For our customers that may not be too familiar with the brand would you mind giving us a brief overview?
St-Martins started in 1997 as a knitwear brand and at that time it was designed for both for men and women. The idea behind St-Martins was to make trendy and high quality clothes with a very competitive price, and this is still today one of our mail goals at St-Martins.
In 2001/2002 we began to play with mixing fabrics and using crazy prints in our collection. The collection developed into a little more casual feminine style but with eye catching and daring styling which has become a typical St-Martins trait. Around that time we found our "uniqueness" in St-Martins.
From that point our brand identity has been very clear to us, as being a colourful and playful feminine brand with our main focus to make comfortable and well fitted styles which emphasize the female body. Print and colours are a very important factor in the St-Martins collection and though we always pay attention to the general trends in fashion we create the styles in our own St-Martins spirit.
Who is the St Martins woman?
We dress women from their twenties to their sixties. We see our style as "without age" - it is more a matter of the women’s taste who buys our clothes. She has a strong urge to have fun, to play with colours and stand out from the crowd.
Can you give us an insight into your process when starting to design a new collection?
A new collection begins with a lot of research. I seek my inspiration from different types of visual media. Of course I also travel.
When I know where to go I start making prints and pull together the colours for the new collection. This is a long process but for St-Martins it is a very important time because it is here the whole foundation for the new collection is laid. All prints and colours hang on the wall beside me all the time so I have a "feeling" of the new collection. After this period I begin to draw the collection. I always have a very certain plan of how many dresses, coats, skirts, tops and so on the collection must contain. It’s always like a big puzzle!
Who are your biggest design inspirations?
St-Martins is built on print, colours and eye catching design. When I seek inspiration for my collection I naturally look at other designers who are amazing at print and colours.
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St Martins
Zip Printed Silk Scarf |
St Martins
Blure Print Scarf |
St Martins
Annabel Printed Silk Scarf |
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The collections have a heavy graphical influence. What were your inspirations for your AW14 collection?
The St-Martins AW 2014 collection is inspired by graphic art, structures and surfaces found in nature. Spirals and waves you see in marble stone and micro structures found in animal skin. Beautifully detailed flower prints and blurred aquarelle paint which gives an impression of something in-between flowers and animal skin. It is a universe where the soft and feminine meets with a masculine world of classic wool structures and dark toned colours.
If you could have any woman (alive or not) to front a St Martins campaign who would it be and why?
Among women who are alive I would like to see Angelina Jolie or Uma Thurman in a campaign for St-Martins. They are both incredibly beautiful and talented women, and, besides their beauty they are very cool and charismatic.
Can you give our readers a sneak peak to what we should expect for the future of St Martins?
The last couple of years St-Martins has gone through a period of change. We have developed a more homogeneous collection. There is no doubt for everybody in the St-Martins team that in the future our customers will see a more confident direction in our collections. St-Martins is all about colours, eye catching print and beautifully shaped clothes; this will also be even more visible in future collections.
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St Martins
Trichia Coat |
St Martins
Missy Reversible Coat |
St Martins
Robin Leopard Print Jacket |
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