FASHION: DEIRDRE McQUILLANtalks to Amanda Pratt about the inspiration for Avocas
autumn look IT COMES AS no surprise that Amanda Pratt, creative director of
Avoca, admits that Paul Smith is her greatest hero. Like him, she doesnt go down
the traditional route for anything Paul
Smith Handbags UK, preferring to find her inspiration from all sources,
particularly old fabrics and patterns. Elsa Schiaparelli (who was a customer of
Avoca in the 1930s), another designer famous for her individuality, is a revered
figure. Pratts ability to combine different colours, textures and patterns in a
wayward, artistic way marks out her style as very much her own whether on a box,
a cup or in a fashion garment. Its to do with knowing when something is too much
or knowing when its too little, it has to do with balance, she says, sitting on
the floor in her office, knee-deep in clothing samples. I always start with
fabrics because that is my great love, she says, admitting that she haunts the
VA in London several times a year. I was always in love with beautiful old
clothes that have some resonance. I dont like throwing things away. I love the
history in fabrics. Her creative responsibilities dont just end with the fashion
collections she designs every year C spring 2013 is already out of the way and
winter 2013 in progress C but includes everything from scarves to homewares,
samples of which crowd the shelves in her office. Ninety per cent of what Avoca
produces in these areas is exported, mainly to northern Europe but also further
afield; the company has just received a 56,000 order for socks, for instance,
from Anthropologie in the US and there is growing interest from Japan. The
countries whose fashion really excites me are the UK and Japan, she says. Her
scrapbooks in which she gathers ideas, images and fabrics for each season are a
key to her design approach. I work on it at night at home, sitting in front of
the fire when I have mental space. And I am completely paranoid about it. If I
cant in the book, I cant do it in reality. The winter collection shown here,
would have started on these pages. I comment on the buttons, always a noticeable
feature, the latest made from old watches. Most people think of a button as
something that just does something up C it is usually the last thing a designer
thinks of outlet paul smith
bags, whereas I think of it like a piece of jewellery that adds something
happy and unexpected. Buttons were special to our ancestors and were often a
mark of position. I see them as surprising details. That element of humour and
surprise has endeared her to the Japanese market and Japanese magazines sit on a
rack alongside French Vogue and others. I love the Japanese aesthetic and their
lack of fear of being different, particularly Japanese women. They like naivety
rather than sexuality. We have been exporting there for the past four seasons,
which means that at retail, Japan is selling 1.3 million worth of Avoca product.
Now the giant Itochu Corporation, one of the worlds biggest, which brought Paul
Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Jil Sander amongst others to Japan paul
smith holdall, wants to open an Avoca retail shop in the country. Pratt is
heading there next month C she is already taking lessons in Japanese C and if
successful, the venture will mark a major development for the Irish company
which has seen a big jump in exports since September 2009 as well as a 64 per
cent increase in online business in the last six months. Here in Ireland,
however, most people associate Avoca with its caf and shops, the newest of which
has just opened in Malahide Castle in north Dublin. Because of this, we are not
really seen as an export business, says Pratt. I cant think of any others in
Ireland doing what I am doing and exporting. We are not seen in Ireland as being
a design-driven house and the area that I am passionate about is design. There
is so much innovation going on here and to think that another nation like Japan,
whose people are so different, would think that Avoca would be exciting, would
be a dream.
http://www.paulsmithbagsaleshop.co.uk
