From the buzz of London Fashion Week’s Somerset House to the relative calm of Belgravia’s Il Bottaccio, the fash pack decamped to FBC on Thursday 24th September. Aquascutum’s head of womenswear, Michael Herz interviewed guest speaker Nathan Jenden – creative director of Diane von Furstenberg and his own label – about the challenges of designing for two labels, the attitude of the runway and the merits of London vs New York and Paris.
Nathan Jenden & Michael Herz
Born in London, Jenden studied at Central St Martins and the RCA and worked for John Galliano and Kenzo in Paris where he found the formal codes of French fashion didn’t quite resonate with his own less-strict ways of doing things.
Setting his sights on New York, he was offered jobs by Richard Tyler and Tommy Hilfiger before working for downtown designer Daryl K in 1998. Three years later an opportunity arose to work for Diane von Furstenberg whose 70s wrap dresses were starting to regain cult status. Jenden’s first introduction to the Belgian socialite happened at a Vanity Fair dinner. Finding himself at a table breaking bread with Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger and Harrison Ford, he decided this was to be his future (well you would, wouldn’t you?). In his first season as creative director, he brought models-of-the-moment Erin O’Connor, Alek Wek and Devon Aoki to add some much-needed edge to the DVF runway.
Nathan Jenden
Despite his close relationship with von Furstenberg (“she’s my friend and I will always be hersâ€Â), Jenden decided he needed to tell his own story and create a collection under his own name. In 2006 he launched his label, which is now a permanent fixture on the London Fashion Week show schedule, while he continues in his role at DVF. It’s a juggling act of the highest order as DVF is based in New York while Nathan Jenden is designed in London. Why not produce both collections in New York? Jenden acknowledges the difficulties but maintains the importance of keeping both labels separate. “I did my first two shows in New York and it was just crazy. Its important, the separation of the two brands. They have nothing to do with each other.â€Â
Nathan Jenden & Michael Herz (centre) with FBC Co-Founders Alison Whelan & Courtney Blackman
Quentions from the floor brought up the subject of the recent popularity of static presentations and fashion films to promote new collections. Jenden is a firm fan of the fashion show format. “I have a vision of what I want the show to be – the attitude, the mood. The show is the show, the fairy dust on top of the collection. It should be fun, it should be upbeat. People are finding different ways to do fashion shows, doing films, doing it online, but I think watching twenty fit girls will always be better than watching it on a phone.”
Navaz Batliwalla FBC Member & Guest Editor
Photos by Dave Wise of Dave Wise Photography
