Capsule Interview Series: Federation

New Zealand representatives Federation do a bit of everything. Denim, knits, hoodies, T’s… got it all covered. Versatility’s only one of the reasons they’ve recently been nominated for the Sportswear International Fashion Awards. Check out the line for yourself; they’ve got a little something for everyone.

Designers Nick and Jenny do the Q&A thing after the jump:

PSFK: Why did you start designing?

Nick: We just really design what we want to wear – we wanted to have the expression of that…. I’ve been into designing clothes in a way since I was about 5 and mum included me in the process of home sewing, picking out which transfer to go on a sweatshirt etc.

How did you get involved with Capsule?

Christopher Blomquist from Sportswear International put the guys at capsule onto us.

What’s the inspiration/idea/theme behind this season?

Paint by numbers was the original idea … The concept of dividing up prints into paint by numbers how to guide, then developed into a strong colour palette of yellows, aquas a zesty citrisy colour.

And happy fruit ended up ruling the prints .. With a pear, banana, watermelon and some grapes…

Denim we took to the two extremes of a really nice raw indigo and a super washed out light as blue..

What would you be doing if you weren’t designing?

Nick: Mmm, maybe a professional skateboarder.
Jenny: Stoked don’t have to think of that because I love what I do!

What do you usually turn to for inspiration?

Inspiration comes from a crazy variety of places, these days can be from a book I am reading our two year old girl, a painting or piece of art, conversation, someone walking by on the street ..

Inspiration spurs something off in your creative part of your brain and takes you to a really cool idea. I love how that works how you get an idea or see something and it triggers all these cool ideas or designs.

What other designers/artists (of any kind) do you admire and why?

We have been going 7 years this year. I have a real respect and admiration for people who have been in the industry for 20 years and succeeded through the different years and stages of business and also we have an admiration for new labels that start up and have a fresh design angle. Knowing who you are as an artist/designer /label is something we admire!

What film/television has been inspiring you lately?

We don’t get as much time to watch tv and movies with a 2 year old and a 4 month old! We realized how much of our inspiration with geometric prints and neon shades had been paying some homage to the 80s! We have been watching quite a lot of 80s movies..

How does music influence your design process?

Sometimes a line in a song can spark a print idea or theme or just effect your mood…

What are you listening to at the moment?

We’ve been listening to best of the Breeders as well as a whole bunch of chill out French CDs over the last week.

What was the last show you went to?

U2 here in New Zealand…..

If you could go back in time five years and give yourself some advice, what would it be?

You’re better than you think you are!