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Q&A with designers Tom & Victor
How would you describe your work?
VICTOM: The collection that will be presented at FASHIONCLASH is a men’s shirt collection mixing the Belgian clean cut with the more baroque Chinese esthetic. This is the first time for our collection to be presented. Hopefully, the audience will appreciate it and encourage us to go further.
Tom: I really like to create and make my design alive. I did a lot of fashion shows, exhibitions, and contests. I get awarded for a few times. The collection that will be presented at FASHIONCLASH is more commercial than what I did before. This is probably influenced by Victor who has more a commercial sense.
Who are your artistic influences or inspirations? Why?
Tom: My artistic inspiration comes from the daily life. The direct environment brings me a lot of ideas. For instance, once, I did a collection inspired by the supermarket; and other was about calligraphy paper in China.
Finding your own voice is difficult, where and how do you find your personal creativity?
VICTOM: We try to stay true to ourselves and not to follow the fashion trends too much. We aim to balance both our point of views to make us understandable. After all, designing is just mixing shapes, proportions, textures, and colors in order to cover the body for the purpose of amusement or social interaction, isn’t it?
Have you recently experienced something that totally blew your mind?
Tom: Traveling in China during Holidays. Everything is so packed that getting a seat in a bus is like
winning lottery.
What is your most favorite accessory? Why?
Tom: My bag. I need it to carry a lot of stuffs such as wallet, mobile phone, and umbrella. Even if I already have a lot of bags, I am always willing to buy new ones.
Victor: I have a lot of shoes. It is the element of clothing that I prefer.
What is your most favorite brand? Why?
Tom: For Chinese fashion industry, I like brands like Ma Ke or Lavie. They bring the traditional eastern culture in their design and make it contemporary. Beside that, I really appreciate the work of Jeremy Scott, which is bold, creative, funny, and still wearable.
Victor: I like the clean and easy shape and design that you can find in Givenchy or Celine.
How would you define fashion?
VICTOM: Maybe a taste for clothing, for trend, and a behavior that people are not afraid to try.
Are you a people's person or a loner?
Tom: Though I like to share time with friends, I am probably a loner! I like to be alone.
Victor: I am similar to Tom. Being alone is a pleasure. However, I still really appreciate a meal with friends.
What do you strive for in your work?
Tom: Trying to enjoy, to dream a little bit! I like to create and to end up with a result that can be shown. I like to challenge. I like to work on projects.
What are the keys factors in your design? VICTOM: Our design is simple and not very complicated, with elaborated details (pockets, collars…). The choice of fabric is very important for us; our shirts are made with high quality Korean and Japanese cotton.
What makes your items different from others? What is your designing philosophy?
VICTOM: It is difficult to be different. We try to make products with a good quality and to bring a little twist in classical items. Hopefully people will appreciate it as special.
Fashion needs to progress year in year out, how do you keep innovating?
VICTOM: Fashion business changes easily and fast. We go further step-by-step, at our own rhythm. First, we will see if our product is appreciated, then try to have a long-term vision for our brand. Both dreaming and hard working on project make us keep going on.
What is the contemporary condition of fashion in your place of residence?
VICTOM: In Belgium, there are a lot of really good designers who are worldwide famous. This makes the market excessively competitive and pushes the creativity, which is good but also difficult for young designers to launch a new brand. In China, local designers are emerging, but the market is still dominated by big foreign brands.
What is your ultimate goal? What do you want to achieve with your projects?
VICTOM: We are trying to build a brand. We aim to reach the viability point and to play a role in the fashion industry. Let’s hope!
Do you believe the western binary gender system (male/female) will eventually disappear?
VICTOM: We don’t think it will disappear.
What are your thoughts on the idea that unisex is the new androgynous in fashion?
VICTOM: We did a so-called men’s wear shirt collection. However, we are also happy to see that girls are interested in wearing and buying. For us, the style can be androgynous. But if we talk about fitting, the body shape still give guidelines in men and women clothing. The body shapes are still different between men and women, right?
What does your collection try to communicate?
VICTOM: It is a casual, easy, and fashionable collection, without showing off.
Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH?
Tom: I am currently living in Liège, which isn’t far from Maastricht. And I was advised to participate by participant from last Baiba Ladiga. It seems to be a really good festival so I am taking the opportunity to participate with the Brand that I just set up with Victor.
Who are your target consumers? How do you define them?
VICTOM: Our target is men in their twenties or early thirties. These men usually follow fashion, but they don’t want to be crazy.
What is your price range?
VICTOM: Price in the showroom is around 100 euros per piece. We aim to sell not only to individual customers but also to attract the eyes of buyers.
How do you balance between the function of the items and the appearance of them?
VICTOM: We are still doing shirt, so it is quite a classical series of items with a little twist. And the twist comes from the cut and mix of various fabrics, such as the addition of hidden pocket. These fabrics are all manufactured in Korea or Japan.
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