{"id":36557,"date":"2014-09-12T12:48:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T11:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=36557"},"modified":"2014-09-12T13:14:21","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T12:14:21","slug":"liz-black-x-river-island-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2014\/09\/12\/liz-black-x-river-island-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Liz Black \u00d7 River Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forget Fashion Week FOMO, River Island are bringing the high-end to the high street with their latest Design Forum collaboration with up-and-coming designer Liz Black<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

River Island\u2019s Design Forum initiative has previously brought collaborations from London Fashion Week favourites such as Katie Eary, Eudon Choi and Joseph Turvey to the UK high street. So we were more than a little excited when we heard that this year the retail giant has partnered with Liz Black<\/a> to bring that designer je ne sais quoi to the fashion hungry masses… And boy, does Black have some fashion credentials! After graduating from Central St. Martin\u2019s in 2010, she went onto set up her own luxury womenswear label. Since then, she has caught the attention of Roland Mouret when she was selected as a semi-finalist for the Fashion Fringe Awards in 2011, and she\u2019s recently been nominated in the \u2018Creative Excellence\u2019 category at the Scottish Fashion Awards. Oh, and she counts Lady Gaga as one of her celebrity fans.<\/p>\n

So if you want to grab yourself an affordable slice of this up-and-coming designer, her 9-piece capsule collection is launching across River Island\u2019s UK stores today. The gothic collection draws inspiration from Princess Anastasia\u2019s rumoured survival during the Russian Revolution, with the power dressing silhouettes offset by tactile leather-look materials and fur detailing.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t worry too much about doing your fashion homework, because we\u2019ve done it for you! We nabbed an exclusive interview with the emerging designer, as well as a sneak peak of the Liz Black for River Island film, which is officially launching at the British Fashion Council Fashion Film event on Monday. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Could you take us through your fashion journey so far: since graduating from Central Saint Martin\u2019s to the upcoming River Island Design Forum collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After graduating I started my own label, and I have since shown at both London and Paris Fashion Weeks. In my shows I am always trying to tell a story. My inspirations have been quite broad; from art to architecture. For example, last season my collection focussed on Salvador Dal\u00ed but a couple of seasons before it was Alice in Wonderland.<\/p>\n

So wherever you take your inspiration from, you\u2019re always looking for something that has a story to tell?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, exactly. My collections always tell a story about something that\u2019s going on, or something that\u2019s relevant. So every season we show the collections at a showroom in Paris, and I always go to as many exhibitions as I can while I\u2019m there. And, obviously, I eat very well too! But, for example, I saw the Salvador Dal\u00ed exhibition in Paris, and the Soto exhibition<\/a> as well. So my collections will always be about something that is happening in my life, or something that has touched me in some way. I tend to get obsessed with a theme! But what is most fun for me is pulling together how to tell the story, rather than just assembling one garment.<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you feel when you found out that you were going to be designing a collection for River Island?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The British Fashion Council proposed the initial designers and then River Island shortlisted three final designers to interview. I still don\u2019t know who the other designers were! But anyway… I went and it was really exciting to know that the British Fashion Council had even nominated me. I was interviewed by a panel of Fashion Directors, and it was a great experience. But I never really thought I was going to be their final choice! I know I shouldn\u2019t say that, but you just never really expect to be chosen for these kinds of things. I really, really wanted it, but I just didn\u2019t want to be hurt if I didn\u2019t get it. Then the next day they contacted me to tell me that they wanted to work with me! So that was a very exciting moment.<\/p>\n

What has it been like working with such a big brand? <\/strong><\/p>\n

This has really been my first experience of working for the high street. I\u2019ve previously interned with Emilio de la Morena and Diane von F\u00fcrstenberg in New York, but I have never had experience with a high street brand. But the energy that this company\u2019s got is amazing. We\u2019ve had a lot of meetings and there have been a lot of people to meet there because they have amazing teams for every single thing. There are so many people working at River Island, and all of them have a really niche knowledge of a specific area. So we\u2019ve been blending that knowledge with my ideas.<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

How did you adapt your usual aesthetic to cater for a high street brand and a wider audience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The collection feels 100% Liz Black to me, but then the materials are a little bit more affordable. For example, I always use leather in my collections, but for this collection we have used a material that is similar to leather instead. It was important to me that this collection felt like my own, because I want young people to like it, and then if they really like it they might want to look at my stand-alone collections as well. I\u2019m actually really excited to see people in my pieces. I want to see people out and about wearing this collection! So maybe I\u2019ll look out for the leggings, the cardigan or even the coat in the daytime, and then perhaps I\u2019ll see the dresses when I\u2019m out in the evenings. I\u2019d like to see how people style the collection as well.<\/p>\n

Can you talk us through the inspiration for the capsule collection?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The inspiration started with the cape that the Russian Princess Anastasia wore, and then I worked out from there. I took inspiration from everything: Faberg\u00e9 eggs, Russian dolls and even the Disney film! So although it started with just one thing, I wanted to make sure I got the whole picture. It was actually an idea that I had had for one of my collections \u2013 I have folders and folders and folders of different inspirational subjects \u2013 but that was the one that most appealed to me at the time, and I wanted to tell her story because it\u2019s something that I feel really strongly about. So I made a clutch for the collection that looks like a Faberg\u00e9 egg, and then the dresses are all styled to look like corsets, because Anastasia is said to have sewn precious stones inside her corset when her family were leaving Tobolsk to ensure that the guards wouldn\u2019t find them. So the corset actually became a main feature for the collection.<\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a><\/p>\n

What are your favourite pieces?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a really hard question because I\u2019d wear every single thing! But I think if I had a specific budget to spend, the coat and the shoes are probably the pieces that I would buy first.<\/p>\n

Did you enjoy making the film to accompany the launch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The film production was amazing! The photo shoot was good as well, but the film production was out of this world because I\u2019ve never really been involved with anything like that before. There were almost fifty people working on it. Seeing the transformation of my ideas was so amazing. The company and director, Mary Nighy, were absolutely brilliant.<\/p>\n