Talking Tabitha
British stylist Tabitha Simmons has switched sides of the fashion game – from rifling through the Vogue closets to designing what’s inside them.
With her eponymous range of luxurious, super-feminine shoes, she has firmly entrenched her name as an independent designer in an industry rife with copycats and rather homogenous high heels. Her designs echo a global sensibility for fashion, as a New York-based Brit with an aesthetic perspective wrought in the ateliers of McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana, and in the studio with photographers such as Glen Luchford, Steven Meisel and husband Craig McDean.
Tabitha took a minute out of her crazy schedule for New York fashion week and the SS11 campaign season to chat about her creations with Dan Thawley for Coccodrillo Blog.
Tabitha Simmons Fall Winter 2010 collection is now on sale at Coccodrillo Ladies store, Antwerp.
TALKING TABITHA
Dan Thawley: Hi Tabitha, how are you? Can you tell us what you have been working on lately, besides creating your signature line? Any special projects, shoots etc?
Tabitha Simmons: I have just finished styling a 171 look Fashion show for Fashion Night Out in New York City as well as shooting the Dolce & Gabbana ads for the Spring/Summer 2011 Collection.
DT: Working so long as a stylist, why did you decide to create shoes rather than a clothing line? Where do you take your inspirations from?
TS: I had a passion for shoes, which I have had forever! My inspirations come from everywhere, it could be a clock cog to club kid shoes.
DT: How do you manage to balance your collection, keeping the styles directional but not just trend-based?
TS: I try to use my instinct and not follow trends.
DT: Has it been an interesting experience to swap sides of the industry, from the critical hand & eye of the stylist to the design & production side of a creator?
TS: Oh yes it has been a huge learning curve and it makes me appreciate designers even more.
DT: Are you a technical person? Are you hands-on with your materials & production methods?
TS: I am learning more about the technicalities. I am hands on with the materials and visiting the factory.
DT: Do your film studies influence the way that you design and the way that you see the world of fashion?
TS: I suppose any design background is good.
DT: What do you envisage a woman wearing with her Tabitha Simmons shoes? Are there any new designers you would like to share with us? Maybe some more established favourites you can’t live without?
TS: Tabitha Simmons Shoes are great with anything. I love how you can be casual or dress them up. I really like both Repossi & Eddie Borgo jewellery.
DT: You are always naming your shoes after people like Karen Elson, Sally Singer or Grace Coddington. How do their TS styles reflect their personalities? Can you let us know who will be graced for this honour for SS11?
TS: The shoes were names after my close friends and muses. After I showed them my collection, they picked what they liked!
DT: Finally, have you ever designer a “Tabitha”? If so, what does it look like, or what would it look like? What does it say about you?
TS: No, but a “Tabitha” would be a wild, crazy, and sexy shoe that looks like it could walk all by itself without a person attached.
“Now there is a thought!”
Thank you.
Above: Kate Moss wears Tabitha Simmons “Candace Black” from FW10 in Vogue, Sept 2010