IF I
by Karla Jade Evans
What do you get when you cross one high fashion designer with one tattoo artist and illustrator? Why, a fashion label, of course. The brand 'IF I' - consisting of Sarah Henken and Rudy Gilbert - have been mixing the former's industry experience with the latter's visual talents to produce cool and laid back collections for modern women since 2005. For Spring Summer 2010 the Flemish two-some focus on throw-on-and-go dresses, voluminous casual trousers and simple Kimono wrap around tops. Easy, breezy, beautiful clothes with no hassle involved. We spoke to Sarah Henken, one-half of If I... to find out more.
What makes your label If I... different from the rest?
Both Rudy and I mix our individual universes to create a new one in the label. Rudy's world is a combination of tattoos, street and low-brow art and mine of high fashion and design. The mix of everything we do pushes one another to create If I...
How important is being in Paris for your designs?
Paris is a great inspiration. I moved here after graduating from Belgium and have never gone back. Travel in general brings us so many ideas, making us grow but Paris is ultimately our base, it's here that has a good balance and seems the perfect place to create If I.
What kind of women do you design your clothes for?
A cool woman, who is relaxed, dynamic and ready to go. A Parisian. Our friends around us. We imagine people we know in our clothes and when we actually see our friends wearing the particular piece we had in mind for them, it's really satisfying.
Who is your ultimate customer?
We love Vanessa Paradis, Scarlett Johanson, Charlotte Gainsborough.
What does the phrase 'If I' mean to you and why did you decide to use it for your label?
It sounds like a door opening, new things to come, a window to the future and an evolution. A name that we could play with and that suited the label.
A lot of your clothes look comfortable and relaxed. Is this important to your collections?
Comfort is the centre of our label. We wanted to create a line that offers comfort as well as elegance. The idea is to have comfy clothes that you could wear for work as easily as you could for a cocktail party yet still feel relaxed.
Are there any other designers out there that you hope to follow or that you appreciate?
I have worked with a number of talented designers who continue to inspire and influence me and are very much present in my world of work; names such as Veronique Leroy, Martine Sitbon, Lutz, Melodie Wolf.
For your S/S10 Collection was there any overriding inspiration that drew you to the final pieces?
For this particular collection we decided to take all our fabric stocks and make a patchwork collection with limited editions. This was a reaction to the difficult economic period that is effecting the fashion industry, so the recession was our inspiration.
For more information see www.if-i-had-a.com
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If I
