Today we have a fantastic interview that we are thrilled to share with you. Unlike a typical interview with a fashion designer (which let’s face it, is usually just a PR line and standard product promotion) we have gotten the behind the scenes scoop from Brooklyn based designer Lizzy Seklir. Lizzy is the talented designer behind the beautiful and eco-conscience women’s wear line, Lys. Lizzy was generous enough to share with us her design story, give advice for industry newbies, explain the importance of smart textile sourcing, and voice her support for NYC’s Garment Center. Enjoy and be sure to check out her site and shop her line, here.
1) What is your educational and professional background and how do you feel it prepared you for a career in design?
I went to college to study Cinema Studies, and then did a double major in Film and TV at NYU, eventually returning to Cinema Studies for my MA. During and in between, I worked in props and did some costuming. Later on, when I was living in Rhode Island but commuting to NYC frequently, I took part in a vintage sale that happened at the Tribeca Grand about once a month. At that time, I was scouring Rhode Island for vintage and really started thinking about quality, construction, and the history of fashion in an industrial sense. I started seeing how things were made during different periods. My background in cinema, feminist film theory, identity and image began to come into play. I was also trying to find what women wanted to buy, so a practical sales sense was kicking in, too. I don’t know if I am a great sales person, so I wanted to find the things that would sell themselves — the no brainers, which it turns out can be quite diverse, a knit metallic jumpsuit from the 60’s, or simple black knee boots.
2) What drew you to fashion and specifically to starting your own line?
I don’t know that I am drawn to fashion. Well — who am I kidding here — I have always followed fashion but at the same time kept a distance. I couldn’t see myself giving myself over to it completely because I think with good fashion, as with any art, there should be some conflict. And honestly, I’m kind of a sensitive person. It was very hard for me to visualize myself in that world. I had always thought about making clothes but It wasn’t until I became more interested in environmental concerns, trade, land stewardship, etc., that it began to seem plausible to me and became much more personal. So I just started doing it. I hadn’t planned to do a whole line, but as I went along, the constraints I had given myself — constraints in terms of the materials I was using and the values I wanted to imbue into the clothing – gave me insights into the design process and helped it along.
3) What advice would you give a fashion newbie or student, looking to become a designer?
I feel like a newbie myself! That said, I guess my advice would be, don’t wait for anyone to give you permission to do what you love. The caveat is that in order to succeed you have to do a lot of thinking, and use restraint and pragmatism. So I suppose you have to restrain yourself in all sorts of ways but don’t let anyone else! The good restraint is discipline, the bad restraint is doubt. Also, I feel quite humble in this pursuit and it feels genuine for me. I try to keep it as simple as I can for myself – and make it about what I am trying to provide to my customers in terms of their needs, their lives.
4) What is the most difficult aspect in launching your own label, i.e. design, production, sales, finance, advertising?
Wow, I feel all of these challenges kind of shifting around and vying for first place all the time. And being new to this, I fear not being able to anticipate which aspect needs my focus at any given time. Sometimes you can be thinking so hard about one thing that another thing sneaks up on you and bites you on the bottom, so to speak. I think I would say that it’s creating some balance between all of these elements — and then making sure you give yourself what you need in order to be inspired and pick up the pencil. Also, I think being a little hungry helps — not having a huge budget or even connections can lead you down paths you might never have taken. And these things force you to prioritize, to know yourself more deeply in terms of what you can handle yourself and what you need help with.
5) Your label has a very strong ecological conscience, how did that develop?
As I learned more about the industrialization of crops and how much is controlled by a few pretty ruthless companies, I started trying to reverse-engineer a whole host of problems in order to come up with solutions. This project is meant to educate and re-educate an already pretty educated customer about what organic and sustainable signifies and where it is applicable in modern life. I am also trying to re-define luxury away from what was so heavily sold to us in the past decade. I like fancy a lot, and I don’t find fanciness and sustainability mutually exclusive. I like knowing where my clothes come from in the same way I like knowing where my food comes from. I try to avoid the textile version of mystery meat. These can be very personal choices, but it’s important to keep the big picture in mind: there is a huge flow of capital in the garment industry that can be re-directed in amazing ways – ways that can help put a dent in some real problems. One of my goals is to figure out how to be a channel for these shifts and redirections. However, the choice of materials is only one piece of the pie. I try to think about the way each piece of clothing is going to be used, re-used and cared for and what the ultimate impact will be. And so versatility is a big deal to me – the garment’s immediate use and then how its use might change over time. I try to think about clothing as a “perishable” good, one that we can use up (slowly) rather than throw away. For example, a work blouse might morph into something softer and more worn, maybe even more loved, later on. Having this perspective on what we wear can begin to shift us in other deep ways too. It’s like making chicken stock out of chicken bones. It brings quality and satisfaction to our experience of clothing, instead of confusion and denial.
6) You are particularly fond of using sustainable textiles; can you give us some more details on this?
So far, I have been working with hemps, organic cottons, small-production silks and some organic wools. I think I will probably stick to these basic fibers in the future because I gravitate toward the natural. But I also want to innovate. Even though I use “peace silks”, I am not using them from a vegan perspective as Lys is not a vegan line. I am using them for their uniqueness and beauty, and because they satisfy certain community and trade parameters that interest me. I use some “farmer-friendly” cottons from India that are not certified organic, but they are from little farms that use no pesticides and cannot afford to be certified. These farms use little or no machinery to grow their cotton, and the fibers are then woven in a nearby mill. The fabric is beautiful, and buying it supports families, communities, skilled labor, and local agricultural traditions. This fabric isn’t just “good enough”, it’s sometimes better than its certified counterpart! At the same time, I want to support people who are producing organic fabrics on a larger scale. There is real value in working with companies who strive to provide a quality, certified textile that is consistently available. It’s the only way you can begin to work in volumes. So I am experimenting with a few different ideas. I guess I use a pretty wide lens when it comes to sustainable textiles.
7) What advice would you give other brands or designers who are interested in making a step towards going green, where should they start?
I think the first thing is to make it personal for yourself. Maybe it begins with recycling in your office — or finding a way to repurpose your fabric scraps (which I haven’t done yet), or finding one new textile source, and spending some time considering the issues and questions at hand. It’s a lot to take in, but the practical part doesn’t have to happen all at once. There’s no perfect way, you just have to want to do it and you’ll begin to find ways.
8) Besides being environmentally friendly you also promote domestic production and support our NYC Garment Center; why do you feel this is important and what’s your opinion on the current state of the Garment Center?
The Garment Center is still kind of mysterious to me, and I like it that way. If everybody were squeezed into one, big, sanitized building, it would lose some of that. And I want people to have their privacy and the ability to make their own choices – such as having a rice cooker under the desk. I love the Garment Center, and without it Lys would not exist. Yes, industries should have some regulation and oversight, but that’s not even what’s being proposed. It’s all about development. Somehow the NY garment center doesn’t strike me as the “elephant in the room” industry in NYC – I mean can’t they find some bankers to hassle in this town? I think Bloomberg has it wrong here. I think he’s well meaning in many ways but the bottom line is always going to speak more loudly to him than anything else, and that’s a shame because we’re talking about a community of highly skilled people, and lots of micro-communities and families within that. And l love these people. They work really hard doing things I will never be able to do. They’re the people I want to impress and they’re the people I want to keep my business going for. If we can maintain that community, then maybe we can start making some fabric in this country again!
9) What do you wish you had known before entering the fashion industry?
Oh, maybe that an economic meltdown was about to happen? Actually, I NEVER would have begun Lys if I had known that the landscape was about to shift so radically, so I guess I’m glad I didn’t know. And I do feel these clothes are in keeping with the times we live in, while still being fun and special. I knew little to nothing about the fashion industry when I began this and that’s kind of okay with me. It’s a big learning curve but these are changing times and I hope the fashion industry can adapt somewhat. Oh yeah, I wish I’d known you can’t dye conventional (poly/cotton) thread. You need 100% cotton and people look at you like you’re crazy when you ask for it.
10) What are you excited about for style and trend going forward for Lys New York?
I’m about to start working on some prints for Spring 2011. They’re unconventional and use a very low-water printing process and not a lot of dye. They’re all based on very simple things drawn with a Sharpie, which is not what you think of when you think of sustainability. But I like the idea of using a Sharpie to create all these sustainably printed designs. Make that Sharpie work!
Oh, and here is a shot of Natalie and I… I don’t know what we’re talking about…Do I always look so delirious?
On Sunday, Kimair sent out a tweet congratulating me on being featured in 7×7 The Best of The City 2010 issue. It hasn’t hit the stands yet, so I haven’t seen it until today! It’s all very exciting over here because I’ve never really had a whole page feature in print before. For those of you not in San Francisco, 7×7 is a local magazine, their name from the geographical fact that SF is just 7 miles by 7 miles.
LONDON–Whether it was from exhaustion or elation, a few tears were shed and a tantrum or two thrown inside talent incubator Central St. Martins this past Monday. 
