Lena Buss is a recent graduate from the knitwear program at prestigious Central Saint Martin. Specialising in knitwear, Buss recently set up her own brand. Her experimental dying techniques and textural focus has already attracted the attention of Vogue’s blog and superstar Robyn. Embarking into the tuff industry of fashion, Buss talked to us about setting up shop as a fashion designer, the challenges ahead and the victories so far.
Article continues under image
TSH: You’ve just started you own brand, what do you think is the biggest challenges you – and other new designers – face?
LB: Well, for me, and most new designers, we don’t have the luxury of hiring people for all the different positions within a company. So the most challenging part of setting up your own brand is the multitasking of being your own personal assistant, PR, accountant and producer, without losing the creativity as a designer – and of course finding investors and getting the economy up and running.
TSH: What inspires you as a designer?
LB: I tend to look to nature for inspiration, but then inspiration can hit wherever, whenever, so you never really know! That’s why I always carry a pen and paper with me wherever I go.
TSH: How do you proceed from idea till finished product?
LB: It differs from project to project. Sometimes I start by experimenting with dying yarns, trying a new knitting technique, an image or a feeling – and then I take that initial idea and continue by doing research and making swatches.
TSH: Holding a bachelor from Central Saint Martins, you know the British capital well – how do you think the fashion industry in London differs from the rest of Europe and maybe the world?
LB: London is such a great and multicultural city. It is impossible to live in this city and not get inspired, there is inspiration everywhere; from great museums like the V&A, to all the fabric shops in Shepherd’s Bush, the small haberdasheries in the East – the parks, the pubs, the different subcultures… you name it – London’s got it!
TSH: As a knitwear designer the challenges one face might be a bit different than the ones more “traditional” fashion designer stands up against. What do you think makes knit exciting?
LB: Well that’s the thing about knitwear; you make your own fabric! That’s what’s so exciting about it, there are no restrictions whatsoever on material or colours, you can mix together anything to achieve the right look and texture. However, the downside is that it takes at least three times longer to make a knitted garment compared to traditional cut and sew.
TSH: The last years knit has had a come back – why do you think that is?
LB: Well, knitwear has always been around, it’s just that it hasn’t got so much attention before as in the last few years. Maybe because new designers, such as Louise Goldin and Sandra Backlund that concentrates on knitwear has emerged onto the fashion scene, showing a new and creative side of knitwear.
TSH: What people do you design for – who do you picture wearing your clothes?
LB: A strong, independent, cool and laidback woman, someone that isn’t afraid to mix differnt colours or styles. I would love to see my clothes on the likes of Chloë Sevigny, Lykke Li, Kate Bosworth, Freja Beha Erichsen and Robyn.
TSH: Tell us about your five-year plan. Where do you imagine yourself?
LB: The fashion industry is tough and there are days you wanna beat yourself for working in it, but you always wake up the next morning realising that there is nothing else you would rather be doing. It is that feeling that makes you realise that for better or worse / rich or poor, the creative industry is something for you. With the recession hitting fashion quite hard, who knows what I will do in five years, but one thing is for sure – I will still design knitwear.
Clothes: Lena Buss
Model: Sylvia
