Interview Latoya P. Henry

Exclusive With The Designers

FY:R Clothes & Mineral Weather

We take delicate steps before the arrival, through creation we’re able to manipulate, manifest and manufacture. The fundamental of garment design is the ability to develop structures that reflect the wearer. For any ensemble, accessories walk hand in hand with the perfect jacket or dress. When placed together, you create a statement look.  Even though the pieces you put together may not have the ability of speech, there’s an unspoken communication that describes a bit of your personality or the type of person you may be. For fy:r clothes and Mineral Weather, here are two Russian based brands that create pieces for those who want to be distinguished from the crowed. The bases of their design is to create something refreshing and appealing towards the eye, in clear contrast to one another the designers have developed something fascinating with geometrical shapes and clean lines. Reflecting their passion, for aesthetically pleasing design.

fy:r clothes

The first moment you decided de­sign was the path you wanted to pur­sue, when and how did you know and tell us a bit about the beginning stages?

I think it is important to mention here that I got my first degree in Programming and Mathematics. For the past seven years until now I am still working as an IT Project Man­ager. This has had a huge influence on me because I take programming and application development as a creation process. At that time I realized that I couldn’t find something suitable for me in fashion-shops and I started to create something for myself by studying from magazines and books. I spent full days in the office and after hours and I never saw my home till the morning. For several years I realized that I didn’t see myself as part of the corporate structure, preferring to work alone and create something by hand I decided to study Fashion Design professionally. To pay for my education in British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow I continued to work, but now it’s time to change my life significantly and choose Fashion Design.

fy:r clothes, what does the name sig­nify and when did you decide you want­ed to design womenswear collections?

“Fyr” means, “light house” in Swedish. Light­house depicts for me the figure of a calm per­son, working alone, and doing something very simple, but not less important than others – lighting. I am a very introversive and this im­age seems to suit me a lot. At the same time Swedes have very inspiring approach to design. Using rule “Form follows function” they cre­ate lifestyle objects with genially clean shape. I want to translate this dissonance between “genius” and “simple” to fashion design, that’s why we use “transcription” as a brand logo.

Designers select a particular technique when designing a collection, how would you describe your way of constructing a de­sign and in terms of technique do you aim for a refined or articulate style and why?

I prefer to work in two areas – with form and textile. It always begins with an idea – meta­phorical or visual with the research process following. I enjoy this step because it means for me new knowledge and usually fresh look on common things. The most interesting and difficult step follows after – you need to turn all ideas and facts you’ve got during the re­search into something pure and therefore brilliant. In the meaning and technique the main idea of the design I create is the beauty of the Dissonance – it can be shown in forms and the technologies I use, in colors, fabric and textile, these are where the main idea lies behind the collection. That’s why choosing between refined and articulate style I prefer to create wearable garment with a touch of art.

Describe the most influential part of design, how do you figure out the specifics of a con­cept before it’s a physical piece of clothing?

The research is the deepest step for me. During it the first idea can change significantly, when you find more and more interesting facts and all the thoughts add up to the concept. Visu­alizing of the concept, giving it a form, color, structure could be an endless process and you need to set yourself on a deadline to stop. Read more