ELLIAWEAR.COM x FACE TO FACE WITH GAIL ELLIOTT

Elliawear.com - We sit down with the Creative Director and Designer of Little Joe Woman, Gail Elliott, to chat about her beginnings, inspirations and what’s next for the stand out label.

E: What sparked your interest in fashion?

Gail Elliott: From a young age I always had an interest in fashion. I remember at around 13 years old, saving my pocket money and loving to go into Chelsea Girl in London to buy clothing. Having worked with so many fashion designers, magazine editors, stylists, photographers, models, hair stylists and make up artists as a model for many years, I developed an enormous interest in fashion and came to appreciate quality, luxury, and the power of how beautiful clothing makes a woman feel.

E: How did you come to start your own line?

Gail Elliott: I was extremely fortunate to enjoy a successful 24 year career as a model based in New York in the 80s and 90s but had begun to feel a need to express my learnings and fashion thoughts and feelings creatively. My first designs were very simple slip dresses and camisoles. Pieces that I needed for myself and couldn’t seem to find in stores at the time, that worked with my hectic travel schedule. They were easy to pack, worked with that inner-wear as outer-wear look that was just starting to happen, they made me feel good to either sleep in or wear out and were great to wear. I started with six slips and six slips in six colours. We booked our first buying appointment with Browns Boutique on South Molton Street in London – we made an appointment with Mrs Burstein who bought the whole collection and our business started from there.

E: How would you describe your design aesthetic?

Gail Elliott: My design aesthetic for the Little Joe Women is someone who appreciates luxury, she has a subtle Rock-Chic street style vibe, is a busy person, enjoys travel and loves life….just like me.

E: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Gail Elliott: I’m inspired every day by my life – things I see, people I meet, the places I travel to and conversations I have, so I gather information for the next collection months before I have to put it down on paper.

E: What’s been your greatest achievement as a fashion designer?

Gail Elliott: Every collection is an achievement I’m proud of, having people purchasing our clothing or seeing people in the street or on Instagram wearing it is also something I feel proud of and seeing everyone’s individual style is so interesting but my biggest achievement is having created this brand with my business partner and husband of eighteen years, Joe Coffey and having the opportunity to work and travel the world together.

E: What’s next for Little Joe Woman?

Gail Elliott: At the moment we’re in production of our Resort 2015 collection and are about to go into our selling period of Fall / Winter 2016. Six months ago we opened our first Little Joe Woman boutique in Asia, in Bali on Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak, which we are very excited about. Bali is the epicentre of Asia and we love the opportunity to show our brand here. This summer I’m looking forward to wearing long flowing silk chiffon maxi skirts in our exclusive luxe-boho prints with superfine silk / cashmere oversized sweaters or delicate camisoles. I’ll also be wearing silk slip dresses, blazers, wide flare flowing soft silk pants and lace, leather and fringe cocktail dresses. I look forward to continuing to grow our brand and designing beautiful pieces for stylish, interesting women all over the world.

Article source: Elliawear.com