I feel i’m in the middle of it.

 

Do you feel influenced by these brands?  What have you learned working for them?
I hold the houses Martin Margiela and Balenciaga in high regard, and especially also their history. Both brands allow me to dwell on the fact that fashion holds no limits, as both houses dared to create a new distinct silhouette. At Maison Martin Margiela I learnt a lot about how to build up the collection, to work in a team, and to search for different ways to realise a construction. In Balenciaga I learned a lot about what fabric design can give to the garments, giving a whole new dimension and strengthening an overall effect.

 

 

You were a finalist at Hyères immediately following your graduation at IFM.  How did you get involved so quickly?
During my studies at the IFM I sent my graduation collection from ArtEZ to the Hyères Festival, and was chosen as one of the finalists. It was a challenging experience through which I learnt a lot.
 

Runway collage composed by our lovely Louby.
 

www.steffiechristiaens.com
 

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