WeAreHQ caught up with Pierre Garroudi at his London Bridge studio/gallery to talk about life as a fashion designer and his current collections.
Garroudi is an innovative fashion designer who is making his mark in the competitive fashion industry so WeAre itching to see his next exciting collection and what he has to say!
After leaving the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan Garroudi opened up his first small boutique. A year later he moved his business to Soho Manhattan where he stayed for ten years and eventually opened two more boutiques, one in Chelsea and one in East Village.
Now Garroudi has decided to take the leap and move to London where he feels the people are more open minded to fashion. “Every one comes to London, people come to study, they come for the fashion, they come to shop, to go clubbing, they come for the music, they come to improve their English. There is so much attraction in London, people are wild!”
So lets go back to the beginning, you studied at the Fashion Institute of technology in New York. What aspects of this institution have you taken away with you and helped your career as a designer?
How I feel is that school is good, but it is not the main ingredient. The main ingredients is your will, your stamina, your passion, if you have passion for something you will make it.
Where did you discover your love for fashion? And what pushed you into perusing it as a career?
I have always been creative. Creativity is an ingredient you put into fashion, but it can be used for many other things, I paint, I make lights, I would love to make furniture and architecture. I think of it as different containers that your pour your creativity into.
When I was a child my mother had a big Singer sewing machine that I always watched her use it. When I was a teenager I started to wear unusual clothes and I was the only one in my neighbourhood so I guess my love for fashion started there. I feel that you don’t know your talent until you grow and gain confidence. So I just love creating and fashion is one part of that love.
Who do you respect in the fashion industry?
Of course late McQueen, Galliano, Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Victor and Rolf, John Paul Gaultier, mostly the creative crowd.
I bet you get asked this question all the time but where do you get your inspiration?
Let me tell you something first, nobody invents anything, all they do it copy them. So when you start on a project, the more you do the more you find. You face problems and you work around them to solve them. So I started by doing a lot of draping in my black collection with small manipulation details. I listened to feedback and everyone loved the details so I decided to do full manipulation on my next collection. I saw the responses again and people were excited. So I created my red collection but in this I used a lot of wools and satin, which were too heavy, so the next season I used poly-cotton. I am constantly learning from myself, people say my work is origami but its not. People say Issey Miyaki but he pleats and the work is made by machine, mine is by hand. I am creating a new trend.
What kind of girl do you see wearing you your clothes?
It is hard to say, different people have different characters. If you put something different onto some one it can change who they are, this might provoke a different characteristic from them. This is like wearing a mask; you can walk into anywhere and feel confident because no one can see you. With my dresses you need to feel confident to wear them because they are going to attract people.
What are your favourite fabrics or materials to use in your collections and why?
Organza, silks, chiffon satins because they are so light and work well with my methods of manipulation.
I have noticed your work doesn’t follow a set trend, but more of a creation. Are trend forecasts something you stay away from? And if so, Why?
The thing that differs me from the rest of the industry is that I use one colour only per season. Some designers might use black for a collection, but they don’t change to one particular colour every season. The other thing is that I manipulate all my fabric and no one does it how I do, it is a very long process.
The trends and the industry is too commercial for me, if you follow what every one else is doing you won’t make, you must set the trend. There’s a saying, you better be the first class of you than to be a second-class version of somebody else. So be yourself, you don’t have to hide behind something.
What is your preferred method of designing? i.e pattern cutting? Or draping?
I do not use any patterns. I make the ribbons myself, manipulate it then drape the ribbons into a dress.
Wheres your favourite place to go clothes shopping in London?
All of my money goes into my fashion. It is hard to be a “fashionista” and at the same time create, because you don’t have the time. To be a fashionista you have to go out, mingle, see whats around, this takes lots of time. If you want to create you cannot do both, you need the time and all your energy to be a creator.
If I had the time to do more shopping I would go to the designers I have mentioned, John Paul Gaultier etc. I also love boutiques for something very different.
What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
Follow your passion, there’s a saying, if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. You cant do everything, you have to tell people your busy, if they ask why you tell them its because I want to be a fashion designer, or the greatest fashion journalist, the next Anna Wintour.
Has any of your friendships suffered through your years due to your fashion?
You are who you hang out with, if you have friends even family members who do not lift you up they will pull you down. Then you have to get the “big scissors” and cut them off… why?… because it doesn’t help you. You are not in the business of following people; you are in the business of following fashion or what ever it may be. That is what you need to pay the price for.
Where do you see your self in 5 years time?
I believe I am going to become one of the creative directors of one of the couture houses in Paris. I would also love to do as many lines as I can because I know I am capable of doing it, you just need the right team that know what they are doing.
And finally, is there anything you would like to add? Or a message to our readers?
My gallery is always open for people to come in and see my work. I am available for interns; I get a lot of interns from all over the world wanting to work here so I am happy to have more people. I also want to send a message to all the couture houses that I am available.
(picture of London fashion week and a friend of WeAreHQ Sarah-Mei modeling in the top left hand corner)
Here is a sneaky peak of Garroudis detailing for his next collection!
If you would like to see Pierre Garroudis full collections visit his blog on,
http://www.pierregarroudi.blogspot.com/
Or check out his website on,
http://www.pierregarroudi.com/
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