Last night we headed down to WHAT SHE SAID, W Hotels’ brand new speaker series featuring dynamic and inspiring women from around the world. Moderated by British Vogue contributing editor Calgary Avansino and open to designers from the current CFDA Fashion Incubator class, the evening featured designer Mary Katrantzou in conversation with our New Luxury issue i-con, philanthropist and all-round-fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg. Sad you missed out? Don’t be! i-D was there to bring you the 10 things we learnt…
We got some sound brand advice from Mary Katrantzou…
“Your brand is your baby. You get to understand the business along the way because you must.”
And she should know…
“You see a shift in how people buy. How loyal or disloyal they are. Even in the magazines it’s so disparate. I don’t know how it’s going to change but I know it’s going to change.”
You see for Mary…
“One of the strengths of being a creative is you are so curious.”
While for DVF, it’s all about an attitude…
“The first thing you decide is the shoes. If you go out with your girlfriends then it’s cowboy boots. With a man high heels. What woman are you going to be then. It’s not necessarily always the same woman.”
And in her case, that attitude came from one thing…
“I found my independence and my confidence and my freedom through one little dress. I was selling that confidence to other women.”
She’s pretty much accepted that she’ll alway be associated with it…
“My name is always associated with the wrap dress. For years I said, I’ve done other things but then I reconciled it and said, ok, I am the wrap dress. I am the original wrapper.”
Because, for her, there’s only one aim…
“My mission is to give women more confidence”
So long as it feels right too…
“For me, it’s important that it’s super comfortable. Effortless. I think to be effortless is more seductive”
Because you never know what might happen…
“My most extraordinary wrap dress story? Anne Hathaway was conceived in one.”