 |
Photographer: Kim Holstein Photography (www.kimholsteinphotography.
Model: Sophie from Dynasty Models
Hair/MUA: Eleni Demetra (makeupartisteleni.com)
|
Here at Pop Trash Beauty, we love opportunities in which you
get to participate in the actual creation of Art. Through an innovative site
called Luevo, you are able to search
for new fashion designers who share in your design sense and ethical values. When
you find your match, you have the choice to fund the designer or designers, and
each of their designs via a secure payment option. This innovative process is called, crowd funding, which consists of the
general public taking part funding a project or venture by donating money,
typically via the Internet. In this case, you’re only charged if the piece
you've selected hits its funding goal.
This type of funding enables designers to put his or her line into
production. I really love that you are able to contribute to the growth of
artistry.
Here is a little bit
about how this happens.
“Our platform makes it
easy for you to discover the hottest new designers and fashion fresh from the
runway. You can search through fashion designers who have eco-friendly
products, manufacture locally and ethically or offer exclusive items and
pricing. It’s a perfect match: find designers you love and share the same
values as you. “(Via www.luevo.com )
My dearest Fashionistas will be wearing a piece that none of
your friends will own. (As a trendsetter, it’s very empowering to have the
coveted item of desire) Another great
benefit is not only are you funding an emerging designer, but a lot of them
offer incentives for you to do so; such as a great discount on a fabulous
fashion piece.
I know a lot of you are trendsetters; this is more than ever
a very intimate way to be ahead of the game.
This is a great way to be intrinsically linked to the trend, a
connection that is lost when we grab something off the rack.
“When you place your
reserve with a designer on Luevo, you help them produce new and unique
collections. You become a fashion influencer and because you made production
happen you shape the future of fashion trends. You fund it, you wear it and you
become the future of fashion!” (via Luevo.com)
I had the opportunity to interview one of Luevo’s talented designers, who is located here in Boston. Currently, the only Boston designer with a line on Luevo, designer Dylan Uscher will make your fall a lot warmer and fashionable with his beautiful line from his company Dylanium Knits. Let’s find out more about the talented Dylan Uscher .
PTB: Thank you for
doing this interview with Pop Trash Beauty. Was fashion something that you
aspired to do from childhood? Or was it something you fell into?
Dylan : It was
actually the later. I had no aspirations to do what I do now. I am from Boston,
originally Cambridge. I moved to Toronto Canada in 2005, went to the University
of Toronto for Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Linguistics. (He stayed on in
Toronto for 3 years after that) I was in search of an academic career as a
professor; that didn't happen. So I went to school. Working in administration,
I very quickly realized that isn’t what I wanted to do. While I was in school
in Toronto in 2005, I was on a bus trip. We were stuck in the traffic. I noticed a friend of mine knitting. I leaned
in to ask her what she was doing. She
was making a sweater for a cousin or something like that. She taught me how to knit. I actually took to
it very quickly. That was a couple weeks
before my first semester winter break. When I came home and told my mother and
grandma that I learned how to knit- they were very excited. We then went around
to yarn-shops to learn the processes. It was a hobby that I was interested in,
and caught on to pretty quickly. Then I
would find patterns online. I would look for a new pattern with the new design
scale that I can adapt to something else.
Then I just started doing pieces for my friends or myself. After my Masters
year I looked more seriously into as doing it as a career. So I worked full
time as I said in administration, did my business part time. I worked with other fashion designers or
small business, kind of help them out any way I could. I make sweaters for
people’s runway shows or help them put something in for an editorial. That’s
how I got started. Last year was the
first year I put out a collection under my own label. This would be my accessories
collection.
PTB: Can you tell us how you got involved in Luevo?
Dylan: I first met Ana Caracaleanu, the CEO of Luevo at World MasterCard Fashion Week
in Toronto a few years ago. We met at a networking event and she told me about
her idea around Luevo. I really loved the work she wanted to do and how she
wanted to help independent and new designers to make their dreams come to
fruition. We kept in touch and became friends before the launch of Luevo, so
when I made my latest collection, it only made sense to fund the collection
through their platform.
 |
Photographer: Kim Holstein Photography (www.kimholsteinphotography.
Model: Sophie from Dynasty Models
Hair/MUA: Eleni Demetra (makeupartisteleni.com)
|
PTB: Tell us a little about your line featured on Luevo. What do you find to be one of
your favorite pieces?
Dylan: The collection has a series of six accessories. Three
of them are made of super chunky 100% Peruvian Highland wool and are hand knit.
This includes two styles, Sherman and
Rowen which were in last year's
collection, but did so well, I wanted to bring them back. The second half of
the collection features lighter weight machine knit pieces that are made out of
100% Extra-fine Merino wool imported from Italy. I think my favorite piece from
this collection is the Fairfield
shawl with fringe. It's a big lofty fabric that's extremely versatile and easy
to wear by women and men alike. It's definitely the piece I'll be wearing all
the time this fall!
 |
Photographer: Kim Holstein Photography (www.kimholsteinphotography.
|
PTB: I read that
there was a lot of Italian influence in this line from a trip you took to
Florence. Can you give me an example of how this is incorporated into your
line?
Dylan: Yes, I went to
Florence for a yarn sourcing trip in January this year and the whole experience
was amazing. I found some great new yarns to work with and was just so inspired
by the city. In particular, I was inspired by the architecture of the Duomo. I spent a lot of time analyzing
pictures I took on the trip to study the colors, minute details in the stone
work, the hand carving, the tiles, etc. The colors are definitely inspired by
the stone work I found, as well as the night sky in the gorgeous city. I also
borrowed many of the repeated patterns in the tiles and carvings as inspiration
for the fabric textures in the pieces.
PTB: What is the process of funding one of your pieces? Is
there an incentive or discount?
Dylan: The process is
very simple. You can just go to the collection and find an item that you want.
Hit the 'Reserve It!' button and enter your billing and shipping information,
as well as what color you want. Then, when 4 other people have reserved the
same item, it'll be funded and you'll receive the piece, so be sure to tell all
your friends about it too. There are several benefits to ordering through Luevo. 1) You will get the item months
before it's ever available in stores. 2) There's free shipping on Luevo anywhere in the world, so you can
wear something no one else has. 3) There's a 15% discount across the entire
collection as a special thanks from me for helping with the campaign.
Dylan was a pleasure to speak with. When I asked him about
dream collaboration or a celebrity he’d like to dress he answered, Janelle Monae and that he loved her
style and music. We agree she is definitely a fashion icon. Yes, for our Duran Duran fans who read this blog, I am happy to report he was
listening to Duran Duran on his way into
the interview. I hope that you go on Luevo and support Dylanium Knits if you can’t contribute spread the word about this
wonderful and innovative crowd funding campaign. Dylan’s campaign is only up on Luevo until
June 15th. So go on over to the website and help get his pieces
funded. You’ll thank me in the fall when you’re the envy of all of your friends
rocking Dylanium Knits.
Special Thanks and credit go to Tammy Byrnes for editing the article.
You can find out more about Dylan via his website (www.dylaniumknits.com) as well as twitter @dylaniumknits
No comments:
Post a Comment