I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the talented Jeana Sohn and Melissa Coker of wren the other day. You see, there’s a little leapord coat by wren that all the ladies I know have a crush on, and rightly so. Season after season wren hits the mark with a perfect party dress, a cropped blazer in an unexpected bright, or a crinkled sequin skirt with the just the right amount of muted sparkleysparkle. Melissa is a talent, with a ton of charm to boot! She let Jeana snap away, and we had fun filming a little video for you too…
Inspiration can start from anywhere – fabrics, someone on the street, a painting. Where do you find your inspiration?
My biggest source of inspiration is from friends and girls on the street. I’ll respond to a piece I would like to have myself, or, the way someone is put together and it will go from there.
Environment can play a big part in the design process. Not only due to the resources at hand, but the day to day lifestyle around you. Do you feel like LA defines your work at all? Any differently than when you’re designing in NY?
Overall, I feel more inspired when I am in New York, but accomplish more when I am in LA. LA can be so much more isolating so it’s certainly easier to hole up and get down to business.
Can you give us 3 words that define the WREN collection?
Dreaming of Britain
fall 2010
I’ve heard a rumor about a WREN for Target collaboration. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Yes! I am working on a holiday dress that will be an exclusive to their Red Hot Shop online which is in collaboration with Daily Candy. It should be available in late November. I just got the first sample and I LOVE it.
fall 2010
Each step of the way – from design conception to shipping your line has it’s ups and downs I bet. Is there a certain part of the process that you love more than the other?
I really love working on the look book – the theme of the styling and the creative direction of the book. This is really the point where what I’m trying to communicate that season is solidified. I’ll look at all the clothes in their finished state and often times they give me a very different feeling theme wise than where I started out. For example, spring 11’s initial inspiration was sort of a 60s take on a Virgin Suicides feel. In the end, the line had morphed into more of a Nancy Cunard (a bohemian socialite of the 20s) moment.
Your Spring lookbook is stellar – the WREN girl is gorgeous! Who would you love to see dressed in wren for Spring 2011?
There are a few girls I’ve worked with a lot that I always love to see in wren: Leith Clark, Tennessee Thomas, Alexa Chung. Clemence Poesy is a new one for me, and I find her style very inspiring. As far as girls I’ve never worked with, I think Rachel Bilson is very cute. Michelle Williams has great style too and would be very cute in wren. I met her stylist at a party recently and she told me Michelle had just bought a wren dress. That made me very happy.
Being a business owner, designer, creative director and more deserves some applause.(I’m clapping). Have any secret tips to dealing with the challenges?
Be an type A personality! OH, and once I was at Michael Ovitz’s house and he had one of those needlepoint pillows with a clever saying on it,–you know, the kind that were popular in the 80s– about the power of perseverance. He’s probably on to something with that one.
What advice would you give to start up designers who would like to have their own collection?
The biggest challenges are probably the practical things like production and the day to day of running a business. Keeping operations small allows for a lot more time for the business to hit its stride.
Do you have a favorite city? what do you love about it?
Tokyo is my favorite place to visit. I love the people, the culture, the aesthetics of the city, everything. It is so different from the US and feels like a different world.
What are you reading right now?
Robert Mapplethorpe biography
Champagne and cupcakes or whiskey and chocolate?
cupcakes and champagne, hands down!
thanks to Melissa and Jeana for this lovely afternoon! xo
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