Interview: Julia Leach, Chance

Anyone who follows this blog regularly knows my love for a classic breton stripe! Who better then to interview than the queen of all things striped, a former creative director at Kate Spade and founder of simple but chic clothing label Chance? Let me introduce you to the lovely Julia Leach. Enjoy!

Hi Julia! Tell us about yourself. How did you get into design? I was interested in graphic design from a young age.  As a teenager, I took summertime classes at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, then discovered that I could combine my love for design and tendency to be super organized in the world of advertising.  I was fortunate to have a great mentor in Jay Chiat, then worked with Kate and Andy Spade for many years as their Creative Director at kate spade.  Over the course of my career, I've always been immersed in the world of design, and with Chance, I was able to explore product and apparel design.  I guess you could say the Chance signature boatneck is my pièce de résistance, at least with regards to this current creative chapter.  So many people love it and have embraced it as their new chic wardrobe staple, which is an honor.

You previously worked as an executive vice president and creative director at Kate Spade. How did that influence your creativity? Kate and Andy gave me a tremendous amount of trust and room-to-run, so I was able to build a body of work - advertising, visual merchandising, special projects and collaborations, website and content - that reflected and helped give shape to their vision.  The experience didn't influence my creativity so much as it provided an environment where I could thrive, build a team, and help establish a special culture and brand.  It was a memorable and inspired 11 years.

What inspired you to start Chance? Was there a particular event that triggered it? I knew that I wanted to build a business around an item that represented my sensibility, outlook on the world, and values - design, simplicity, personal style, and adventure, and the striped t-shirt stands for all of those values in such a clear way.  When I found a red and white striped t-shirt in a Parisian vintage store, that sealed the deal.  I thought, "Why can't I find a new striped t-shirt with a great fit and character like this one?"  And the idea and voice of Chance came to me clearly after that moment of inspiration.

How did you go about turning your vision into a business? Since I'm not a trained designer, I found a production person and technical designer to help bring my ideas for the knitwear to life.  I'm generally a "roll up your sleeves" type of person, so it was many long days and nights of designing and seeking resources for the other products I wanted to include in the launch collection (espadrilles, beach towels, totes, hats, jewelry, books).  There were layers of creativity and coordination.  Picking canvas colors one minute, then giving creative direction to the web designers in the next.  It was fun to realize that as a creative person, if you put your mind to it, you can design something that's three dimensional (clothing, apparel, etc.), in addition to doing the storytelling and art direction part of brand building.  In addition, I have an incredible and generous group of friends, and when they said, "What can I do to help?" they meant it.  Though it's been a lot of work for me, the process of turning the vision into a business has been a bit like a barn-raising.  Lots of creative friends helping to pull different pieces into place, something I'm deeply grateful for.

What is it you love about a Breton stripe? It's timeless, simple, and classic, while at the same time, totally open to interpretation.  It can be worn by anyone from an ingenue to an artist, rock star to royalty, and always look great.  I often say it's the "paper clip of personal style" : one in every drawer, utilitarian, and put to use by different people in different ways to hold a look together.

What inspired the name Chance? I was watching the Peter Sellers movie "Being There," and the main character's name is "Chance, the gardener."  When someone said about him, "He has a particular brand of optimism," it was like a flash.  "Chance," that's the name.  I'd been considering other names, but after that quick decision, I've never looked back.

What influences your designs? Graphic design (from Tibor Kalman and Paul Rand to Max Bill and Alexey Brodovitch), travel, music, art, books, films, friendships, nature.  I think these things inspire many creative directors and designers, but it's all in how you filter it and how you combine various influential elements.

You split your time between New York and LA, both of which seem to influence the Chance aesthetic. What other places inspire you? On the one hand, places with sunshine and ocean air...Mexico, the Mediterranean (broadly speaking), while on the other hand, places that have a strong design backbone, such as Sweden and Japan.

What’s new for this season? There are a few nice hats and scarves for holiday, but I'm focused on next spring/summer, which is inspired by Greece - its natural beauty and color palette.

I love the Elliott Stripe tee. How did you come to collaborate with artist Elliott Puckette? Elliott is a dear girlfriend, and also an artist whose work inspires me tremendously.  Her work is lyrical yet reductive, and she continues to explore new ways to express her curiosity and process through her work.  She's one of my friends who said, "What can I do to help?" when I started the business.  Over lunch one day, we talked about how fun it would be to collaborate, combining her lines with the stripe idea of Chance.  It started there and the rest was fun and unfolded so easily.  She drew stripes by hand and I designed a special style, the "Simple Tee," and worked with my production partner in Peru to create a set in colors Elliott has used over the years in her palette.  It was a wonderful project, really a gift of friendship.

Who is the Chance girl? She's nearly any age - 20, 40, 60 - and she has an adventurous spirit.  When it comes to style, she appreciates timeless pieces but mixes them in an individualistic way with a nod to fashion.  She's confident, curious, kind, and more minimalist than maximalist, more understated than overstated.

What other brands inspire you? I appreciate how Jean Touitou combines consistency and irreverence at A.P.C.  I also love to see what they do at 45 rpm, a Japanese brand, every season.

How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your designs? Tomboy Chic.  I think it comes through in the sense that there is a sophistication to Chance, but it is also very practical.  There's also a sense of freedom and independence at the core of the world of Chance.  A friend once described me as an "elegant outlaw."  I guess that mindset comes through in my style and in things I create.

What are your 5 wardrobe essentials?
1.  White jeans
5.  Striped t-shirt
2.  Fisherman's sweater
3.  Lanvin ballet flats in blue & brown python
4.  My three silver rings (two gifts from friends, one a gift from my mom) and a vintage Rolex watch

Any beauty rituals? I'm very minimalist when it comes to beauty.  Cetaphil cleanser at night, a dash of mascara and lip balm in the morning.  Taking long walks is my strongest and most enduring beauty ritual.

What outside of Chance is inspiring you at the moment? The strength and courage of people in New York, both people who have lost everything and who are focused on rebuilding their lives, as well as people who are working night and day to provide aid and relief.

Describe your perfect day. A Sunday in LA, waking up early and watching a movie - foreign, funny, or classic - in bed.  Then breakfast, then a long walk through Griffith Park followed by lunch at home in the sunshine with my boyfriend.  Riding horses on the beach, followed by dinner with friends - fresh fish, a big salad, champagne, a lemon tart.  Pretty simple stuff...sunshine, nature, a little bit of culture, and the people that mean the most to me.

See more of Julia's work on her website. Image by Mary Matson, artist, courtesy of Julia.

Essentials: The Summer Holiday

Here are my summer holiday essentials à la Self Service.

1. La Roche-Posay SPF 50 Anthelios sunscreen & Biafine Act to use as an aftersun
2. Sunhat / cotton scarves to create a makeshift turban!
3. Kaftan
4. COS bikini
5. Good reading material
6. Chanel Le Vernis in Orange Fizz
7. Navy Toms espadrilles
8. High waisted vintage denim shorts
9. White linen t-shirts (Jigsaw is good when your budget can't quite stretch to Isabel Marant)
10. Good company

Indispensible summer outfit
Comptoir des Cotonniers navy & white stripy dress & gladiator sandals for day. Toast polka dot flared trousers paired with a cream blouse and Chanel ballet flats for evening.

This summer’s destination

Côte d'Azur, France

The Essentials: Packing

There's now less than a week to go until my summer holiday to the South of France and I've got packing on the brain. I'm often guilty of over packing so this year, in a bid to keep it simple, I've turned to Joan Didion for a little inspiration...

To Pack and Wear:
2 skirts
2 jerseys or leotards
1 pullover sweater
2 pair shoes
stockings
bra
nightgown, robe, slippers
cigarettes
bourbon
bag with: shampoo, toothbrush and paste, Basis soap, razor, deodorant, aspirin, prescriptions, Tampax, face cream, powder, baby oil

To Carry:

mohair throw
typewriter
2 legal pads and pens
files
house key

This is a list which was taped inside my closet door in Hollywood during those years when I was reporting more or less steadily. The list enabled me to pack, without thinking, for any piece I was likely to do. Notice the deliberate anonymity of costume: in a skirt, a leotard, and stockings, I could pass on either side of the culture. Notice the mohair throw for trunk-line flights (i.e. no blankets) and for the motel room in which the air conditioning could not be turned off. Notice the bourbon for the same motel room. Notice the typewriter for the airport, coming home: the idea was to turn in the Hertz car, check in, find an empty bench, and start typing the day’s notes.

—Joan Didion, The White Album (1979)

(Image credit)

Summer Essentials: The Black Bikini

 































With less than a month to go until my summer sojourn to the Côte d'Azur, my thoughts have turned to the dreaded topic of swimwear. Never an easy task, this year I have vowed to keep it chic and simple inspired by Romy Schneider's little black numbers in Deray's cult classic La Piscine. Pared with a crisp white shirt as a coverup and a battered pair of brown leather sandals, this look should see me through summer. Nothing left to do except pray for sun!

(Photo credit: tumblr)

Interview: Daphne Javitch, TEN

Next up in my interview series is Brooklyn based founder and designer of TEN underwear and creative consultant Daphne Javitch. Inspired by style icons of the sixties and seventies including Jane Birkin, Joan Didion and Romy Schneider, Daphne's line of simple yet chic cotton undies are the perfect foundation to a stylish yet hassle free wardrobe. Here she talks French New Wave and the quest for the perfect shade of navy... a girl after my own heart!

Hi Daphne! Tell us about yourself. How did you get into design? Hi! I’m laughing trying to answer this question because everything I write sounds like an online dating description! I’m originally from New York and I still mostly live there, but I spend lots of time in Los Angeles. I’m a New Yorker who loves LA- a California-girl poser I guess. I’ve always been interested in personal narratives which I think is what led me to design as a way of visual story telling. First I was a costume designer, then a personal stylist, then I started my underwear line TEN which is what I do now as well as consult for the design teams at Theory and Uniqlo.

What about your past jobs? What lead you to your current position? I was a costume designer for film and theater before I started TEN. I absolutely loved costume designing and did it from the age of 19 for 10 years, but eventually I really wanted to create something all my own. I wanted to be responsible for an entire creative project, to have input and impact on every aspect of what I was putting out there.

Tell us a bit about Ten. What inspired you to start designing underwear? Before TEN, I wore a lot of children’s underwear because I loved their simplicity and shape- classic full seat cotton bikinis. But since I’m not a child, fit was often a problem! So I started dreaming up my perfect pair of undies. After working out shape/style/fit, my priority was to make a true navy blue pair. I’m obsessed with navy. True navy begs the question “Is that black?” Navy TENs are very rich and often mistaken for black. I release new colors with each collection, but always repeat white and navy.

What inspired the name Ten? I wanted a name that had a classic American sportswear sound. Something that was timeless and also feminine without being too girly. My best friend and I always rate things on a scale of 1-10 so the name TEN refers to being the best on that scale!

What influences your designs? I’m influenced by narrative- so I always think ‘Who is the TEN girl?, What is she like?, Who doe she have a crush on?, What does she think, say, read, eat?”… The answers to those questions almost always lead back to my spirit and style icons from the 60s and 70s- Diane Keaton, Romy Schneider, Goldie Hawn, Jane Birkin, Joan Didion, Anna Karina, Lee Radziwell, Julie Christie…the list goes on and on! These are graceful, smart, straight forward, and playful women. That’s my kind of sexy.

Can you describe the design making process? TEN started with one shape- a classic full seat bikini, but now there’s a bra (for the small breasted) and two new bottoms styles: a boy short and a high waisted. After the styles and fit are perfected I choose a color palette for each collection. I aim for unexpected, exciting and desirable colors. To me, undies are the clothing equivalent of a surprise party- when you take your clothes off POP! There’s a pair of tennis ball yellow undies! I also like the look of modest shapes in bright colors showing through a vintage nightie or crochet pants…I think I’ve gone off topic! Anyway, all TEN pieces are custom dyed and sewn in the USA. Since we repeat styles an important part of the design process is contextualizing each collection with images. Each collection has been represented in a different way on our website in order to continue to establish the TEN world.

Who is the TEN girl? I hope every girl is a TEN girl. The goal was to create everyday undies that are suitable for an unexpected sexy situation! I think everyone needs a pair of 1970s babysitter white cotton undies because they’re downright sexy without trying too hard!

Tell us a bit about the Godard inspired packaging. I once sent my crush a pair of white cotton knickers in the mail…now every pair of TENs comes in a custom airmail envelope! I like the innocent and romantic nature of that gesture- even if you’re giving them to a pal or buying them for yourself. The TEN font is the same as the one used in the opening credits of Pierrot Le Fou and the envelope is a bit oversized and cartoonish in a Godard inspired way.

Nouvelle Vague has inspired your designs. What are your top 5 Nouvelle Vague films? I love A Woman is a Woman, Breathless, Stolen Kisses and these last two films aren’t New Wave but I love them so much and they endlessly inspire me so they must be included: Annie Hall and Two For the Road.

What other brands inspire you? I’m very inspired by Band of Outsiders. I love nostalgia and I feel that Scott really tapped into a collective nostalgia to design updated versions of amazing classic pieces. He also started with just ties and shirts and took his time expanding- he’s a perfectionist who cares about detail and it shows. I consider myself the unofficial brand ambassador for their women’s line Boy! I like to think that TEN goes with their whole vibe and that we share a girl.

How would you describe your personal style and how does that manifest itself in your designs? Hmmm…words that describe my personal style: balance, nostalgia, cartoon, and ease. I wear lots of classic things but I’m also very attracted to humor and adventure in clothes. My friend described my look as that of a super- hero wearing half of their super-hero and half of their society outfit! Does that make sense? The way it manifests is that the shapes I design are timeless and relatively basic but the colors I use and how I wear my pieces is un-boring. Chic muppet. That’s my style.

What are your 5 wardrobe essentials? The perfect trench coat, a small purse (laughing-matter tiny), boyfriend’s broken in APC jeans (tailored short a la Carolyn Bessette), a perfect vintage white tee (tubular) and something epic with a splash of cartoon like my highlighter-orange Christopher Kane lace dress.

What outside of work has inspired you recently? There’s a song I’m very inspired by at the moment, but I don’t want to name it because I’m musing up a little TEN film to use it in. I play it 4 times a day and dance around my kitchen trying to figure out what to do with it!

Can you give us a hint as to what’s coming up next? I’m working on a really fun collaboration with Ron Herman Japan that will be in their stores S/S 2013. We’re designing 10 items for the TEN girl. It’s my first clothing collection, a little capsule of essentials. I hope we keep it going for a few seasons because there’s so many pieces I want to make and wear! I’m also collaborating with one of my all time favorite designers A Détacher. We’re making exclusive TEN colors and styles for their New York store. It’s a dream come true project- A Détacher is one of my favorite stores in the world. And I’m working on the Fall/Winter TEN collection. I’m finalizing and perfecting the new colors now.

Describe your perfect day. My perfect day has double the amount of hours in it. It starts with an apple and a perfect cup of coffee. I go for a run or take a yoga class. I catch up with my 5 closest friends (and my sister) thoroughly on the phone or in person. It’s sunny and I walk around New York and end up somewhere inspiring, unexpected and fun. I see something I’ve never seen before. I learn the names of flowers and remember them. I eat a Pali-made salad, his steamed artichokes and corn on the cob. I take a bath. I stay awake into the night talking to my favorite people in my (or someone’s) living room laughing so hard my stomach hurts and at least 3 of us end up in bed falling asleep in the middle of more talking and laughing.

TEN underwear is available to purchase from tenundies.com. For more of Daphne's inspirations, check out her blog here.

(Photograph by Ezra Woods courtesy of Daphne)

The Beauty Product: Rodin Olio Lusso Luxury Face Oil

If, like me, you're an avid reader of Emily Weiss' beauty bible Into The Gloss, you'll be aware of cult beauty product Olio Lusso. A staple both backstage and in the medicine cabinets of everyone from Lady Amanda Harlech and Vanessa Traina to creator herself, stylist and former Harper's Bazaar editor Linda Rodin, Olio Lusso luxury face oil promises to deliver 100% natural hydration, resulting in a healthy, luminous glow. Disillusioned with a market saturated with empty anti-aging claims, Rodin created the product in her bathroom by blending eleven different essential oils including jasmine, neroli and apricot known for their calming and nourishing properties. Since its launch in 2007, Olio Lusso has maintained its place as the (often fickle) beauty industry’s hero product. Intrigued, I requested some samples to try out.

Initially I was skeptical - "Won’t an oil make my combination skin break out?” “Can it really be worth the £96 price tag?” – but having used the product sparingly for a week now, I’ve been converted. I'm even tempted to try blending my own! After 2 drops massaged into just cleansed, slightly damp skin once a day, my skin is visibly clearer.  Any redness I had has been reduced and my skin has that elusive glow I’ve never experienced with a cream before. As for the luxury price tag -yes, it’s astronomical, but you only need the tiniest amount (after two weeks use, I’m only at the end of one of the 1.5ml sample bottles) and the dewy glow is definitely worth it!

I’ve always been a firm believer that beauty comes from the inside out, but if you need a little help along the way, Rodin's Olio Lusso more than delivers.

Rodin Olio Lusso is available to buy here.

(Image from OlioLusso.com)

The Essentials: White Jeans

Love them or hate them: there's nothing like a pair of white jeans to divide sartorial opinion. Once confined to the likes of a perma tanned Liz Hurley and the Euro-trash, white jeans have had a bit of a renaissance in recent months. A staple among editors during the Autumn/Winter 2012 collections, they were spotted on pretty much every member of French Vogue's fashion desk from editor-in-chief Emanuelle Alt to stylist Géraldine Saglio. Garance Doré has professed her undying love for them, and American Vogue's eternally chic Tonne Goodman is a life-long devotee. But how to wear them without looking like an extra in a Wham! video? I think the key is to pair them with something long and loose-fitting on top preferably in a dark hue (unless you're blessed with a waif like figure à la Alt). Off-white could be a more flattering and less obvious choice. But most of all steer clear of super tight drainpipes at all costs... a cropped or rolled up straight leg look is definitely the way to go.

The Essentials: The Little Black Jacket

Lately the fashion world's been a buzz with talk of Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld's latest collaboration: The Little Black Jacket: Chanel's Classic Revisited. Styled by Roitfeld and photographed by Lagerfeld, the coffee-table book, set for release this autumn, features 113 of fashion's most stylish men and women all wearing Chanel's iconic jacket. The shoot shows just how versatile Chanel's coveted classic can be, whether it be paired with a breton top and cigarette pants à la Sofia Coppola, or with a pair of worn out jeans as seen on perennial style icon Jane Birkin. Hovering mid-way between a jacket and a boxy cardigan, the Little Black Jacket has not changed since Coco Chanel first designed it in 1924 when she weighed down the hem and silk lining with a gold chain to ensure that it sat perfectly on the body. Is it the ultimate wardrobe essential; classic, elegant and timeless. The only snag? The cost. At a cool $4,710, a girl can but dream!

(Images: The Little Black Jacket)

Look of the day

These recent photographs of jewelry designer Lara Melchior on vogue.fr make me long for a wardrobe consisting solely of silk shirts and loose fitting trousers. Citing Dries Van Noten and Phoebe Philo among her favourite designers, it is no surprise that for Melchior comfort is key. Her wardrobe is awash with simple jersey tee shirts by Isabel Marant, wide leg trousers and breton tops, all accessorised with her line of delicate gold jewelry inspired by Viennese Art Nouveau and Fauvism. The allure of her wardrobe lies in well cut, good quality, comfortable basics which work just as well for day as for evening. Plus, anyone who owns a pair of Chanel espadrilles gets my style vote...

I wanted to give a woman comfortable clothes that would flow with her body. A woman is closest to being naked when she is well-dressed — Coco Chanel

(photographs: Linus Ricard for vogue.fr)

Stand The Test of Time

Ever since the baby doll dresses and stacked wooden heels popularised during her reign at Chloé in the Nineties, Phoebe Philo has imprinted herself onto fashion's collective conscious as the go to designer for luxury, wearable staples that women want to wear. I, like every other fashion fanatic, have followed Philo's evolution from the romantic Chloé days to the more grown up, pulled together aesthetic at Céline and find myself victim to what can only be described as the current Philo epidemic. Inspired both by Philo's personal and professional style, I was interested to read this profile of the designer via The Independent website. Philo's straightforward, industrious approach to the world of fashion design, reflected in her classic, discreet creations comes as a breath of fresh air in an industry renowned for its frivolity. "I think it's quite liberating for women not to have to be so preoccupied with different silhouettes, with different things," she says. It is this no-fuss, substantial approach that has struck a chord with the educated, modern women who comprises the brand's primary market. The success of Céline undoubtedly lies in its wearability factor and relevance to the current economic climate. As much as we can admire the effort and hours of grooming gone into the larger than life outfits of the likes of Anna Dello Russo, it is currently much more desirable to be able to throw on perfectly cut pair of cropped trousers or a simple shift within a mere matter of minutes without having to forsake that million dollar feeling.

"I absolutely love fashion. I love doing new things and finding ways to swerve in a different direction. But one of the reasons why I try to use fabrics and cuts that don't go out of fashion is because I like the idea of women buying the clothes and then... I don't know what the word is... cherish sounds over-emotional for a relationship with a piece of clothing... but for a woman to feel proud, satisfied, comfortable and powerful in them, to wear them and get on with their lives." - Phoebe Philo

(photograph: Phoebe Philo by David Sims for Vogue Paris)

Summer Essentials: The Oxford Shirt

After careful consideration I think my next purchase will be a blue Oxford Shirt. Plain, simple and the epitome of tomboy chic, it will go with everything in my wardrobe and can be dressed up or down. I'll wear mine tucked into black cigarette pants, or my Acne flares for a comfortable yet pulled together look. How do you wear yours?

(Photographs: j.lindberg via the knight cat)

Uniform

My most recent go-to for sartorial advice is the Essentials Section of Self Service magazine's blog. Having had a sneak peak into the must-haves of stylish individuals from Sofia Coppola to Emmanuelle Alt, it is clear that to some extent style is synonymous with uniform. When I think of stylish women, from fail safe icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel to more modern taste makers like Phoebe Philo, there exists an underlying connection between them in that all of their outfits (for the most part) subscribe to their respective standardised silhouettes. Take Emmanuelle Alt for example, whose style exhibits and rarely strays from the formula of skinny jeans + impeccably cut jacket + towering heels. Where would Sofia Coppola be without her classic silhouette of black slim fit jeans, Charvet shirt and flats? Even the Queen of Eclectic Anna Della Russo is consistent in that the very definition of her style is in it's strict outrageousness.

I think that in setting yourself certain wardrobe limitations, you come to figure out a true sense of your own style. Shopping becomes more of an enjoyable challenge which in turn makes you consider your purchases more carefully. For example, I am now far more likely to choose an item entirely based on a cut that would compliment the other items in my wardrobe rather than making an on- trend purchase that I will later come to regret. But, most importantly of all, the thing about uniforms is that you come to have a signature look, instantly recognisable as being 'you', which, for me, is the holy grail in an industry dominated by the next big thing.

(Photograph: Accessories Designer Giorgia Tordini on Kenya's Style)

The Coveted

Everyone's guilty of lusting after that one dream purchase, you know, the one that would be the perfect accent to every single item in your wardrobe but which you'd have to remortgage your house to afford? Case in point: Repossi's Ere Twin Ring. Pure, simple perfection.

(Photograph by elle.com)