Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

FASHION

Ex-model brings feminine touch to fashion week

Fashion Week by Berns in Stockholm was in full swing on Tuesday, with several well-known Swedish designers displaying their work.

Published: 1 July 2009 09:56 CEST
Ex-model brings feminine touch to fashion week

But one model-turned-designer stole the spotlight. With her lush, feminine dresses mixed with playful jewelry, designer Karin Säby showed viewers that Swedish fashion can be more than neutral colours and understated clothing.

The Local spoke with Säby after her runway show on Tuesday, and she spoke about everything from her past modeling career to her plans for the future.

Säby grew up in Vaxholm, a small island outside of Stockholm. She admits that as a child, she wasn’t really aware of fashion.

“I grew up in the country, and I had an interest in clothing but I didn’t know anything about fashion,” Säby tells The Local. “I loved to make clothes and create my own outfits, but I wouldn’t say that I knew what I was doing.”

It wasn’t until a chance meeting in the U.S. that Säby began modeling at age 20. She soon became immersed in the high fashion world, doing campaigns for designer labels such as Chanel and Tommy Hilfiger. She became the “It” girl for Tommy Hilfiger and went on to build a tremendously successful career in the modeling industry.

After five years, Säby retired from the modeling world, but she soon grew restless and missed a life of fashion. Säby decided it was time for a change.

“On my 25th birthday, I was at my home in Stockholm with all my close friends and family,” she says. “That was when I felt that I had to go back to my roots. I wanted some stability back in my life.”

Säby officially moved back to Sweden, enrolling herself in sewing lessons and practicing sketches and illustrations. She then created her own clothing line, Karin Säby Design. Säby says what differentiates her from other Swedish designers is that she isn’t afraid to take some risks.

“For me, fashion is more of an extravaganza than what most Swedish designers are used to,” Säby explains. “I don’t think about if the piece will sell a lot or not. I think more about using clothing as a work of art than commercial use. It’s not couture, but it’s more dressy than most Swedish clothes.”

While her collection may be more artwork than commercial clothing, Säby emphasizes that it is always her intention to make women feel unique and happy by wearing her clothes.

“I want them to feel pleased with themselves. My clothing should make their day easier. They should feel beautiful, special, feminine. This may sound superficial, but clothes can really bring your mood up when you are having a bad day.”

Säby says her focus is on her own work, but she always has time to admire and learn from other designers.

“I have so many favorite designers. Christian Dior, Stella McCartney, Christian Lacroix,” Säby says. “There is just no end. Everyone has a great talent, and I can always learn from them.”

Although many areas of fashion do inspire Säby, she gets most of her inspiration from the past and everyday life.

“I get a lot of inspiration from history,” she says. “I mean, clothing has been around for as long as we know, so there must be things that are really outstanding from the past. I also get a lot of inspiration from children’s books and doing things with my son.”

At the moment, Säby is content and grateful with her job as a fashion designer, but she has no idea how long she will continue to be a designer.

“I have to take it one day at a time. If someone told me I had to do this for 10 years, I would quit,” she says. “I need to live in the now. It’s hard work, but living in the moment, that’s what keeps me going.”

Säby was very pleased with how her show turned out on Tuesday, but she says there is room for more improvement.

“I still have more to climb to reach where I want to be. I’m not expecting to reach it by my next collection or anything, but hopefully I will in a few years. Someday I want to come back to New York with my collection. That would be wonderful if I could do that.”

Säby will be wrapping up the week with more interviews with the press as well as contacts with buyers to plan for the next fashion week.

See also: PHOTO GALLERY

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

Published: 7 October 2021 08:21 CEST
French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

SHOW COMMENTS