Josefine Wing from Mint Siren

This week FashionZest interviewed Josefine Wing from Mint Siren. Josefine, who is the founder and fashion designer for the lingerie line Mint Siren has created some beautiful pieces over the past few years.

Jenny: How did you get into fashion design?
Josefine: “I was interested in making clothing from an early age. With a grandmother who had been a dressmaker and and aunt who was an arts and crafts teacher I was introduced to making clothing when quite young. I would make my own little creations and even sell some to friends at school. However, it took me until I was 22, when creating a small clothing label with a friend in America, to realized that it was something I would like to do for a living. I returned to Europe and enrolled at fashion design school in 2002.”

Jenny: Why did you choose to design lingerie?
Josefine: “It kind of just happened really. I was inspired by the art of corsetry making after learning the skill from the owner of the school I went to. I’ve always admired the kind of clothing that require great skill to create and clothing that is made from proper quality materials. The corset has been a prime example of such a garment through the ages. My graduation collection at design school was a homage to corsetry and quality smalls so it kind of went from there. When I moved to London to create and market my clothing line I found that it was the lingerie I made that was most in demand, so eventually I decided to concentrate on that.”

Jenny: How would you describe the style of your fashion design?
Josefine: “I usually say that it’s retro inspired for the modern woman. I don’t over complicate things, I try to keep within the realms of what people would actually wear and still push the boundaries where possible.”

Jenny: What inspires your design?
Josefine: “I look back in time to find shapes and ways to make the lingerie to insure I keep on the lines of a quality luxury finish but I mix it with flavors of fashionable London. There is no place like London when it comes to vibrant street fashion, people here live and breathe fashion, it’s wonderful to be a part of it and see trends being born and personal styles that only Londoners would dare to have. There is so much inspiration here, all one has to do is distill it and adapt it in a ways that make it fit the brand I am creating.”

Jenny: How do you want women to feel when they are wearing Mint Siren labeled clothing?
Josefine: “I aim for Mint Siren to be a luxury brand and the luxury feeling should be a superior sensation. It should make a woman feel pampered and sexy, I hope that the garments empower the women who wear them.”

Jenny: What do you hope to achieve with the label?
Josefine: “I would of course like Mint Siren to be a world famous brand known for it’s high quality an innovative design. The dream is for these garments to adorn shelves in exclusive boutiques and high en departments stores the world over really. I have quite a way to go, but it’s all about aiming high isn’t it.”

Jenny: What advice do you have for a young woman who wants to become a fashion designer?
Josefine: “Number one is to get yourself a relevant education. Design might look like a breeze at a glance for someone who has a bit of a creative flair, but there is a lot of technical knowledge that separates a designer from someone who simply likes clothing and is good at drawing. An education can make a designer out of most people, it gives you the tools to be able to create on demand. Once that knowledge is in place it’s all about hard work and determination, don’t expect anything to land in your lap (because it probably won’t), go out there and get it for yourself.”

Jenny: If you could choose to work with/for any fashion designer in the world, who would it be and why?
Josefine: “People probably expect me to name some larger lingerie brands, but that’s not it, most larger lingerie brands are far too restricted in the design, I would feel trapped I think. Traditional lingerie leaves too little room for imagination and creative design. If I got to choose any fashion house to work for or with it would definitely be Vivienne Westwood, mostly because I admire the woman so much. She has created her empire from scratch and done it in an honest way with a cool and credible background, it does not get any better than that. The Vivienne Westwood brand also has one of the strongest identities in the business and the thought of having to work with that in mind and create things that suit that specific style sounds like a challenge fit for only the best designers. It would be an honor like no other.”

Jenny: What are you working on at the moment?
Josefine: “There is always a million things going on at once at Mint Siren. As we are a small brand everything is done in house. We just released the Fall/Winter 2009 collection to the retail market so we are marketing that right now. I have also started work on a very exciting 2010 collection. It’s going to be a bit different, it will still have the essence of Mint Siren, but I want to surprise with this next collection, push the boundaries further with new and unexpected fabric combinations and innovative shapes. It’s important to have fun with the designs and play with it, to have full creative freedom is a luxury only afforded to designers who have their own label, so I feel I should make full use of that situation. I’m quite excited about the next collection actually, always a suspense lurking in regards to how it will be received on the market. The recently released F/W 2009 collection has gotten such an amazing response that I don’t want to let people down with the next one.”

Jenny: What would be the one fashion tip you would give to a friend?
Josefine: “The best fashion tip anyone can ever give to someone must be to be yourself and to push yourself. Trends are one thing and it’s fun to have this never ending stream of changing offerings in our stores, but simply accepting everything that comes into fashion does not make for a good personal style. Know your body shape and dress to suit and also think about how different styles match your personality. If garments don’t match who you are it won’t look right. But you won’t know if you like it until you try it, a bit like with food.”

Jenny: What current fashion trends do you like and dislike the most at the moment?
Josefine: “There is a lot of fun stuff out there at the moment. I have always been a bit of a rock chick so the denim and stud trends that we’ve seen in the stores from the start of the summer and following through to this fall has suited me personally. My biggest dislikes are probably bad prints, in particular tshirt prints. One of the most important assets to a high street fashion company is a good graphic designer, nothing worse than a print that looks like an imitation or one that tries too hard, there is a lot of that out there now. I am quite excited about new trends to come. I think many collections from the recently concluded fashion week in Paris are very fun and inspiring. Although it was apparent that the global economics has shaped many brands offerings for the coming spring I feel that there was a lot of creativity manifesting itself in new ways. I guess that is what they say isn’t it, hard times inspire the best ideas, it certainly seems to push designers to think differently about what might make a garment interesting.”

Jenny: Do you sell your pieces? If so, where can people buy your stuff?
Josefine: “Yes we do. Mint Siren has a web shop on our website and we ship anywhere in the world. We also stock some nice little boutiques in both London and other places in the world, an up to date stockist list can always be found on the web site. We hope that this list will grow during the months and years ahead.”

Photography: Emma Hughes Photography
Make-Up Artistry / Styling: Gina Blondell
Hair: Hayley Welling
Model: Kayt and Pip
Lingerie: Mint Siren
Jewelry: Amulet

To check out more about Mint Siren, from their website: http://www.mintsiren.com