What made you pursue a
career in design?
I always knew I wanted to be a designer from a very young age. I
was born in Ukraine, where my Mother greatly influenced my love for
fashion from an early age as she used to make clothes with me when
I was a child. I went to my first sewing class when I was 13 years
old and ignited my passion for creativity and fashion.
Which part of your job do you enjoy the
most?
I love working with artistic and talented people - as the Creative
Director, my job involves leading our design team to build exciting
collections every season. It's incredibly satisfying to see my
ideas evolve into reality. I am forever inspired by people, street
style, art, movies, and I am fortunate my job allows me to travel
so frequently; from the English countryside where we live, to
London and around the world. I find travel a very important part of
inspiration - learning about different cultures, architectures and
landscape, although this will probably change and slow down
now.
Do you have a favourite era of style?
Many different eras inspire me - I would say a constant mood for
Aspinal is luxury vintage style and travel. I love references to
old school Hollywood glamour meets the golden era of travel as it
is so synonymous with the brand, for me it is a seasonless, forever
muse. For our current Spring Summer '20 collection, we took
inspirations from the energetic aesthetic of the '60s, a decade
famous for its incredible style, spirit of creativity and freedom.
Aspinal's SS20 collection embodies the playful attitude of the
sixties with of our boldest colour palette to date including
Penelope Pink, Bright Mustard and English Lavender. We have also
introduced five new designs into the collection which is always
exciting, each of which have their own individual inspirations, the
Lady P, for example, took inspiration from the debutantes of the
'60s who always carried their bags on their arms, whereas the
Pandora captures the fun, free spirit of London town.
What is your personal
design style?
My personal style is classic with a twist; I know what silhouettes
suit me. I love layering tailored jackets and blazers;
experimenting with colours and textures. I am never without high
heels and an Aspinal handbag, or even two handbags! I love to play
with layering bags, often I wear a small crossbody bag with my
phone in and carry a larger bag such as our London tote for my
everyday essentials. My current favourite combination is the camera
bag paired with the Marylebone tote; perfect for a day in the
office.
Where do you seek inspiration?
I am fortunate to have the city of London on my doorstep, a city
that offers a never-ending source of varied and diverse
inspiration. We have many incredible museums that showcase British
artists, painters, and textiles from over the decades, all of which
relate to back London in some way. One constant for us is looking
at the duality of city life and the English countryside. The
relationship between these two lifestyles is a common thread of
inspiration we feature in every collection. For our upcoming AW20
collection, we were inspired by nature and art. In particular, the
works of the Sussex based artist Ivon Hitchens who moved to Sussex
after living in London. Sussex is the home of Aspinal's head
office, which we felt captured the relationship between town and
countryside.
I am continually watching how
women dress on the streets of London, and around the world when I
travel - it's exciting to see how fashion evolves so fast at the
moment. Social channels such as TikTok and Instagram are incredibly
insightful when researching the latest fashion trends and what's is
hot now. We are very lucky to have customers from all parts of the
world; London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Dubai feature some of the most
well-dressed women. I find it so interesting to see the differences
in the shape and size of the bags women carry, especially how much
it can vary!
