Interview: New Zealand Designer Emily Kerse

I’m very excited about this interview; no, not just because it’s another twitter connection (but it is), but because of who it is! Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Emily Kerse. Emily is a 25 year old fashion designer from New Zealand. When I saw Emily’s collections, I was floored. For years, I’ve felt that Anthropologie dresses & skirts were the perfect representation of my personal style - until I found Emily’s. Her collections are slightly avante garde, telling stories of modern romance embellished velvet, lace and subtle hues of lavender.

MW: Emily, when did you start producing your collections?EK: I started late 2006 with a Summer 06/07 collection called “The charm of the ever present past”, which had a 1930’s to 1950’s feel to it, full of pretty vintage florals, soft flowing lines, luxurious pastel fabrics and rich red velvets . But I’ve been designing and creating clothes since the tender age of 6. The other day my mother found my original Barbie pants pattern I had made, it seems that floral pants were my favorite thing to make back then!MW: Were you expecting your line’s popularity to spread so quickly? What was the catalyst for such rapid growth?EK: No I wasn’t. My original plan was to sell my designs solely from my studio but within three months I had boutiques wanting to put in orders. It was a bit of a shock but very exciting! It was all go from then on, life has been very busy. I’m not exactly sure what the catalyst for the growth was, but I think I understood my customer really well, they loved my feminine styles that celebrated being a woman! They were drawn to my vintage vibe, my divine fabrics and eye for color.

Emily Kerse Morning Gray Coat

MW: What are your inspirations? Your designs are reminiscent of the dresses; jackets and skirts women wore between the 1920s to 1960s. What about those time periods compels you to translate those shapes in the form of your clothing?EK: Each collection has a different inspiration, but yes I am drawn to the “beautiful era” (the 1920s to 1960s) when grooming was an art and femininity reigned supreme.I pull inspiration from these times but always giving it a fresh modern twist. Next Summer’s collection has a bit of an 80’s flavor thrown in as well, but still has a very feminine feel.MW: How do you think of the fabulous names for your collections, the latest being Alice in Tomorrowland? How do you pick the themes and then translate them into the elements that make up the collection?EK: As concepts and themes evolve so too does the feel and the flavor for the collection. I take a lot of time and thought to come up with a name that best describes the essence of what I’ve created. It’s a long organic process, but by the time I’ve finished the collection the perfect name comes to me! I have a lot of fun naming the collections, styles and color options. I have a vintage inspired floral print in next summer’s collection that I’ve called “Nana’s Jam” when you see it, I’m sure it will remind you of your nana’s apron, that I’m sure she would use when making jam!

Emily Kerse Audrey Coat

MW: Where are Emily Kerse Collections currently distributed? Can we get them outside of New Zealand?EK: Currently my collections are stocked in boutiques throughout New Zealand, but customers outside of New Zealand can contact me through my website and we can send orders direct.MW: Has the current economic state affected your business? What are you doing differently in the way you produce and market your collections?EK: My business is still growing despite the current economic climate. We aren’t doing anything differently in the way we produce our garments, for reasons of overseeing quality and ethical considerations we are proud to be 100% New Zealand made and although this does make our profit margins smaller its really special to have it made here. Our fabrics are of a very high quality, we are enjoying using a lot of New Zealand merino wool which is such an amazing fabric to wear. As far as marketing goes we still have a lot of fun with our photos shoots, picking the perfect location each time to show off the collection. Winter 09 “Lost in London” was photographed in a cute little rustic village called Ophir, in Central Otago we have a friend there who owns an old stone cottage which made such a wonderful backdrop. This season though not just for reasons of saving money but more about being eco conscious we didn’t print look books opting instead for online look books as part of our website, boutique owners could login to view the upcoming range.Also I guess I’m trying to tap into online media like twitter so we can reach a wider audience. Having a great website is invaluable as it showcases you to the world! I’ve been lucky too with having journalists from a number of different publications interview me, so that kind of exposure is amazing. We have just had one of New Zealand’s biggest magazines NZ House & Garden come and do a story on me so we are waiting in anticipation for that edition to come out!

Emily Kerse Twiggy Dress

MW: You’ve recently launched a beautiful new website and began a presence on social media sites like Twitter, how is it going for you? What is your opinion of Twitter and the social media you’re using? Does it have any drawbacks?EK: Our website has been a huge hit! It seems that everyone who views it just loves it and they are blown away by how original it is. My graphic designer has made a wonderful job of capturing the essence of ‘Emily Kerse’.Twitter is still new to me, I’m still trying to get my head around how it all works. But I have been blown away with how quickly I’ve started networking with people all over the world, and hits on my site have soared. Interest in my garments has been huge!MW: Do you plan expanding EmilyKerse.co.nz to allow shoppers to purchase online in the next few years?EK: It’s something I’m looking into, I guess initially I wasn’t planning to as my site was more about giving my customer information about where they could buy and what each collections was like. But as I’m now getting so much attention from overseas it would be great to make it easier for shoppers to purchase online, but for now if there is a style that catches your eye, e-mail us through our website and we can let you know if it’s available and we’ll send it to you! If you would like to be kept up to date with any developments you can register on the contact page of our website. We have some exciting designs in development for Winter10 at the moment with expanding our merino range and also offering some beautiful pieces for little ones! So watch this space!

Emily Kerse Design

Contact details:Web: www.emilykerse.co.nzTwitter: www.twitter.com/Emily_KerseE-mail: info@emilykerse.co.nzTo read more interviews like this, go over to FashionablyMarketing.Me.