This is an interview that I had with the designer Rachael Reichert. Rachael is a designer from Ithaca; who studied at Central Saint Martins in London. Her style is very distinct and when ever I see someone wearing one of her pieces I can tell from the beautiful craftsmanship and funky design that it is one of hers.
Rachael Reichert: I've always been interested in art. I learned tosew in middle school, but didn't get my own sewing machine till I was 14.Before that I would make clothes out of duct tape or alter clothes using safetypins. I loved the idea of being able to make art that I could wear. I havealways been incredibly driven to create things.
EC: How would you describe your style?
RR: I always have difficulty describing my style concisely. I don'tthink there is a category that it completely fits in. It is sometimeswhimsical, sometimes bold, alternative, kind of goth.
EC: I know you use a lot of red, white and black, have you beenusing this color combination for a long time or was it a more recent addition?
RR: Black and red have always been the colors I am most comfortablewith. In college I tried to use them as little as possible, as a personalchallenge, but now I have fallen back into my chromatic comfort zone.
EC: Where did you intern in England? Autumn Newell mentioned thatyou worked somewhere that tried to utilize the majority of the fabric or all ofit, while pattern making or draping.
RR: That technique is called "zero waste" and the designerI worked for who used that technique is Mark Liu. He had a really amazing mindfor pattern making and draping! He would use every bit of a rectangle of cloth.Sometimes he would weave strips of the fabric to fit the shapes of the body. Orsometimes the raw edges of the fabric would be decorative on the outside.
Ihave heard of two designers in NYC who sometimes make zero waste clothes, StudyNY and Titania Inglis (who grew up in Ithaca!). But their styles are moredrapey, rather than fitted.
I also interned for Katherine Hamnett, who is theoriginal pioneer of using organic cotton. And for Linda Loudermilk, who hashelped develop many eco fabrics out of unusual materials like seaweed andmilk.
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EC: I heard you use a lot of recycled materials, including organicmuslin, is this restricting for you at times?
RR: I try to only use materials that are in some way eco. Mycollections are mostly made of organic cotton, hemp, peace silk andoccasionally recycled/vintage material. It is restricting, but not in a waythat I consider to be negative.
EC: Where do you shop for your materials?
RR: I buy most of my fabric online, from a variety of websites.Nearseanaturals.com is one of my favorites.
EC: Do you make mainly custom ordered clothes?
RR: I usually spend about half the year making custom orderedclothes, and the rest of the year making a fashion collection. Most of thecustom clothes are a collaboration of design between the client and I.
EC: What was the teaching style like at CSM? Did you like this?
RR: The teaching style was very different from Americanuniversities. There were no classes, only projects. Almost all learning wasdone independently through research. The tutors were only there to help guideus in the right direction and critique our projects at the end. The only gradesthat counted were the grade of the final collection and the grade of thedissertation. Most other projects weren't graded or were pass/fail.
Idefinitely liked a lot about that system. I particularly liked not having totake classes on unrelated subjects. But I was sometimes not fond of how handsoff the teaching style was. I am definitely glad I did it though.
EC: Do you have any favorite designers? What have been your favoriteseasons or shows by them, or just everything?
RR: I have always loved Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Jean PaulGaultier, Hussein Challyan, Theirry Muglar and Christian Dior. My favorite collectioneach season is almost always McQueen! Some more recent designers I love areThree As Four (although not SS13) and Iris Van Herpen. And as far as corsetdesigners go, Mr Pearl and Royal Black are my favorites.
EC: Do you watch the fashion shows seasonally?
RC: I look at pictures of almost all the big fashion shows eachseason (and pre season photos as well).
EC: Which websites/ magazines do you like the most?
RR: I look at style.com and truefashionistanow.com, but not muchelse.
EC: Where do you find inspiration? Anything in particular thisseason that has really caught your eye?
RR: I am inspired by many things. I find a lot of inspiration onTumblr. When I am working on a new collection I always have a theme and oftencreate a story to base the collection and show on. Then I collect hundreds ofpictures from the Internet, of clothes and art that fit my theme or my style,and I use all my inspiration to help paint myself a clearer picture of what Iwant my collection to feel like.
EC: The corsets you make are exquisite, is this something that youfocused on for a long time to get them just right?
RR: Thank you! I took a short night course in corsetry 8 years ago,but the way I was taught there is very different from the way I make corsetsnow. I have done a huge amount of research into how corsets are made and Istudy images of corsets to see how they are made. My techniques are constantlyevolving.
11) What kind of garments are your favorite to make?
Corsets are myfavorite to make. I love how they are structural entities that need to be madecarefully to work well. They take a lot of care, strategy and attention. Inever get bored of making them, because I am constantly trying new techniquesto see what works best.
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