What better day than the final day of the London collections to celebrate the best that Britain has to offer? Since its launch in October 2009, London based knitwear brand Chinti and Parker has gone from strength to strength creating ethically produced, desirable knitwear in playful yet classic designs. I caught up with one half of the label Anna Singh to discuss stars, spots and stripes!
Where are you and what are you doing right now?
I’m in London at Chinti and Parker’s offices hopping between private press appointments for an exclusive new collaboration that will launch late summer, and my desk where the to do list gets
progressively longer!
How did you get into design?
A moment of madness!
What drew you to knitwear?
I’ve always been drawn to luxe-casual clothing, and this is something that’s intrinsic to knitwear due to
its natural texture and finish. I also have quite an emotional response to wool/cashmere - they’re very
comforting and can evoke some quite nostalgic feelings.
How would you describe the Chinti & Parker aesthetic in three words?
Easy. Chic. Faithful.
Tell us about the ethical approach to your brand.
Our strapline, Conscious Cloth, underpins our ethical approach. It is essentially a catchall maxim
reminding us to consider where and how we produce our garments (organic, fair trade, made in the
EU where possible) and the effect this has on the environment and local communities. In turn, it is a all
to action for our shoppers to be mindful about what they’re buying, hopefully adopting a buy less, buy
better approach.
Talk us through your latest collection. I love all the stars, spots and stripes!
Thank you - we love them too. The main story for our new collection (spring summer ’13) is vibrant
colour. Bright parrot blue, watermelon pink and spring green have a strong presence, and our key star,
spot and stripe styles have been updated in the new palette. We’ve also introduced rainbow hearts, as
both knitwear and cottons - seriously cute. Other exciting print introductions include a hand drawn
irregular grid print, that comes in both dress, skirt and blouse options. The overall vibe is very fresh
and pretty without being too girly.
Who and what influences your designs?
So many things - a blouse of my grandmother, a vintage upholstery fabric, a t-shirt I’ve owned for
years, but which I’ve been hard pushed to replace it’s cut is so perfect, and the colours of somewhere
I’ve just holidayed. It’s pretty varied, and sometimes quite ephemeral.
Who is the Chinti & Parker girl?
The Chinti and Parker girl is really any style aware girl or woman of our age who has either outgrown
the whims of fast fashion, or who was never really seduced by it in the first place. She gets
understatement, values quality and craftsmanship, and wants to feel confident in what she wears, but
without it wearing her.
How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your designs?
Fuss-free, a few stylish details (hopefully) and very versatile.
What are your 5 wardrobe essentials?
-The Long-Sleeved Tee in a neutral colour - I wear these year-round as a base layer
-A statement cashmere sweater such as our new Overlapping Polka Dot sweaters, which you can
throw on over jeans for instant impact.
-A Breton Striped dress in fresh colours - it’s an icon of casual chic, but add an element of surprise by
choosing a fresh new colourway
-Our Cashmere cardi is a classic grandpa style and works brilliantly with everything from jeans and
slacks to cotton dresses, and this season’s styles come with bright contrasting pockets.
-We don’t make them, but a decent pair of flat shoes that work with skirts as well as trousers - my
heel days are few and far between, despite my ambitions otherwise!
Any beauty rituals?
Sleep, though I fail miserably at getting enough.
We are starting to research for designing AW14.. yikes!
Describe your perfect day?
A weekend day at home, baking with my 2 wonderful boys.
See more of Anna and Rachael's work on their website.
Nice interview as always...I like her description of the Chinti & Parker girl.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked their basics but shipping their clothes all the way from the UK always seemed ironic to be since the carbon footprint would probably negate the "green" qualities of their clothing!
Love Chinti & Parker. I'm such a sucker for beautiful knits. How lovely that you got to interview Anna.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely interview!
ReplyDeletei just found out about this new collaboration ( what they talked about it above!?) and it is stunning!
http://betterymagazine.com/people/chinti-and-parker-meets-patternity/
i really want a jumper !!
x K