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, 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 paul
smith holdall. 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,
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, 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 Paul
Smith iPhone 5 Case. 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 paul
smith handbags sale, would be a dream.
http://www.paulsmithbagsaleshop.co.uk
