from Brooklyn, New York to talk bout his unique menswear line and debut women's collection.
Kristian's line is entitled 'darwin+', inspired by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The line's philosophy is transformable and adaptive. The collection assists men with such transitions by having their clothes transform and adjust according to the situation and the wearer’s response to the situation.
89: Can you tell us a bit about your background in fashion and how you got to working on your own clothing line?
KC: I have a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Audio-Visual Communication. From there, I picked up my love for visual elements such as cinematography and costume design - and how these two can evoke powerful emotions. I pursued my career in TV and film for three years, worked in their respective creative / brainstorming departments, and after that, I felt the need to express my creativity through fashion.
I've always felt guilty for leaving film for fashion. Now, I have none of that. I realized that I did not have to choose between these two passions. The epiphany... I can do both at the same time, I can harbor the same passions simultaneously and also, I can even marry the two in my projects. This epiphany went deeper and broader, in that I learned not to limit myself (or my Life) and be a victim of 'either-or' dualities. We can be all. We are ALL. We have different 'selves' within ourselves.
And so, I gave fashion a try and took some short courses at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York. And those were some of the happiest moments in my life.
89: Were you always inspired by Charles Darwin? How did you get the idea to incorporate that into your concept of design?
I was always inspired by the concept of Evolution, not necessarily specific to Charles Darwin. Early on, I wanted to infuse my clothing (or whatever creative project I pursued) with some degree of deeper meaning, wisdom, inspiration or spirituality (without being religious). I understand that fashion cannot realistically and concretely change people's lives for the better but I wanted to offer even just a sliver of that mission in my clothes. The most fashion can do, that is close to this mission, is to inspire. To offer new insights, ways of thinking or messages.
So, I thought about the message I wanted to relay through fashion. Eventually, I decided on the need to remind people of their inherent capacity to change for the better, to turn their lives around for the better, to repair what was broken and change it into a new or even just a workable form.
This was many years ago. My earliest sketches would have dress shirts with holes that have attachable 'patches' that can cover these holes (or tears in one's life). My working title for that brand was 'Patch'. It was more of a project code than a name. I listed about 100 names after that. Eventually I landed with 'darwin'. I added the '+' sign because darwin on its own seemed bland.
What's funny is that as I am getting close to actually launching it (this coming November), I started serendipitously encountering posters about Charles Darwin on the street, seeing TV shows about him on the Discovery Channel, chancing upon books and newspaper articles about his theories, accidentally seeing Yahoo articles about him, etc.
It is as if the Universe is telling me: Go for it.
In summary, the concept of the clothes came way before the name. I started with the idea of clothes that 'transform' and the last part of the process was my attempt to find a name for it.
89: You are also currently working on a womens line. What can we expect from that? Will the collection have the same concept?
KC: The women's line will be a separate entity from the men's line. I want them separate so I can brand them separately. I feel that it is healthy for them to be treated as separate businesses, as each have distinct needs.
While 'darwin +' tackles the concept of evolution, the women's line will tackle the concept of 'duality'. The women's brand will be called 'Piper Peekaboo'. As for the name, that's another story :)
The clothes will be about having a deceiving seemingly normal surface that, through some adjustments, will somehow reveal a surprising shot of color or show a peek of skin. It is this concept of women who feel the need to be 'a specific someone' all the time. Such as, women who feel trapped by the need to be prim and proper 24/7. Why can't a serious corporate ladder-climbing woman be sensual or colorful and carefree simultaneously? My take is that women have different sides that need to be embraced. I think Deepak Chopra, in one of his books (I think it was Path to Love) shared something to the effect: We are both sinners and saints in the same person.
A handful of people have seen it. All of them liked it so far. My target schedule to launch it is Spring 2010 - some time in March. As passionate as I am about 'darwin +'... I am equally excited about the women's line too.
You can say that the men's line and the women's line are different sides of me, not so much as a designer, but as a person.
89: Besides apparrel, would you consider branching out to accessories for both men and women?
KC: Yes. Actually, I do have an accessories line planned way before these two brands, that was supposed to exist as a third separate company. My initial plan was to launch the accessories first. But, all my ideas started flowing towards the direction of 'darwin +'. And then, the Muse of Inspiration wanted me to pursue 'Piper Peekaboo' after that.
What I might do, although I am still pondering over it, is to create accessories that will be part of the men's and women's line and not have it as a separate company. Not sure yet. The concept behind the accessories that I've designed, if it was pursued, would have been 'resurrection'.
89: Where do you see your brand progressing in a couple of years?
KC: I see 'darwin +' as being a creative inspiration to my fellow creatives and see it as being creatively respected by my peers in the industry. I see it as being financially sound, successful and very profitable while still possessing the integrity of the vision. Just like the message of my women's line: Why should I choose between critical vs commercial success when I can be both?
My business model is as avant-garde as the clothes. But just like the clothes, its avant-garde-ness is grounded in reality. I will call it innovative reality. Meaning, I believe it is feasible and can work financially. But, I need our current market to be open-minded enough to new ways of thinking and doing. This recession shook the foundations of even the biggest fashion houses and the whole business model of the fashion industry. I see darwin's non-rushed way of doing things being welcomed by the post-recession men's fashion consumers - both in philosophy and in terms of purchasing.
89: What do you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur and most importantly as an aspiring designer?
KC: As an entrepreneur, it is my intention to be successful financially - because financial success will allow me to continue to do what I am passionate about. Financial success will also allow me to use money as a force for good - to support the generation of designers after me, other creatives from other creative fields, help with many charitable causes and eventually a scholarship for well-deserving talented kids to allow them to go to the best arts / fashion schools in the world.
As a designer, it is my intention to break new creative ground. It is my intention also to attempt new ways of doing business. That is part of the reason why I do not wish to over-produce inventory. Not because I don't love my customers and want them to wait - more because I want to be conservative with my use of raw materials / planetary resources that go into creating a piece of clothing and to take care of the team of tailors doing the actual construction of the garments for sale. It is my desire that these tailors, who lost jobs because of competition from huge mass-production factories, be given a chance, not just to earn a living, but to earn a Life... in a non-overly exhausting and stressful production kind of way. To enable them to practice their craft once again, meaning, to hand-craft a piece of clothing from scratch. With these environmental and fair trade concerns I have, my business model entails that it will have limited supply (NOT because I want to generate fake exclusivity and fake excitement) and will be mostly made to order but ready-to-wear at the same time. In all honesty, I am still trying to figure all of this out - but I am almost there.
I wrote on the first page of my website that my business model may have errors along the way and that adjustments might be made as this business progresses... but I do not want these possibilities to stop me from trying. What I'm doing (such as politely asking some of my customers to wait) may not be the norm, nonetheless... I just have to try it. That's part of darwin's message of evolution, to try new things and develop new traits. Life is pretty much the same.
Model: Olsi Gjeci KC: Thank you also for being curious about me, my brand and supporting emerging designers such as myself. I am very appreciative.
Last words...
1) Please join my mailing list (I call it an alert list, so that you will be alerted when items are ready for sale) to get a chance to win a free pair of pants from my collection. From the list of email addresses who signed up for darwin's mailing list, I will randomly select one as the winner - the draw will be this December 15, 2009. Pls note that I need some time to create the free piece for the winner and I need his waist size first also.
The black pants have hidden red 'cut wound' slits on each side of the leg - that can be zipped and un-zipped (through black invisible zippers) depending on your need or mood. To join, check my website (www.darwin-fashion.com) and go to the page that says: I Bleed Too. All the details are there. Please tell your friends / acquaintances about my site, this chance to win a pair of pants, my clothing and definitely this blog that you are currently reading.
2) Anyone curious about my upcoming women's line can also sign-up to be alerted about the launch and when clothes are available for purchase.
They can sign up for the alert list under the Contacts page.
To everyone reading this right now, I sincerely wish you all the best - with respect to your own life goals - whatever they may be. May your own path be easy, suffering-free and gift you with financial abundance that you so deserve and are worthy of.
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