TWELV takes a step back and visits the masterminds behind the camera.
NEW TYPE #8: MORGANE LE FAY - Liliana Casabal Interview
January 23, 2016 3:00 PM
"Introducing an extremely talented designer"
Argentinian designer Liliana Casabal is the founder of women's clothing line, Morgane Le Fay, which she began in 1982. It has been eight years since Casabal last showed her line on the runway, and has decided to present her SS16 collection this past New York Fashion Week. Her bridal line and clothing line both exhibit an etherial beauty that is mystical and strong. Many of her pieces have layers of opaque materials that play with the female body line, resulting in a beautiful yet bold look. TWELV gets the opportunity to delve deeper in to the mind of this creative designer.
------------- Liliana Casabal's INTERVIEW -------------
1. After nearly a decade of not showing at fashion week, what inspired you to return?
Liliana Casabal: There was no reason in particular why we decided to show again, it just felt like the right time.
2. Your newest collection named "In Big Sur with Rilke” plays with a color palette that echoes the landscape of California’s Big Sur. Have you always been strongly influenced by nature or was landscape calling to you?
LC: The collection's name, "Everything Blooming" was inspired by a passage from Rilke, I felt it resonated with what the collection was doing.
3. Has any specific poem or stanza of Rilke’s directly influenced your designs?
LC: I was reading Rilke's Love and Other Difficulties: Translations and Considerations and enjoying it a lot. I find his work wise and hauntingly beautiful.
4. Being raised in Argentina and then moving to New York, do you feel that your work was influenced by living in these two different places?
LC: My work has been and still is influenced by my upbringing in Argentina - there seems to be a sense of wilderness and connectedness to all that is natural there - a certain purity in the way people connect with the land and animals that I admire. It was present throughout my upbringing and is still present in my work today. Though New York has been my biggest influence, with its dynamic ways.
5. Your design philosophy is that fashion can be a healing force that allows the wearer to feel limitless. What type of healing are you focused on bringing to the wearer? How do you work to imbue this feeling into the clothing?
LC: I aim to heal through the joy and confidence that wearing a beautiful design can bring. I believe how someone feels about themselves has a big effect on their overall well-being. I always design directly on my body, and I know a design is done when I accomplish that certain feeling.
6. Your most recent collection was accompanied by an arm tattoo on each of the models. What did the tattoo say and what was its meaning?
LC: The tattoo read "everything blooming." To me "everything blooming" represents a kind of natural, pure state of beauty coming into its truest form. Something unstoppable, because it is so deeply ingrained in the natural order of things. It resonates with a sentiment beyond what is tangible.
7. Do you have any vision for where you would like Morgane Le Fay to go in the future?
LC: Yes, I would love for Morgane Le Fay to expand in many directions. With new product lines, and/or into the Japanese market too, I admire Japanese culture and feel connected to its aesthetics. It is also important to me that the company continues to grow while maintaining a social conscious mission as well.
8. Do you have plans to continue showing Morgane Le Fay at Fashion Week?
LC: Yes! We enjoyed last season and are looking forward to showing again in February.
9. Do you have any plans to collaborate or to expand your line?
LC: Presently, we are working on two very exciting collaborations! One is a vinyl record store opening soon next to our store in Malibu. The other project is still in development but it will be an online venture.
10. How do you feel the response was for this past collection and do these opinions affect your design?
LC: The reactions to our previeus show have influenced me and the company in a positive way-in general we're very happy with how warmly welcomed our show was.
WRITTEN & INTERVIEWED BY CAITLIN KING
PHOTOGRAPHY: HAYATO
DIRECTION: OMEN PR
LOCATION: MORGANE LE FAY
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