Taking a break from designing his spring/summer 2011 collection, Drew William recently made some time to meet me at the VAG (Vancouver Art Gallery) to talk more about his fashion successes, most recently at Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW2010) April 7-11, 2010.  After all, it was that week, April 10 to be exact, when Drew officially revealed to the Vancouver Fashion Scene his women’s collection, making him a designer of both the guys and the gals.When I approached Drew, he was looking so cool sitting on the concrete steps, leaning against the ones behind him with a coffee in his hand. Besides rocking a hoodie under a military-green jacket, a cameo cap, a pair of  Converses, and those mirrored pastel green-framed shades, you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at him, that this was a 24-year old whose designing career was about to take flight and soar.As a student who by “fate”, ended up in the fashion industry, Drew joked about how he started designing: He was originally enrolled in Emily Carr for photography, which wasn’t where his heart belonged, because his passion had always been in fashion. He traveled to London for exchange at Central St. Martin’s, got misplaced in the wrong class (a design class), loved what he was learning, and the rest is history!In 2007, upon receiving his degree and distinction in Fashion and Design, Drew began getting both feet in the fashion industry doors through opportunities where he was able to help out in various international fashion shows, such as those of European designer, Henrik Vibskov.  Travelling from Denmark to Copenhagen, to Paris, Drew took in and absorbed the inspiration and relevant experience he needed to start creating his own designs. This, combined with the lack of clothing in the market that he wanted to wear, resulted in Drew’s indefinite decision to start his own men’s line, Drew William.VFW 2010-Vancouver Fashion Week 2010It wasn’t until September of last year that Drew began designing women’s wear.  He originally set out to design clothes that he would like to wear, and he still does—but Drew now wants to focus on his women’s collection which he finds, receives more attention than his men’s.  And attention it did receive at the debut of his women’s collection at VFW2010 last month.  Drawing inspiration from artist Eugene Delcroix’s paintings, Drew William’s fashion show at VFW2010 was reminiscent of the French Romantic period, with his models wearing colors reflecting that time period such as beiges, maroons, blacks, and whites.  Some of the words Drew used to describe his show were “crashing masts”, “serene sadness”, and “sobriety of dead bodies” from Eugene Delcroix’s grotesque paintings.  Everything in Drew’s fall 2010 collection was done with an illustrative purpose: The hair on the models represented a reflection of clouds, the dark eyes exemplified zombies, or dead bodies, and the actual pieces that were worn by the female models were created with the illusion of “massive ships and sails”. The drapery on the dresses was magnificent, and Drew explained what most people probably were not aware of: “The technique on each dress is so important.  I actually had pieces of fabric cut into squares, and then turned them into the draping you saw on most of the dresses, to create the effect of a ship’s sail.”Even the music was specifically chosen and made for his show at VFW2010.  Drew gives a huge shout out to Patrick Goski, a Montreal musician and more importantly, a friend, who collaborates with Drew to write all the music for his shows.What does the future hold for Drew William? Says Drew on his spring/summer 2011 line, which will have a focus on women’s clothing: “I’m still playing around with concepts. I like to create concept driven pieces that are unified.  I want to design more dresses that are flowing and draped, but with structure”. Don’t expect to see any generically pretty designs, or models working it like they do in America’s Next Top Model.  Drew is not a fan of models strutting down the runway, which he calls “unfashionable”, and he is definitely not a fan of “pretty”:

“I think pretty is boring. No one is going to remember anything conventionally pretty. I want to challenge people’s views of what is beautiful”.

You can expect to see more pants, skirts, and dresses made from silks and chiffons, which he did not get a chance to design for his fall collection.  Drew would also prefer to have a darker theme, than one that is glamorous and bright.  He is looking back to the 80’s, and to other fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Bernhard Willhelm, and Gareth Pugh, for inspiration in his next collection.An obvious perk for Drew in designing is also his original goal when he began designing men’s wear: to be able to wear clothes that he wants to.  Drew would prefer if you walked out of one of his fashion shows saying you either loved or hated it, and not fall somewhere in between.  To him, that epitomizes great clothing; to be able to fall into the ‘love’ or ‘hate’ category and not a gray area.  It is a blessing for him to share his visual language through fashion, and translate what’s going on in his head.The advice Drew gives to all aspiring designers out there is not to worry about what everyone else is doing, and to focus on what you are doing.

“Don’t take yourself too seriously.  It’s too hefty for shows. A lot of people think fashion is super serious, and it really isn’t”.

Fun fact: The idea for Drew’s last dress at VFW2010 came from Halloween night, while he was hanging out with his friends, drinking a bit of bubbly, and doodling in his sketch book. There are over 130 pleats in the dress, and it took roughly 40 hours to physically produce. Sometimes creativity sparks when you least likely expect it to!For the time being, Drew William clothing can be bought from his website www.drewwilliam.com, where his web shop will be launched this month.  Or, you can visit the cute store, Marimekko in Yaletown, to find his designs there.  Hopefully, we will start being able to purchase Drew William clothing from retail stores in the near future!Written by: EUDORA KOHPhotos by: ALEX YELIZAROV