Fashioned with Love
Designer, Katherine Edmonds, shares memories of her rustic American childhood and the couture, hand-made tecnhiques that led super-cool label, Wovenplay, to win a Junior Design Award.
Left: Katherine as a child, sitting on the right with her mother and sister; Right: Wovenplay's latest collection
What is your job?
I am the founder and designer of Wovenplay, a designer children’s collection that finds inspiration in the past to create modern, sustainable couture for the everyday artist and adventurer.
Where did you grow up?
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Do you have a nickname?
Kat.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An artist or archeologist.
What were your favourite pastimes as a child?
Playing outdoors with my friends, making things with my dad in his workshop, reading and playing tennis. I also loved collecting old and special things and I still do today.
What is your family time like?
We like to go on adventures, exploring new parts of town or visiting other cities. We like relaxing, seeing movies and cooking. My son, William, loves the Museum of Natural History especially the Space Centre. He also likes to wander in the park and for me to give him and his friends scavenger hunts to find things in nature.
There is a nice bike path we like to ride down the Hudson River. We go down to Battery Park where there is a playground and a beautiful promenade from which you can see the Statue of Liberty very close!
At what age and how did you start to notice fashion?
When I was collecting as a child I found myself more and more intrigued with hand-made clothing and accessories as well as old textiles. After studying art history, I studied traditional French dressmaking at Maison Sapho in New York City. I fell in love with the process of draping fabric and designing with couture hand-work and techniques.
What was your favourite thing to wear as a child?
I have always been greatly moved by colour and texture and liked to wear comfortable and original pieces—some great ones made by my mother.
Who would you most like to design an amazing creation for?
I would love to design costumes for an Antony Tudor ballet.
What is your hot fashion tip for Winter 2011?
Enjoy luminous color, racing stripes and warm, comfortable fabrics.
Wovenplay won the coveted Designer of the Year Award in the Junior Design Awards 2011.
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