Just before Christmas, rumours spread on the Internet about Meadham Kirchhoff shutting down. While that may not be true, the London-based design duo is actually going through some problems and is currently trying to figure out what to do next and how they will showcase their Autumn/Winter 2015 collection at the next London Fashion Week (scheduled at the end of February).
As usual, the fashion industry in general took the blame for this crisis: accuses were raised to fast rhythms, grand and expensive shows and sponsorships coming to an end. Shame nobody mentioned the lethal faults of the fashion media and of many enthusiastic fashion bloggers too eager to support the next big thing without even waiting for "the next big thing" to find their feet and a solid path to follow; or the financial instability caused by the fake and vicious "collaboration" circus that sees one day the launch of a collection/product by a designer together with a famous brand/company, the next an advertising campaign with a special celebrity and the bankruptcy of that same designer three months later after the precious "collaborations" are offered to somebody else (possibly somebody cooler, hipper, younger...).
But, in an interview on Style.com, Meadham pointed out the real problem behind their crisis - delivering what stores ordered. This is actually a very specific problem that denotes a certain degree of naivety, as if the duo never worked out how you go about the manufacturing process. You could argue, though, that this is not entirely their fault: in the last few years the fashion industry has first and foremost relied on celebrities, high profile bloggers or overenthusiastic but inexperienced journalists and high levels of ignorance. In a nutshell, we have all given too much importance to who is sitting in the first row without even wondering what it takes to make a collection when it comes to manufacturing processes. Yes, we have seen too many tweets about a dress taking so many hours to make and a lot of images posted on Instagram by assorted journalists and bloggers stepping into this or that designer's Haute Couture atelier on visits arranged and paid for by the conglomerates owning that brand, and we have heard them having a fashion epiphany (of the "Oh, look there are actually people working here" kind), but these visits are usually perfectly staged, besides these ateliers represent a fraction of the fashion industry.
There are many reasons why this has happened, including the fact that many manufacturing plants were moved to countries where labour is cheaper, as a consequence the tight relations that existed in the past between fashion designers and the manufacturing company producing their collections has become almost non existent. Yet change is on the horizon with some creative minds opting for slower rhythms, research and a closer relationship with fashion manufacturers.
Twenty-six year old Italian menswear designer Kristian Guerra is among them. Hailing from the Veneto region in Italy, Guerra graduated from the IUAV university and won two prizes at the 10th edition of the International Talent Support (ITS) award.
Guerra didn't commit the mistake to start his own label, but decided to go on the research path: he settled on developing a project revolving around flat garments and uniforms that mainly focused on outerwear inspired by suburban cultures.
He then began working as a freelance consultant while developing what he called "Ghost Wear", a new branch of his original project inspired by urban moods but made in collaboration with key textile suppliers, manufacturers and finishing companies, and eventually developed a collection for Italian textile manufacturer Limonta 1893, based in Costa Masnaga, near Como.
According to Guerra creativity is not enough, but a fashion designer should have an in-depth knowledge of textiles and techniques and therefore work together with professionals from the manufacturing industry to come up with genuinely innovative collections.
When did you start working with Limonta?
Kristian Guerra: A couple of years ago. They wanted to find new ways to present their fabrics during textile fairs in Milan and Paris, so I designed for them conceptual pieces that highlighted the possibilities that their products can offer to fashion designers and showcased the manufacturing processes behind their products. Then we decided to actually come up with a proper collection made with two partners – textile company Limonta and Fashion 3000, a creative fashion atelier and styling studio from Brescia that developed the samples.
What prompted you to start working so closely with manufacturers?
Kristian Guerra: After graduating in fashion I felt I had to find my own way and build my own career. Things have radically changed in the fashion industry and it wouldn't be possible to work now as you used to 15 or 20 years ago. There are thousands of fashion designers out there today, but very few ones manage to support themselves and you can't delude yourself into thinking you can be one of them. The fashion industry is a sort of vast world that needs to be discovered and if you're a designer you can't just lock yourself into your room and create. Your work is important, but you must speak to other people and discover their worlds and work as well. So I started thinking about finding manufacturers with solid backgrounds that could have helped me developing my ideas in new ways and I found a few ones who love researching and employing technology to create innovative products.
Which aspect of working with manufacturers fascinates you the most?
Kristian Guerra: I love getting to know different materials and discovering the possibilities you have to customise them. At Limonta I also got the chance to work with machines I would have never been able to use at home. Last but not least, I was able to control my project from the very beginning, so from the choice of threads or yarns to the finishes. If you're a manufacturer you know about all these things, but many fashion designers do not know anything about all this stuff, yet this is the key to create original designs. Knowing your fabrics radically changes your perspectives and, in my case, the best ideas and solutions always come up to me while talking to a textile manufacturer or a producer of small parts such as buttons.
You were also involved in creating a collection of prototypes for the Denim Italiano project at Pitti Filati 75. Can you tell us more about it?
Kristian Guerra: The project Creative Director, Angelo Figus, was also my lecturer at university and he followed my early collections as a student. After I graduated we kept in touch and developed throughout the years a collaborative relation. He got me involved in some of the knitwear projects at Pitti Filati and gave me the chance in this case to design a capsule collection and take my personal research and the modus operandi I usually apply to my outerwear to denim pieces.
What inspired the graphic motifs in the collection?
Kristian Guerra: The prints are actually 3D renderings of landscapes from areas that are not too far from where I come from, so they represent my DNA. Yet the graphic motifs were supposed to hint with their nets and dynamic movement at the effects that you can achieve by stone washing denim, but my point was trying to give new life to these effects with laser printing techniques. It would have been difficult to recreate this traditional denim treatment via ordinary printing techniques, but the laser printing mimicked it in a modern and stylised way. This was made possible by researching and working closely with Stamperia Bernardi.
Which was the best aspect of this project?
Kristian Guerra: Being able to work with more than just one company and show visitors and people what you can achieve by collaborating with skilled industrial plants and manufacturers that can genuinely take a designer's research forward.
What's the plan now for your collection with Limonta?
Kristian Guerra: Placing it first in 10, then in 20 shops, in a nutshell grow slowly and in a consistent way, trying to reach the consumers and explain them the research that goes behind a piece. I'm currently looking for a commercial and financial partner, but I also feel that things work out better when you do them following human rhythms. One of the main mistakes of the industry in general is trying to sell first and then developing a proper product. The key in my opinion is in the other way round, you must try and be yourself and not somebody else while developing your own skills and functional products. In future I'd also like working at different levels with various partners and I would like to get involved with other fashion companies and revolutionise their more conventional lines, but always preserving my identity and keeping on learning.
Image credits for this post
Images 1- 6: Kristian Guerra X Limonta – Ghostwear - Urban Uniforms/Flat Garments SS15; Model: John Adu Boahene; Photos by Carlo Battiston.
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