AnOther Magazine’s new Decade In Style issue is available one week before general release exclusively at Liberty of London from today. The Decade In Style issue features four different covers; Katie Holmes in Alaia, Kate Moss in John Galliano, Natalie Portman in Lanvin and Vanessa Paradis in Chanel, in a celebration of fashion over the last ten years.
To celebrate our instore event with Liberty reprobate YBAs Jake & Dinos Chapman have illustrated five £5 notes to be won by Liberty customers. Each person buying a magazine from Liberty will be entered into a draw, with a chance of winning one prized banknote from these iconic artists.
iDR has had the pleasure to interview Mataano. When I first heard about them is through a friend of mine. Apparently they’ve been on Oprah…Oprah you say? We’re all over it! I had so many questions and honestly I wanted to sit and chat with them, however, they are on the east coast. You can see why they and their brand Mataano was featured on Oprah. Their global mind and vision is inspiring as well as their passion and strive for the fashion industry. Best of all they’re chicks just like us, making it work! Check out their collection online, click here and read on.
First off tell us a bit about how Mataano came about?
While we were growing up in Somalia, we were always aware the fashion of very beautiful women who wore dazzling, colorful dresses. When we moved to Virginia, at 9 years old, we got exposed to a more contemporary style of fashion, especially through the magazines and books our mother gave us to read in order to learn English more quickly. At that point, we didn’t realize that our love for fashion could equate to a career. So, we went to college to earn solid, dependable degrees. And then we moved to New York, for the pursuit of our dream.
I see the two of you have had internships at Jill Stuart and Betsey Johnson. Tell us a bit of what you learned and how you’ve leveraged that into your own company now.
Our internships let to jobs. The best way to learn any craft is to immerse yourself in it. Working in the field of fashion gave us the building blocks to accomplish our goals.
Fall 2009 Collection
How has working in online marketing given you an edge on marketing your own line?
Yes, definitely. E-marketing has given us the opportunity to increase sales and access new markets across the globe.
Working with your sister…good or bad? Annoying or great? I mean after a long day at work, do you guys still hang out after? Has your relationship changed, if so in what way? Give us the dish!
Working together is great. We grew up together. We shared a crib, a room, a car. Now we live and work together. Trust me, when you share a womb with somebody, you learn quickly how to get a long. That being said, we do have the occasional argument and when we do, we give each other space.
Looking at the photos, I see a lot of ethnically diverse women? Is that intentional? If so why?
We hire models that represent the multicultural world we live in.
all photos courtesy of Mataano
What is your creative process like? If we were to step into your studio what would we expect to go through to get the end product?
There are different phases to the design process. There is the design phase, the fabric and color phase and the final phase would be development of samples. So if you were to come to our design studio, you would find fabric, trim, vintage clothes, art, proto samples, a pattern maker, and a sewer. There would also be people coming and going – friends or stylists or our PR rep.
With rich Somali roots and living in NY, does the cultures influence your pieces in a more technical perspective such as relooking at the function of a dress in two different cultures?
We would have to say that color and attitude is derived from our Somali roots, but the cut and silhouette of the dresses are western. We will eventually try and experiment with Somali dress silhouettes.
Your pieces are lovely, how is the line responding to the economy? Do you see repositioning your price point, or changing materials?
The economy is not great. However, we are happy with the response we have gotten. We are positioning ourselves for slow but steady growth. It’s good to remain cautiously optimistic.
Also in the long run, how do you see the fashion industry changing as a whole in response to the financial climate?
It will weed out a lot of mediocre labels. There will be more room for new designers.
What do you love about the Fashion Industry? Is there anything about the industry you cant stand?
We love the fashion industry because we have the opportunity to express ourselves through clothing. Dressing is like decorating your body; we have the privilege to decorate bodies. However, it is important to realize that it’s just clothes. Sometimes people take it too seriously!
What should we expect in the future for Mataano?
Growth, Ecommerce, and an accessory line
Special thanks to Idyll and Ayaan for collaborating with us on this piece. We can’t wait to see more!
Passion Pictures and director Pete Candeland (director of the Gorillaz videos) created this amazing intro for The Beatles Rockband. With top-notch illustrations and transitions the piece brings the excitement and energy the Beatles are known for. Check it out and enjoy.
Fermentiattivi is an independent label, born, more or less, one year ago. Fermentiattivi’s best describes themselves as: We are an art director and a graphic designer, we’ve known each other for some years and we decided to create something together. We decided to create something completely new and unique, independent from classical advertising, right to express our creativy without limits.
How did your company start out? What was the original concept?
Working for customers in advertising you realize they often don’t use to letting you express completely your ideas.
Fermentiattivi project has been developed during our friendship and our work, always performed with passion and care. So, one day we decided to join our energies and inject them into our whole creativity, making our minimal and straight web site.
We find creativity in everything around us, like things of everyday life (collection Homesweethome), like our organs (exalted from old latin wise men), or like lovely pets (living on your t-shirt). And the collections won’t stop here….
Seeing that you’re in Italy, why would you want to reach consumers in the United States?
We would love to let American people know about our creativity because we think they have a feeling for changes and they could appreciate two European creatives.
American fashion vs. Italian fashion? You’re thoughts?
Not really a “match” but a meeting between two different cultures, two ways of thinking, two life-styles.
What do you think are the differences in attitude in a American girl and Italian girl?
Our target are young people usually curious and interested in new things and changes. It doesn’t matter where they come from, creativity is appreciated everywhere in the same way.
