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We are very lucky to be able to talk to the Creative Director from Aspinal of London – Mariya Dykalo over a cup of English fine tea. We talked about the brand, the designs. We also talk about being British, and London.
K: From an intern to now the Creative Director, what was your most unforgettable moment at Aspinal of London in the last 8 years?
M: To me, the most unforgettable moment must be the press event for the Spring/Summer 14 collection launch. The event was held at the famous hotel – Claridge’s. We had a tree in the middle of the showspace, and we served English afternoon tea to our guests – recreated the English countryside. Many bloggers and our friends from magazines came, they had a chance to look at our new collection for the first time, it was a success.
K: SS14 is your first full collection, what was the process creating this collection?
M:The collection is inspired by a movie called The Go-Between, it is all about British summer and countryside, and all the colours came from the movie. My team and I selected the strongest leather from all the leather board sheets. We developed the hardware. We then developed the handbag plan range – it is very important to think about different price ranges for different customers. After that, we started working on the designs, sent to the factory, then we had the first and second sample. Then we had meetings with buyers, and finally it was the press event, which was the most exciting. I think in total it took us about 8 months.
K: What is the most important thing to your design and to an Aspinal of London product?
M:The Aspinal of London aesthetic is all about English refined elegance, Aspinal style is a traditional style but it’s also innovative.
K: The Marylebone bag is the best selling line among all the Aspinal of London products, what do you think make the collection so successful?
M:I think Marylebone collection really shows the Aspinal of London’s design aesthetic –attention to details. It’s very refined and trendy; the outline of the handbag is very recognizable as Aspinal’s product. It is also very practical, it has a lot pockets for different things inside. Women enjoy using the bag because they can easily find their things as they carry a lot of things. That’s exactly why I carry this bag everyday as well.
K: You are from Ukraine, so what is the British thing that attracts you the most?
M:First I want to say I am proud to be part of a British brand, I have been at Aspinal for 8 years now, but even before, the British culture, history, palaces and castles always inspired me. As well as British designer and of course, our beloved city – London.
By Kevin Chan
