I flew to New York to interview Lubov Azria, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group Creative Director, on the moodboard of the BCBG 2016 S/S collection, which is so enticing to be replicated immediately! We met in New York few days after 2016 S/S fashion shows of BCBGMAXAZRIA and Hervé Léger, which, as you know, celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year.
Lubov has welcomed me directly in BCBGMAXAZRIA showroom, where I can see looks of this fashion show, inspired to the West Coast style with some sky and surfer style contaminations, typical of the region where she lives: California.
She is an extraordinary woman, she shines with her own light, she is outstanding, as Americans would say and can communicate her mission clearly and straightforwardly: giving women tools to stand out and to do their best.
Patrizia Saolini: How could you transpose the loose look of Californian surfers in a metropolitan collection?
Lubov Azria: This time I have been inspired by my family, indeed it was one of my daughters who has a store in Venice CA, called Piece Collective, who was my lighthouse to create the personality of BCBGMAXAZRIA 2016 S/S fashion show. She has a quick and layered style, she dresses without thinking too much about it, but she prefers quality garments, often handmade, which make the difference thanks to their original style and precious fabrics. I have therefore aimed at combining the Californian sound, the taste of the sea and the artistic facets of our coast in BCBG collection, aware that our customers do not surf in town.
PS: What is the key garment of your collection?
LA: The key garments are undoubtedly all types of pants, ranging from shorts to skirt pants. They are the garment you can wear with anything, be it a pajamas jacket or a long vest. The basic assumption is that Los Angeles girls’ style revolves around jeans and my creative team and I have started from the evolution of this garment that, for better or worse, is the strength of West Coast fashion. What is peculiar in these pants is that they replicate surfers’ style and are not afraid of daring with pastel colors or gold also in town and have no constraints, though they enhance femininity.
PS: What is your recipe to stand out while being elegant?
LA: To stand out in fashion, it is always necessary to do something different, while respecting one’s DNA and this clearly implies the challenge of being true to oneself while changing. Our reference women want to feel at ease and enjoy their days, which are never the same and not necessarily stay in an office. We therefore refer to women who want to experiment, who are not afraid of conforming themselves or of sacrificing their creativity. But it is their freedom and lack of prejudices that lead us to conduct thorough research and to be very curious vis-à- vis the future to meet their needs.
PS: In BCBG fashion show I have noticed dexterity in using layers of fabrics having different weights, which is a typical solution to survive Californian temperature leaps, isn’t it?
LA: It is. The watchword is now “layering”, that is the virtuous practice of removing and adding cardigans, dresses and ponchos of all styles to pants, to pass from morning commitments to evening events without suffering from air blows and colds. Considering that layering is a well-established art on the west coast, we did not want to miss the mood of surfers, the queens of “layers”, which is extremely versatile, especially when complemented by patchwork hats and colored legwarmers. Layering is undoubtedly a strategic solution for mid-seasons and we can already use it in this fall… thanks Lubov for this piece of advice, we will use it from now on!
Full text on Junglam.com
