Augustine Interview

LA based clothing label Augustine has been getting noticed with strong, focused collections of pretty, casual clothing. We recently sat down with co-founders Mitzi Guidry and Kelly Lynn Jones of the young fashion label to talk about their current work and future directions.

Interview after the jump

What would you say your line's aesthetic is, if you could describe it?

MG: Well we always have to throw the word comfort in there because we always try to design every season around comfort. But the aesthetic, it's very free-flowing but focused in the way that everything is pretty structured. We use flowing, loose material but we use a lot of structure too. Our patterns have definite lines.

KLJ: And we don't try to go too trendy. We just want the non-seasonal type of clothing that's fashionable but not overly trendy. We're not trying to jump on bandwagons.

What women do you design for? Who is the woman who wears your clothing?

KLJ: I think she's in her 20s to late 30s. Because I feel like a lot of our pieces can be worn in the office, we kind of think of the girl as a creative working woman, someone that does want to look fashionable but doesn't want to think too much about it. I feel like a lot of our blouses and jackets you can pair with jeans really easily. Because we want our clothing we do something you can take with you, if you were going on a trip it would just automatically be one of the pieces. Just an everyday piece that has a lot of uniqueness and detail to make it special.

MG: But you know she is someone who is a creative type and is aware of fashion but really can't be bothered by it. (She) has to show up to an office everyday, has to look professional but doesn't want to sacrifice any sort of style while in a working environment.

How did you put your first line together?

KLJ: We both kind of separately designed stuff. We drew drawings, had inspirational pictures and all that kind of stuff. Then we met up together and just figured out the line.

When you first made sketches were their a lot of differences with what you two came up with.?

KLJ: No. Without even talking--we just finished designing our fourth season--we always have the same idea, it's really weird.

MG: We sort of know the direction that we want to go and luckily it's always the same. We have the same vision.

KLJ: I mean there's definitely some changes with different things and we have to work through each design but for the most part we usually have the same ideas.

What was your biggest surprise in going through this process?

MG: I mean obviously it's very expensive to start a clothing line. We had no idea. But you know what, let's not talk about money because it's kind of boring. Other than money I am most surprised by how we pulled together our resources as far as contractors, fabric, buttons.

KLJ: I mean we run a serious business and that's what's weird. I don't even know how it happened. It just seems like in one year all this stuff happened all at once. And I feel like we're very lucky with everything that's happened. I mean of course there are always going to be mistakes you make, there are going to be issues that are going to happen. But I think as a whole when we look back at this past year we've been really happy with the way everything has happened. And I actually had no expectations, I really didn't know what was going to happen. Everything was a day to day thing.

How did your showing at GenArt come about?

KLJ: We were nominated, which we didn't know about, and two weeks before the show they called us up and said you were chosen.

And what was that experience like?

KLJ: It was really great. And we were lucky that we were with other designers that we thought were great. And it was just a very cohesive set of people.

MG: All the lines that were chosen were really the best of what is going on and what is new in LA right for sure. So we really felt lucky to be a part of that. It made us feel like we were doing something right.

KLJ: Because everyday you're in this business, it's a business you're not necessarily having fun, you're working, you're managing people. You're making sure everybody is doing what they are supposed to be doing. So it's nice when you get a little bit of recognition.

How do you think your collections have changed from the very first one to the current one?

KLJ: I feel like it was really girly the first season.

MG: The look and the inspiration from our first collection--we were drawing inspiration from Victorian times so it was really frilly and almost costume-y.

KLJ: Very feminine I would say, not that our stuff is not feminine now but I feel like it was even more then. And I feel like it's simplified a bit but we haven't lost any of the details.

MG: We've introduced a new fabric which definitely changes things up a bit. We're known for Milano jersey. It's a wool blend. It hangs and wears like jersey but has 20% wool so when you wear it it feels special. But for Spring 2007 we added linen and we're actually going to do a complete collection only out of linen for summer.

KLJ: We're kind of making this transition. Not that we're going to abandon the wool jersey but we're just kind of making the transition to other organic feeling fabrics. So Summer (2007) we'll actually be introducing some leather. But we want to keep it the same feel so it's not like if you looked at the pieces you'd be like "Oh, I don't even know who that is." I feel like it's still cohesive. I feel like if we keep doing the same things we'll never be able to change.

Can you tell us a little more about your Summer 2007 collection that you're working on right now?

MG: We just got serious on working on it. The entire collection will be linen and we are going to have leather details like leather piping, binding and leather belts. It's sort of a natural transition for us because we always use very organic feeling materials and colors.

KLJ: And we just used the linen for Spring (2007) so we're kind of working off that. We're really happy with the way the designs look so hopefully when we start the patterns and the samples they'll all look good.

Where do you want to take the line?

MG: Our goal is to create four collections a year. We started out just doing two, which was spring and fall. Now we're going to do holiday and summer. So more delivery dates means flowing business, flowing money. And it keeps our name out there year round not just during the peak seasons.

KLJ: I think we basically just want to have a successful business. It's kind of simple, I don't think we have any grand plans or anything we just want the line to grow slow and steady and hopefully just keep expanding and getting bigger, like the line getting bigger.

The Augustine line is available online at Sodafine and in dozens of boutiques around the United States. Click here for a full listing.