Expert Inside Advice From Those Who Made It

NAME: Jeffrey Michael
INDUSTRY: Fashion & Costume Design
POSITION: Head Designer / Owner
COMPANY:  Jeffrey Michael Design Ltd.
LOCATION: London England

CAREER OR COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Fusing elements of high fashion, lighting integration, and layered organic texture, Jeffrey Michael Design Ltd. (JMD), has created a high end, one of a kind designer fashion brand sought after by celebrity client, magazine, television, and for use in worldwide performance. JMD owns patents for lightup shoes, and heels in Europe and North America and the brand will debut its first exciting fashion lines this October and February of this year. Production will begin shortly after this first international represented fashion catwalk event, and selected clothing will begin distribution in November into exciting Canadian and worldwide stores, including ones in Toronto, Montreal, London, NYC, and LA. JMD will continue working on one of a kind custom made celebrity projects and with the current magazine and media contacts made over the last 2 years where JMD the brand was established in London England to great success and acclaim. The company has plans to move shortly to NYC for its production of each of ongoing seasonal fashion collection, while traveling abroad to promote, create, take part in,  and visit the world fashion weeks and events.

Some of the exciting past projects that JMD has worked on include making lightup shoes for U2, creating dresses for the cover of British magazines, showing a small collection of work to fashion week in Kiev in the Ukraine through special invitation. JMD will continue working with celebrity stylists and clients, and new shops in London, LA and NYC and Canada that are interested in JMD in its previous manifestation creating one of a kind custom made pieces, as well as with new lines that will be debuting shortly. For the last two years, JMD has been working on creating his clientele and business in London England and will move back to North America to continue expansion of the brand. Showings JMD at KIEV fashion week in October, as well as plans for JMD to present a first major collection in London in February at a very unique and exciting avant garde location are among some of the initial exciting projects. Long term goals include establishing a worldwide brand following, and collaborating with exciting up and coming designers from other unique brands. Previously working in London JMD had one year of set up and one year of experience as a strong stable brand that became recognised and sought after with high end fashion clientele. In this time the brand grew and become known by celebrity and stylists worldwide. JMD has now traveled to meetings in Los Angeles, NYC and Montreal to pursue further requests and contacts for work in custom making pieces and on projects and has spent significant time in NYC preparing for next years adventures.

The major objectives of JMD include moving into high end fashion through his fashion line and runway shows, working on several green lighted large impact projects and working on creating an interest in the people excited by fashion in and out of fashion weeks worldwide. JMD has been in discussions with several exclusive celebrity/fashion boutiques to carry lines and diffusion lines as well as is seeking out more to facilitate selling. JMD would like to take part in Canadian fashion week, and continue to meet industry contacts to expand lines in Canadian stores, and is also currently working on an exciting project with existing celebrity stylists and magazine contacts. JMD current is a contributing features editor for SLiNK magazine, and writes a behind the scenes look at the adventures in becoming an international designer for Runway Passport.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SUCCESS?
The biggest success was being invited to show last March in Kiev for Kiev Fashion Days. It was a huge transition point for the brand in that the high fashion magazines and press there were very intimate and helpful in advice suggesting that JMD move towards the presentation of the first fashion lines for Jeffrey Michael. Over this last summer realizing this first capsule collection has been an amazing learning experience and growth experiences for the brand in both the styles, shapes, and language of the brand getting ready to create pieces to show. As well it has enabled for an exciting presentation that is focused and collected in its style for the first time with pieces by JMD. This will push things forward on the international scene in a way that piece by piece could have never happened.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST FAILURE?
As a brand I think these moments of ‘failure’ are really learning lessons. Each one of them helps you get to a new stage of design and creativity and it takes a while to figure out what they are mean’t to teach you at the time. Being international as a designer means moving around with the flow of projects and trends and missing out on family time could be seen as a near miss. Thankfully being home during parts of the summer and at holidays really makes things feel alive and normal and as the brand grows there are more opportunity to see my family back in Canada as events bring me around where they live and work. It is such an important balance while becoming established as a brand to take time for yourself, your family and your creative time. It has been such a lesson and I’m glad to have realized the importance of that at such a young age.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAVE OVERCOME?
In the decision to move into a new market in North America and NYC it has brought me to new levels of excitement and learning. COming from creating one of a kind pieces, to going into creating fashion lines each season has been a huge transition and a huge learning curve in how to create pieces all at once instead of one at a time. I knew this would be the most important factor in the success and growth of the brand in that creating a marketable product that could exist outside of my studio was a way for both recognition, as well as continuing to be able to create in an ongoing way. All of my idols, designers, creators, who have made it to the true level of that ability to create for a living, such as Alexander McQueen, The Blondes, Mark Jacobs, etc, have all gone the route of creating both exciting fantastic creations, but also sellable repeatable products, no matter how intricate. Learning how to take the concepts I work with in the one of a kind, and unique, couture, etc, and placing those into a runway collection and then for sale has been such an interesting shift in my work. It has ended up making me a better designer, and the work I have put together for this first collection is something I’m very proud of me and my team for.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE TO ANYONE STARTING OUT?
Learn who your clients are first and foremost. Having a successful target is so important to achieve it. Are you making something for a high fashion market, or a regular consumer market. Figuring out your style and design language to suit that client is so important because having something beautiful and loveable is a main goal for the designer. It is very easy to become a creator of things only for yourself when making and creating, but asking advice and opinions along the way is humbling and useful in making a better more beautiful product. The creation process is so dynamic. Taking into consideration so many factors from art history and fashion history are important in taking a step forward. If you don’t know what the past is made of, how can you hope to hit into the future with new ideas and a fresh take in your own design language. I think research is such an important focus to a collection and push to bringing something from inside the mind outside into the physical reality. This research for me is ongoing and always, and constantly visiting exhibits, museums, and reading about other designers and projects is important to place your collection within a frame of reference. Even if that frame is opposed to what you are seeing, it has to be set up in some understanding of what is going on currently in the world.

Take the time to figure out what you want to do in the industry, what you want to say, and then be strong willed, and thick skinned as you move forward. Be strong enough to believe in your own pieces, and caring enough to make the craft of them so outstanding that no one will be able to critique the physical work you have done. Fashion is about opinions, opposed, varied and different. Let your mind be strong and keep hitting forward with a self assurance as you create your pieces, keeping pictures and images around you as you create to feel and sense intuitively where you want to go and what you want to do during each line. Use the fashion industry as a testing ground, and move towards a focused understanding of your own design language via these catwalks, presentations, and editorials that will come up during your seasons of learning. The industry is the best tool to learn and moving forward. Use suggestions and criticism to serve you and to become better as a designer.

And most importantly just keep on going. Never give up, and know who you are as a designer. You have to be the front of an entire line and brand. Be the positive outgoing person that everyone wants to be around and know about. People are buying into you, and then your garments. Make them want to have a piece of you in their closet, and you have made it.

Jeffrey Michael, the debut a first and a full first line in February of 2012. Follow this lead up on twitter via the head designer Jeffrey at @jeffrey_design, and on the website www.jeffreymichaeldesign.co.uk, or behind the scenes at www.jeffreymichaeldesign.blogpsot.com.