Taken by Nicole Cooper.
What are the
aesthetics of your current collection (AW 2012)?
Becky: For ‘Jardin
Exotica’ we were inspired by the French artist Henri Rosseau, who himself was
inspired by the exotic gardens and the jungle in South America. It’s a little
bit wild but still quite driven by nature.
Bridget: It was
interesting because he’d never been to the jungle; he’d only ever seen it in
books. So it was his interpretation of what these places would be like.
Becky: Sort of
dream-like and very entertaining.
Bridget: Yeah, that’s the
angle we presented our collection as well. Heaps of textures and the vibrant
colours - it’s like our own interpretation.
And for the second
drop of AW 2012?
Becky: It’s bit of a
continuation of the first but it’s a bit more like the wild side of the jungle.
There’s slightly more ‘red carpet’ looking fabric and then there’s the sequin,
with quite a bold animal print through it as well.
What goes into the
typical preparation for a Bec & Bridge collection?
Becky: We can
sometimes pick fabrics 6 months before we even start, but generally it’s the 3
months prior to when we shoot the collection that we’re really working with
pattern makers, concepts, everything. Everything sort of gets done all
together, we don’t have a perfect timeline unfortunately. There’s no magic
formula we work towards. It just tends to be what fabrics come up and what
shapes work together.
Bridget: We’ll
constantly be looking at new fabrics and if we find something that we really
love and want to fit it into the range, then we will make allowances for that
to happen. We’re always trying to make sure the collection is the best that it
can be. Time almost doesn’t matter.
What was it like
Australian Fashion Week last year? Do you still get nervous before shows?
Becky & Bridget: Definitely!
Bridget: I think we
always get nervous because you never know how people are going to respond.
Especially knowing that there’s all of the media as well as critics out there.
Becky: There’s also so
much natural adrenaline backstage because you’re so rushed and a think you’re
always going to get a little bit anxious. We try to keep as calm as we can but
there’s just so much going on and so many people. I think that can add to our
anxiety levels.
Bridget: It’s always exciting
and a great feeling afterwards as well! Seeing the whole collection come
together, the models all lined up ready to go out – it’s quite a moment.
Can you give us a
little hint of what’s to come for Fashion Week?
Bridget: We don’t have much to give away yet! It’s very much a work in
progress. Refining and trying to pull together our favourite prints and shapes.
Becky: It’ll
definitely be how Bec & Bridge epitomises summer so colour, prints and
textures. There’s always a 1970’s feel to it, even if we don’t intend it to be!
I think our girl is sort of raw, healthy, effortless, Bianca Jagger inspired.
Hopefully we don’t disappoint [laughs]!
What advice would you
give to those just starting out in the business?
Becky: I think one of
the things we find important is to not take yourself too seriously. I think if
you start taking fashion in general too seriously then you can really go down
the wrong path. It was easy when we were a bit younger because when we made
mistakes in the beginning, we just laughed about it. Otherwise you can get too
overwhelmed with everything, especially in fashion.
Bridget: I definitely
think getting as much experience as you can beforehand, which was something we didn’t
have the benefit of. We started when we were still studying so we really missed
out on gauging from other designers that have gone before us. Really valuable.
And finally, where do you guys ultimately want to see yourselves and the label in the next few years?
Becky: I think we’d really love to see what happens in the US. It’s a really exciting time for us and we just hope to continue to have growth with what we do.
Bridget: Yeah, I think definitely seeing how the label goes overseas. It’s very exciting to be on that international level but also very overwhelming sometimes. We can’t believe there are people outside of Australia that are wearing Bec & Bridge! I guess just definitely seeing how that pans out where that will take us.
I desperately want to say a huge thank you to both Becky and Bridget for taking time out of their busy lives to sit down and chat with me, and also to Ali for setting the whole thing up! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some very important work to do (read: important work may or may not include sitting in my room and drooling over the latest Bec & Bridge look book).
