FASHION INTERVIEW: LILLY MARTHE EBENER
VOGUE EDITOR TURNED DESIGNER…
After studying Fashion design in Paris, Lilly Marther Ebener’s career progressed to working for the Fashion Editor of French Vogue. After which, she worked freelance for a number of publications including PARADIS, Italian MUSE, Japanese Vogue, as well as advertising brands such as Cartier, Boucheron, Guerlain, Louis Vuitton and Dior Cosmetic. All this hard work, dedication and focus led her to starting her own label in 2009. Lilly Marthe Ebener Collections are more than just clothing; they capture the spirit, vitality and sincerity of nature. Beautifully handmade and 100% all natural wool blends, each piece emphasises where the body ends and nature begins. Inspired by the colors, sounds and tastes of different countries & cultures, inspired and moulded by her work as a Fashion Editor, Lilly Marthe realised her vision of a collection focusing on elemental colours, richness and texture, and a return to craftmanship.
Here she tells us a little more about what goes in to creating her collections and why she switched teams from Editorial to Design.
Please can you describe your job for us and how you got there… I work as a freelance fashion-editor and developed my own brand 3 years ago. As fashion Edior I work for different international publications to do editorials, Vogue Taiwan, Italian Muse…..I also work in advertising, mostly still-life for cosmetics, perfume and jewelry campaigns. 3 years ago i started to work on my own hand-knitted brand, were i develop collection’s for woman and baby using natural alpaca-wool. What is your earliest fashion memory? Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Why womenswear? Do you think you would ever move into menswear? Menswear could be interesting too, but you cant’ do everything, and I prefer to focus on what really attracts me, it is women’s-wear and baby-wear. What’s the concept behind your latest collection? The concept is always close to nature, as natural as possible, as most cocooning as possible. You work with entirely natural fibers, has this always been something that is important to you? It is very important to me to produce a product the most natural as possible and to produce it with true artisan who need to take their time to handicraft the piece, so that each piece becomes individual and unique. Although your collection is eco friendly, is has serious style and edge. Is getting strong reaction to your work, something you consciously thought about achieving during your design process? As I work also as fashion-editor I am constantly stimulated, it shapes my vision on fashion and contributes to my creative work. What is your favourite piece from the current collection and why? It is the cardigan ” Hildegunde” in orange, its timeless, chic and very cocooning. Why you choose Paris for your fashion training? Because Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world for me, it gives you constantly inspiration. If you where not making clothes, what would you be doing? Studying animal behaviors. Which symbols of female iconography never leave your inspiration? Audrey Hepburn and Romy Schneider. Who are some of your favourite designers and why? Jil Sander for its simplicity. Prada for it’s creativity. Who would you most love to collaborate with? Miuccia Prada. What are your plans for 2012? Continue to grow with the collection and having my baby in february 2012. What is the best advice you can give to a fashion student? To first make their experiences in big houses.
GIVE US A QUICKIE!
My favourite place is… Paris. I hate it when… people are grumpy and rude. I have fond memories of… traveling. I love… cooking for friends. I consider myself to be… ambitious. I wouldn’t be where I am now without… dreaming. The most inspirational people in my life are… people from all over the world doing handicrafts. At the moment I am reading…babybooks:) My house is… a peaceful shelter