Laura Mehlinger | modern glossy

Lola Haze TM designer, Laura Mehlinger gives Modern Glossy an exclusive interview about her newest collection.

Your theme for the fall is Wabi Sabi City —how did this influence your design direction for fall 2009?

Times of uncertainty—and times were bad when I designed this collection—call for a return to the body and an acceptance of imperfection and transience. For Fall/Winter 2009, I examined the Japanese ideal of wabi sabi, in which beauty is found in imperfection, impermanence and quirks. While referring to this concept, I continued the distinct aesthetics that are the hallmarks of Lola Haze TM: boldness, play, and the energy of New York City.

When you began this collection, how do you begin envisioning it as a whole? Are you influenced by a general theme or idea and organically develop from there, or do you have a more directed focus as to what you want to do?

I began with the conceptual framework of wabi sabi, and then developed specific ways of expressing the concept. One of the visual themes of the collection is body ornamentation. In the Tattoo group, designs inspired by tribal and eastern body ornamentation are hand-painted onto sheer black mesh, a fabric that both veils and reveals the body underneath. The marks, imperfect themselves, caress and frame the body’s natural contours. But these Tattoos are transient ornamentation, and the revelation comes when the tattoos are skimmed off the body, leaving only the natural form.

How has living in New York influenced the design process in your work—Do your surroundings influence you?

The energy of the city,its playfulness juxtaposed with its moments of classic beauty, are reflected in the sensibility of Lola Haze TM. Also, I look to New York women all the time for inspiration and to see what their mood is. Specifically in this collection, I embraced the simplicity and appeal of one piece dressing: rompers, teddies, jumpsuits, body stockings, and plenty of chemises and slips. Alongside these modern silhouettes are updates to some Lola Haze TM favorites.

What type of woman do you envision wearing Lola Haze?
Women who are bold and playful and dress for themselves!

Where can we purchase Lola Haze?
You can buy Lola Haze TM at a range of stores from Victoria’s Secret to Love Brigade and Friends. Go to www.lolahaze.com for stores.

Are you currently working on any other projects?
I am continuing my collaboration with New York artist Charlotte Pinson with a series of quirky, elegant painted silk tops and dresses. I love the collaborative process and the focus on surface art and design.

Additionally, I’m continuing to teach Panty Making Workshops, which are a big hit (makeworkshop.com). It’s gratifying and fun to see new sewers who start out so nervous take home their own pair of panties they made themselves.

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You originally began as an English Major—What prompted you to pursue fashion design?

I’ve always loved fashion. In fact, at Harvard, as an English major, I used to take as many opportunities as possible to write essays about clothing. I’ve been studying clothing—studying all aspects—since I was a child. As soon as I could be trusted with a needle, I was deconstructing clothing and trying to make my own—and this fascination with the artistry as well as concepts of fashion stayed with me.

Lola Haze 4 When choosing the name for this line, my favorite book (which I wrote my thesis about), Lolita, immediately suggested itself to me, but not for the obvious reason. My line is not particularly about seductive 12 year olds. The name, Lola Haze is actually more of an ode to the book and to Nabokov, who was such a master of his craft, and used words for play and at the same time to create incomparable beauty. And as for the character of Lolita Haze, she’s an iconic representation of the complexity and power of sexuality – and of the various ways it can be used. The names “Lolita” and “Lola” have been culturally appropriated and have come to invoke a simpler flirtation than the original character in the book. So there are many layers of associations with the name now.

Do you think your position at Gap, inc. was helpful to your current design aesthetic?

I’m glad to have had the chance to work there. For designers in the rarified fashion capital of New York, it’s always important to remember what real women want to wear, and what they expect from their clothing.

As a designer, what process do you undertake in order to see an initial design become a completed piece?

I start with impressionistic ideas that can come from anywhere: a certain neckline, or a metallic fabric that catches my eye, or a work of art or a molding on a ceiling. The most fun part of the design process is finding commonalities between, say, Austrian 18^th century interiors and Henna tattoos and metallic lace, and then melding these ideas into a cohesive collection. At the same time that I’m pushing concepts around, I’m sketching silhouettes and thinking through the structure and components of each garment.

lola haze 3 For your spring 2009 collection, what in particular inspired these pieces?

For Spring/Summer 09 I sought to fuse two disparate inspirations: the paintings of Morris Louis and Prince concerts. In each, I was drawn to the liquidy feeling of bold colors layered on top of each other: transparency that creates a sense of the ephemeral. I drew from these two dramatically different media—watery paint and neon-lit stage smoke—to create the collection, called “Colorfield” in homage to Morris Louis.

Spring and Summer are hot, bold, colorful seasons. I played with stacking bright colors against softer ones, and gorgeous drapey silk charmeuse against geometrically cut mesh to create wearable, comfortable clothes that at the same time really make you feel special. The luxury is not only in the fabrics and design details, but primarily in that transforming feeling of slipping into one of these pieces. You feel playful, special, like the most delicious candy you would ever want.

lola haze 4 How do you integrate surface imagery into your work?

Charlotte Pinson and Lola Haze TM have teamed up to create whimsical one-of-a-kind wearable art—and priced to suit the art aficionado on a budget.

The element of visual surprise is an essential for Lola Haze’s TM seasonal intimates collections. I like to integrate playful juxtapositions within the structure of the garments, for example through color blocking or hardware mixed with silk. Working with Charlotte has been an inspiring experience, and working with a surface artist creates a new element for bringing whimsy and surprise to Lola Haze TM. It’s also exciting to bring Lola Haze TM out of the boudoir and onto the street.

It is very admirable that you have followed and pursued your dream to become a designer here in New York. Do you have any advice to people who have similar aspirations?

Work hard and have fun!

– Interview with Laura Mehlinger by Stevyn Llewellyn

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