A Q+A with CSM student & Dior intern, Vy Cutting for Sukeban Magazine
http://www.sukeban.co.uk/interviews/#/interviews/vy-cutting/
For many teens who call London home, the Reading Festival is a rite of passage. A 16-year old Vy Cutting found herself on the train there from her summer course at the Slade School of Fine Art with backpacks, outfit changes stuffed into old shopping bags and her entire portfolio that she had been working on for over a year. Applications for the Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University were fast approaching and she was planning to apply in the fall, that is until, she lost her portfolio. In the flurry of festival mode, glitter, the luster of the freedom to dance and to sing in a crowd of makeshift but genuine kinship, Vy left her portfolio on the train and with it, her dreams of pursuing a career in the latter. And so she took another path, delving into the world of fashion she found herself studying womenswear at London's famed, Central Saint Martin's university. During her time at CSM she has begun to grow into herself as she was subjected to the often mentally and emotionally taxing demands intrinsic to this new world. Upon finishing her second year, she was chosen at the ripe age of 21, to intern at the legendary, couture house, Dior for her placement year. She finds herself living in a juxtaposed realm of optimism and realism as she fetches coffee for people, questions the superficiality of it all and waits for her chance to shine. Yet in this retrograde, she has been able to ask herself all the right questions, one in particular lingers: when and where can she find the fabled "work-life balance" -- in between having enough money to live well while simultaneously managing to not crush her artistic soul in the process. In the interview below you will hear from Vy as she triumphs and struggles. Her story resonates with the times, with our generation and the often harsh, but ever so rewarding realities of being a young, creative today.
Hi Vy! How are you?!
I’m good, good, good, yeah tired, i just came back (from an internship at Dior), got quite a busy week this week
What have you guys got going on?
We’re just working on pre-fall or couture, I don’t even know what’s coming up so we’re making some dresses and such to propose to the creative director. These past few weeks have been super quiet, like we haven’t been doing much since after fashion week, just a lot of sitting around and waiting so it’s nice to have something to do
That’s so exciting! Thanks for agreeing to do all this too
No don’t worry at all, I’m excited to do it haha. I’ve got like a face mask on, I’m glad you didn’t FaceTime me, I need to detox from my day haha
Haha I know one of my co-workers just came back from Japan and she brough everyone these little fruit infused facial packets and you put them in the fridge and then you put them on your face, so I had kiwi’s on my cheeks last night and my aunty walked in and she’s like, what are you doing?
Haha that’s the thing my face mask is completely green and my friend walked in and she’s like, “oh my god, what’re you doing?” and I was like, ugh, I just need to de-stress. It’s made from like Kale or something
That sounds fabulous.
Yeah anyway, so what did you want to — I’ve never done this before so I don’t really know haha
Okay I’m basically just going to be asking you a bunch of questions and so diving right in, I saw your stuff on the Sukeban Editorial page and thought wow that jacket is fabulous
Oh thank you!
No, it was beautiful! I was like I want that. But I guess if you could just start off talking about your background, growing up in London, going to CSM, your childhood, anything and everything
Umm okay so I grew up in Windsor, which is outside London and so I moved to London when I was 18 to do my foundation year at CSM and initially I never wanted to do fashion at all, not really. I wanted to do fine art, like painting, very classical like drawing based work. I wanted to go to the Ruskin which is part of Oxford University to do fine art (http://www.rsa.ox.ac.uk) but I lost my portfolio on a train so I worked for a long time — like a year and a half’s worth of work was lost on a train and the deadline was two months after, so I quit my dream of being a fine artist and started to do fashion. I’ve always been in interested in it but not really, I’ve always experimented with it. So when I came to CSM, I didn’t know if I still wanted to do fine arts but also interested in fashion but yeah, things worked out the way it did and I started doing fashion. So I’m studying womenswear at CSM and so I’ve just finished my second year which has been probably the most stressful year of my life haha and I got picked for an interview with Dior and now I’m here, in Paris, yeah! It’s really fun, I dd not expect to be where I am last year at all because in my first year I really struggled because I didn’t get along with my tutor, we just didn’t get along and I wanted to drop out and do menswear or not do fashion anymore but my parents were like keep on going, super supportive and I continued and I’m so happy I did, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now! It’s been, yeah, things happen for a reason. It’s nice but a super stressful environment, I’m at Dior for half a year now, ahh! So that’s kind of my story, is that okay?
That’s perfect! Okay so when you’re talking about the whole fine arts versus fashion dynamic, what do you think the main differences are in terms of your mentality when you’re thinking about these two different mediums? How are they different to you?
Fashion is almost like fine art but on the body everything has to relate to the body and when I thought of doing fine art I really didn’t know much about it, I have friends that do fine art and it’s very theoretical and a lot of art history and I don’t know if I would have been good at it. But for me, I’m a very visual person so fashion is probably more suited to me because I find visual research more inspiring than reading and theories which can have a lot to do with fine art and how people get inspiration but for me, it’s very much about looking at old garments and going to archives for example and that’s kind of how I get my inspiration for fashion. Does that make sense haha?
Totally! Totally. So you were on a train, backtracking, how did you lose your portfolio? Where were you going?
So it’s really stupid but like I was at the Slade, which is a fine arts school doing a summer course to prepare for my portfolio and I had everything with me. This is when I was 16 and I was going to this festival called Reading Festival (http://www.readingfestival.com) which is like really lame and every 16 year old in England would’ve gone to it and then I had a lot of bags, including my backpack, to go to the festival and I just dropped off some of my stuff with my mum and I forgot my portfolio and that’s how it happened. And I never got it back! And I think I cried for about two weeks and then got on with it I suppose haha yeah.
Yeah haha so what do your parents do? I know you said they’re really supportive of you.
My parents do something completely different, they work in science so they’re based in Royal Holloway (https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/science/home.aspx) which is outside London but their research is like — my dad’s a professor and they do something in science and they’ve got their own like vaccine company. It’s very complicated what they do, I’m not exactly sure haha. People are like, “what do you parents do?” and I just say, “it’s very complicated, science okay haha,” so yeah. So it’s completely different but when I was growing up they were like oh you should do science, we’ve got so many connections. I think I could’ve gotten into medicine very easily through the connections my parents have with hospitals and universities and scientist and stuff but I chose something completely different. When I did my A-levels, which is like when you’re in your final years at school, I was always very good at maths so I did this subject called “Further Maths”, which is a harder version of maths and I couldn’t stand it, I dropped it for textiles, which is fashion like not a very smart subject but it was something I was interested in and I remember my parents were like, “no! Don’t do that! What’re you gonna do with this?” you know they freaked out but they accepted that this was the path that I was probably gonna go and I was very dyslexic growing up so I found understanding things very difficult and when I understand something I understand it to the maximum and that’s probably why art was probably a better subject for me I suppose.
Yeah! Yeah! I totally feel you because both my parents are engineers and here I am so I totally feel you. They just think it’s a total disaster but at the same time they're kind of amused haha. Okay so you said you got picked to interview at Dior, what was that whole process of getting in like? I feel like when you hear someone’s interning at a place like Dior you’re like, how the hell does that happen? It seems like such a far off, big dream almost, fairy tale stuff
Yeah so the funny story is I went off on Christmas holidays and I’m quite a clumsy, forgetful person, I’m not going to lie but I forgot to check my emails and some people were picked for an interview and portfolio review for Dior and I didn’t read the email until I think, 12 days later, nearly two weeks later haha… I emailed my teacher and was like, “oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’ve been away, can I send you my portfolio?” But at that time I didn’t have anything photographed, like nothing. I had nothing in my portfolio and she was like, “yeah, okay you have to send it to me by tomorrow, midday.” I think I ran up to my friend who was a model, but she’s from Austria but she was coincidentally in London and I took some photos and sent it off and people started hearing back. Two people got an interview, I didn’t hear back so I was like okay I didn’t get it and I got an email like two months later than everyone saying I got an interview and by that time I really sorted my shit out and I was like I need to get my shit together and I got my portfolio done and yeah and I got it. So usually they take quite a lot of CSM people but this year they’ve only taken one and there’s been a lot of changes in the company and not very good changes I must say, like 10 designers have left already because the new designer, she’s just got a very new way of working and I don’t think — it’s not doing the company too good. This is like inside information, it’s not what I expected at all.
Really? What were you expecting?
I was expecting, well, probably because I’m working in like one of the biggest brands in the world, like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior, are probably the three biggest but it’s just so big. So most of my friends that are working for like Margiela for example, they assist a designer so they learn a lot because they’re shadowing the designer but whereas we just get coffee for people, we’re just waiting around, getting coffee for people.
Really?
Yeah like we made some cakes
That’s absurd
No but seriously, I met my friends who were at Louis Vuitton yesterday and they were like we’re doing this, this, this, they’re like designing and everything but we haven’t done anything. I’m interning with some really talented people, like this guy I work with he does private orders for Chanel, he’s done so much for Chanel, that’s where he was before and he’s come here and he’s sitting around like I am. It’s not what I expected. It’s a lot of like getting a package for someone and just waiting around, not even doing anything tis lie lay hours, it’s not what I expected but we’ve got a new project so it’s a first but it’s exciting to see where it goes. I’m looking for a placement where I can do more and learn more because I feel like this is the point of this year, not to sit around and get coffee for people because I feel like it’s numbing my mind, yeah, ugh, yeah. I’m glad I have some work now.
I know sometimes the thing with internships is like they try to break you down kind of a thing and then they build you up, do you think that’s what’s going on at all or do you think it’s just a shit show?
No I think the company’s not doing well like I said, 10 designers have left, I went into the office and there’s like three designers in the room and I thought it was because, oh everyone’s not back yet because everyone kind of had a week off after the show but no, everyone is kind of leaving, it’s not great at the moment
Yeah that’s funny because I was just reading the new issue of i-D and they have this whole section in the beginning where they talk about how “the future is feminine” and there’s so many changes being made in the fashion world and the world period with women at the helm of companies of Dior and la la la.
Yeah I feel like with brands, the new Yves St Laurent designer isn’t so great either but Maria (Grazia Chiri) (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/fashion/maria-grazia-chiuri-dior-creative-director.html?_r=0), I feel like she’s got her own way of working, her inspiration is vintage clothes so she you know, gets people to find old vintage clothes and bring it to her and she’s like, oh I like this detail, make it and make it, do you know what I mean? Whereas Raf (Simons) (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/fashion/raf-simons-bides-farewell-to-dior.html) wanted so many ideas, so many samples, so much. That’s when the designers have so much to do and I think the mood has really dropped since after Raf left. I don’t know, I spoke with a guy who’s been there for a year and even when Raf was there and he was like, yeah, you guys came at the wrong time, it wasn’t like this before so I don’t know haha.. ahh.
Yeah I remember reading that really long, conversational interview feature with System Magazine (http://www.system-magazine.com) and like ultimately he was having to do so much, it got to the point where he got burnt out and creatively drained and I hear that so much in fashion, you do get burnt out. How do you personally keep yourself fresh enough to create constantly?
Umm, well, I get burnt out a lot. During my final year of school, I had a big, mental breakdown so I’ve always been dealing with this problem kind of my whole life, from then, so during my CSM journey I’ve always had really bad breakdowns but my tutors, my two tutors have been like my rocks, they kept me going. When I was put forth for Dior, I didn’t think I would be put forward as well because just before that I had a really bad time and I quit what I was doing. For me, it’s all or nothing, I’m that sort of person where I can put my effort 100% and might be the best in the class or be like, no, I’m not doing this. But my tutors have really got me through. Ugh, I hope my ex-boyfriend never reads this hahaha but he really got me through last year and he was a very supportive person and because he’s been through stress and breakdowns before, he kept me going. His mum did fashion as well so it’s something he understands and he really got me through last year but it’s something I’ve had problems with and I think it’s nice for me to take this year out and do a placement year because it’s time for me to relax and not think about it
Think about what you mean? Like schooling?
Yeah, CSM is very famous for being like a factory, they really push you… to the maximum and you can either cope with it well but I think it’s like 70% of the people I know really have breakdowns but I just think you just have to pace yourself and be organized. The mistake I think I made for my first year was like I partied a bit too hard and left it to the end and then was obviously really stressed out and had a breakdown you know. I think I’ve matured more and I keep it steady and straight straightaway and yeah you just keep on going.
So what does your typical week look like at CSM?
Well for us it’s quite up and down. For some weeks it’s just research so it’s quite relative or we’ll have a tutorial once or twice a week, but when it’s a making project, when you make the clothes we’re in there from 10 in the morning to 10 at night till the studio shuts, the guards have to kick us out because you know, we can’t stay later. we’re always fighting to stay but I work a lot at school. For me, when I go home, I go to sleep and that’s it, I’d rather keep work as work and home as home so I spend most of my time in the library or in the studio but yeah, it’s a really nice environment because there’s so much energy and everyone is super cool and we have help and sewing technicians, pattern cutters, they’re the most useful and lovely people out there so it’s a really nice environment but stressful at the same time. Very late hours, very late hours, it’s very draining. After a making project or — I just feel like I have much more energy now that I’m in Paris, I wake up and I’m like ugh, I’m fine whereas back in London, I’m tired and moping around but yeah, it’s good stress.
Yeah I feel like it’s almost always the case with every creative career and it’s such a shame because being a creative person, it’s the most rewarding and the most stressful and sometimes when you come home and your parents see you stressed out and it’s just like oh my god, no, just no
Yes, oh my god, my mum is like take it easy, take it easy but when you’re in an environment — like coming from school I was the best at art and you go to CSM and it’s like oh god, I’m a very small fish in a very big pond because everyone is just as good as you are and it’s like you have to keep up because everyone really wants it and everyone’s a bit competitive so yeah it’s a lot of pressure, not even pressure from the teachers but pressure from yourself really and I’m a person where I stress out a lot. I push myself. Like I know a lot of people are always like take it easy, take it easy, they’re really enjoying it but I’m a super stressed out person and I take work maybe too seriously haha so that’s why I think I have my stress issues and stuff
Yeah but I also hate when people say you have a "problem", yes, mental breakdowns aren’t ideal per se but I think being creative is such an emotional thing
Oh yeah it’s so emotional. You put everything into this product and sometimes the criticisms at CSM are very harsh, they don’t care, they’ll just say it’s bad and when you’ve worked day and night, day and night and not slept for a whole 48 hours, it’s your baby, you care so much about it but it’s very rewarding at the same time, it’s the most rewarding thing when you finish and have your portfolio ready and you’re confident in it
Yeah that’s the biggest part of it. So when you say it’s rewarding, what part of fashion is it for you? What do you love most about this industry even though it can be called superficial, I mean for you fashion is clearly more of an art than a functional part of life would you say?
Yeah I feel that. I think when I was at CSM, I built this bubble and the thing at CSM is that they build this bubble for you, like oh yeah, it’s [fashion's] an art form and you can get through life like this, yeah, it’s all kind of up in the air like airy-fairy but now I’ve worked in the industry it’s really not what I thought it was going to be and there’s a lot of politics involved. I don’t know, after this month and a bit being at Dior I really question whether if it’s really for me because it is very superficial, I don’t want to say this but there’s some people that have got a job because they know somebody and it’s got nothing to do with talent. You know it’s a lot to do with who you know and I’m a quite artistic soul I suppose and I don’t know — some people what drives them is money, and some people what drives them is being artistic and free and you can’t, what I’ve realized, is you really can’t have both at all. It’s not what I thought it was going to be, I have doubts of what I want to do after I graduate now because after working at Dior, it’s a very umm, I feel it’s a very superficial world and yeah, I will come back to CSM a new person because I feel like this is not how it is. I’m the sort of person I realize that I am quite motivated by money and you can’t have that being in this artistic bubble — I’m really bad at explaining things haha
No, no I totally know what you mean
I think it’s a lot more superficial than I thought and it’s a lot to do with connections and who you know to get into a place like this. Talent is only a very small part I feel and I work with a girl that used to be at CSM as well and she’s very artistic and she’s kind of leaving Dior for this reason, she’s a junior designer there, she says it’s too superficial and it’s not what it seems at all. What will sell is more important than how it looks and as a designer it breaks your soul kind of when you’re like mmm, I’m kind of designing for a rich Russians not for you know, what I like
And I mean ultimately that’s why Raf left right? I mean ultimately, people like Ann Demulemeester (https://www.anndemeulemeester.be), do you see yourself going more of that independent route? Maybe having your own label so you can keep it separate from the larger commercial world?
Yeah a lot of it is to do with money as well but I was talking to my friend about whether we should start our own company, like our own thing but we’ll see how it goes, it’s so much to do with money but after this internship I might go and intern at a smaller brand and see what it’s like, maybe it’s more for me because Dior is just so big, so big. I want to get involved with the artistic direction and know the clothes better whereas now I feel like I don’t even know what the clothes really are anymore and we don’t get to see anything, we don’t get to interact with the designers at all, it’s a shame, yeah, so we’ll see. I don’t know what I really want to do after this actually.
Does that scare you? Not knowing?
It does scare me because I’ve realize that most people like CSM builds this hype up like you’re the best university in the world and you’re going to get a job straightaway after you graduate but I don’t think that’s true and I think 90% of people who graduate from CSM don’t get a job straightaway, it’s so rare. Even people who’ve graduated with a masters are still interning, all the people I work with are all graduated, I’m the youngest one there so it does kind of scare me but when you get your foot in and are a junior or senior designer it gets quite good from there so we’ll see. My friend put it as, “Vy, if you want a happy life with a boyfriend, happiness and money, go design for Topshop or H&M because you’ll get tons of money and you’ll have a stable life; otherwise, most designers work for a company for two or three years and move onto the next one and move to the next one.” It’s not as stable as a job in banking or business for example
But I mean, that’s boring right?
Yeah exactly yeah it’s a lot to do with moving around to different countries and stuff so it’s very exciting.
I mean yeah and ultimately it’s gonna make you a stronger person. Even some of my friends, one is working at a bank right now and she’s just like, "why don’t you just get one job and not be so stressed out?" but it’s like well because I can’t sit at a frickin’ desk all day, that to me sounds like a waste of my mind and life and I don’t want to count other people’s money for a living.
I know all my friends have graduated this year and they’re all looking for jobs at banks and such, one’s constantly doing telephone sales and consulting, I don’t actually know what she’s doing but she’s on the phone to clients all the time and it’s like oh my god, I couldn’t do that at all, a desk job just wouldn’t be more for me haha yeah
Yeah and it’s interesting too because even with this whole past fashion month around the world, fashion is finding it’s own place to make/in making political statements and it seems like people behind brands are trying to make that larger statement and to have a place in the real world instead of being in this froufrou realm of glitz and glamour. To what extent do you think you’re trying to change the world at all through fashion? Or what are you ultimately out for?
See this is what scares me about my future, I don’t really know what I want, at all. But I don’t think I’m the sort of person, it sounds shallow but, I’m not the sort of person who’s out to change the world. It’s just like working here, for me, it sounds shallow but I’m more motivated by lii getting a good job and finding money than I am starting an eco -brand, it sounds super, super, superficial. But I think I was interning for a really small brand before and seeing what they went through, the stress of it all and you know, trying to run a whole company with two people, I don’t think it’s for me and I’m not out there to make a political statement and such, it sounds super shallow.
But I mean at the same time I think it’s more about knowing what you are, what you’re not. I think a lot of the time it’s really easy to get caught up in, especially in fashion
Yeah I think that’s a lot to do with that, a lot of my friends and one thing that really annoys me about CSM is like a lot of people are like oh I don’t want to go to brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel because they brand so much money and they’re so bad for the environment and such. So they say this and when they get a internship at Louis Vuitton, they’ll take it straightaway.
I feel like it’s the principal
Yeah I’m not the sort of person that tries to be something I’m not at all, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and say that I’m going to change the world and make eco-shirts or some obscure brand because for me I’m not about that life haha. But I’m happy working for something commercial or a big brand ultimately in the future somehow with money haha I need money
Yeah and that’s the struggle almost, that’s a part of life, it’s funny because it seems like those two are at opposite ends of the spectrum: money and this whole artistic side, run the world of fashion and they have to find a balance somehow.
Yeah exactly, you need to find this balance but I think after I graduate I might do something fun for a while and then get a proper job in a company somewhere. I’m still young. I might still intern for a while and see what I like because Dior is definitely not for me I’ve realized haha
Yeah because I feel like that’s just leaning too far towards the money and not growing any part of your soul. So you think a balance is possible?
Yeah it’s definitely possible and it’s possible to do something on the side as well, we’ll see, we’ll see
What do you think about originality nowadays, especially with the rise of social media, it seems like doing anything original is such a concept?
It’s very difficult to be original nowadays even for me as a designer, we still go back and look at old archives and how people in history have done it and that’s how we get inspiration for new things. As much as being original is very difficult, there’s so many possibilities out now with technology and social media and stuff to broaden your horizons and for me, it is difficult to be original, almost impossible now because everything has kind of been discovered. Even in working on this couture collection right now and she (Maria) and all the designers are still looking at old books and clothes to get inspiration but you can be original through color, different things but it’s very hard. Even brands like Vetements has still got so much Margiela into it and everyone is using past ideas, like Maria looks back at so much Helmut Lang and you can see that influence.
Yeah maybe there’s not even a solution, maybe it’s now about the intention nowadays and that’s the cool thing about why fashion needs artists in it because with the lack of originality possible it’s all about your artistic intention and interpretation of something, if you’ve got a good idea and an interesting perspective on something and are able to articulate that is when people are able to be like oh wow, that was beautiful.
Yeah exactly, exactly. I find that designers like Christopher Kane (http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/christopher-kane-responds-to-critics-of-his-ss-2017-crocs.html) to be really inspiring because it’s fresh and hasn’t been done before and nowadays it’s very rare where you’ll see a collection that you’re like, oh god, that’s amazing, I’ve never seen that before and it’s all sort of all been done.
Yeah so where do you think there’s room for change in the industry?
Umm, oh god haha these are hard questions. Umm, god, changes, I think we have to — as much as I say it’s important about money and like getting a good job and stuff — we need to stop focusing on designing things for money. I feel like if you look at the latest, I don’t know if you’ve seen the latest Dior collection, I feel like she went out and designed this collection to make sure that it sells really well to keep her in the company, do you know what I mean? So a lot of it is very like, I wouldn’t say basic, but it’s like very wearable in the sense that I feel like a lot of Chinese and Russians, they’re going to be drawn to this because it’s very wearable and it’s not extreme or anything, it’s not like artistic, anyone can wear it. I feel like a lot of brands still do that, I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing, but I feel that we need to design for the purpose of design, not design for money. I’m the worst at explaining haha
Haha oh my god, you’re fine! But I agree with you, even looking back at old shows and majority of the things you would’t wear. I mean even now with the rise of streetwear, it’s interesting in a lot of ways, the culture that is created, but I think a lot of it becomes dry and it becomes more about a label on a sweatshirt than anything
Yeah completely, so many people are buying things because it’s for the logo on the t-shirt, I’m a victim of it as well but like you said, it’s very, very dry and all on the surface and people are wearing clothes because of what they see other people wearing. There’s not that much originality but I feel that places in London still have a lot of originality if you look for it
Yeah I mean people are always going to buy that Supreme box logo shirt and that’s awesome because people believe in and want a part of your brand so much that they’ll drop all that cash but at the same time but I feel like people are doing it to show other people like, hey I’m hip! They’re all walking Instagram profiles
Yeah my friend was interning at Nasir Mazhar and he was saying that they just got t-shirts from Turkey like really cheap t-shirts and then heat press these Nasir Mazhar signs on them and selling them for like 100 £’s and you know the Nasir Mazhar waistband? It just says it on the repeat and apparently they just have a roll of it, the elastic, and they just cut it up and sewed it into a headband and sold it for 25 £’s and people just want the logo instead of what it actually is. (https://nasirmazhar.com/shop/product-category/accessories/) After he interned there he was like I couldn’t work for — after seeing that it really made me question about the industry and who is buying this, what sort of people. The fashion world is a lot more superficial than I thought.
Yeah and even with this blog culture too almost it feels like that’s where a lot of the whole streetwear, Hypebeast gone wild kind of a thing comes in and makes you want to vomit
Yeah I don’t know how it is in America but yeah, people at Supreme will buy things and sell it for four times as much but people are still willing to buy it because there are only 5 in the world and this celebrity, this celebrity has worn it. I find the whole Supreme culture quite interesting in a way, like the whole Gosha (Rubchinskiy) thing, because I really liked Gosha back in the day when he first did his stuff and now it’s just like a lot of fuck boys wearing Gosha, they’ve created this culture of like Russian skaters and skinhead kids in Russia but it’s become a luxury and a status symbol and that’s not what Gosha’s about. I think the whole vibe has complexly changed because his old designs, I thought were great, it wasn’t so much about his logo on the jumper and if you look back at his old stuff, it’s actually quite good and now it’s more like a fashion statement that you’re wearing a 150 £ t-shirt.
Yeah I mean a lot of that is youth culture which has become such a focus of so many magazines today. What do you think is so important about youth culture; because I feel like that’s where a lot of inspiration comes from and that’s who a lot of designers are designing for nowadays because it’s like these are the people who A) are going to spend the money and, B) are going to be around the longest and thus have INFLUENCE
I think youth culture is important especially in a place like London, youth culture is what drives the fashion industry, it’s like from people like the music culture, state culture and people from CSM and that’s really what’s driving what people are wearing and designing and where the art is around London so without that, we wouldn’t have it at all. The youth-art culture is very strong in London
I guess my last question kind of then is like what has this whole journey that you’ve been on ultimately taught you about yourself?
I think it’s taught me, the past few months that, damn I need to find a job haha because when I was at CSM I was like I want to create crazy clothes and live in this little bubble of mine you know and it will be fine but when you actually work in a company and you see how stressed people are and I think these past two months that I’ve been in Paris has made me realize the importance of getting a proper job and having money, yeah. I’m a bit confused about life right now, I don't know if fashion design is for me right now
Yeah because it’s kind of like your soul has been crushed
Yeah it has been crushed and I was talking to this girl last year who just did her placement year and she was like, when you get a job or start interning, you’ll realize CSM is just a bubble, it’s not what it’s like in the real world at all and it will really change your views about fashion and what you want to do in the future and it really has from the past two months I’ve been here
Yeah same thing for me, especially graduating form NYU, it’s like you go there and we pay $60,000 a year, yes for the education which was amazing but it’s also for the name of the school and it’s like everyone knows that and I think many of us are made out to think that, you know if we go anywhere in the world with this name on our degree, we’ll get a job, and it’s like well, lots of us don’t have jobs
This is exactly how I feel right now being here. When I work with people twice as talented as me, done private collections for Chanel and they’re one year older than me and they didn’t go to CSM, they went to some small school in Paris, it puts your life in perspective that you know, there are so many people better than you that didn’t go to CSM and you don’t realize it at all
Yeah and just because you went there or go there doesn’t mean as much as it should and that’s the thing thats sucks. I remember being at graduation and we have those big commencement speakers come in and talk to us about all the great things we’re going to do and it’s like okay, right now, I’m working two jobs, none of which have to with my degree and I graduated from NYU and it’s just like now I’m scraping by, that wasn’t promised. It’s insane
Yeah I’m working with a lot of people who have done master’s programs and stuff and spent a lot of money in thinking the same thing as I am, they’re going to get a job straightaway and when you’re 25 and you’re still earning 850 euros a month, it’s not a lot. When you calculate it out, I calculated it out and I get three euros per hour
That’s insane, that’s crazy!
You know I would get a lot more working in a coffee shop haha I’m young but for them, my friend who’s 28, she’s interning and she’s like I need to get a proper job because I can’t afford to live in Paris and intern, earning this much money by the time I’m 30 which is soul destroying you know
Yeah I totally feel you and I think that’s exactly why doing something with Sukeban and stuff is so awesome
Yeah it’s so fresh I think, getting involved with student designers and their styling is absolutely amazing and yeah, it’s really cool
This is our reality, like I’m not going to go back to New York and think I have a job at Vogue lined up, that’s not gonna happen
Yeah and I feel like a lot of magazines have the same styling, the same photography and it’s getting quite boring but Sukeban’s concepts are so fresh and Erika and Yuki have so much potential, they’re super cool and really nice people so yeah.