What is your background in fashion?
I always had the thought of working in the fashion industry because I loved clothes but didn’t know what part of the industry I would be involved with. I studied two years in a fashion school in Paris, and from one internship to another I gained experiences in creative studios and production. The one experience that gave me the most maturity was working with Mongolian designer Tsolo Munkh for two and a half years. She was starting the brand so it was ideal as I got to learn everything from creative to sales and production. After that, I did a six-month internship with Diane Pernet, who was working on six years of fashion film archives of ASVOFF for the Fashion Film Festival in Paris. I owe a lot to Diane, she really understands who I am and what I wanted to do in the future and was the one who convinced me to build my own brand.
Wait! You were Diane Pernet’s assistant? I find her such a lady of mystery, what was that like?
It was really interesting to work with her because I was able to learn about the press side of the fashion industry. I got to see many art openings, fashion shows, showrooms, etc. I had so much fun doing reports for asvof.com and shooting clothes while talking to designers. Since I was working on her archives for ASVOFF, I learned so much watching all the fashion films. She is the sweetest person and such a hard worker; I have the upmost respect for her.
Your fashion label is fairly new. How has the last year changed your life?
I ended my internship with Diane about this time last year. She really encouraged me to look for happiness in my career rather than thinking safety and stability. I started to re-work on older drawings I did in school. I felt like I needed to succeed this project into something real and not just Photoshop designs. That’s when my Ichi [first] collection was born. This year has definitely been very exciting.