Interview with the designer: Sasha-Rose
Last week I sat with designer Sasha-Rose in the nifty little corner of Tigerbakers Darlinghurst. Having just finished the filming of the upcoming Project Runway, she plunged right into a new mission of launching the online shop for her eponymous label. The label launch back in April (original post here) was so stunning I am genuinely excited that now the pieces are now available for purchase.
Sasha-Rose started sewing at the young age of 10, was gifted her first sewing machine at 13, and after multiple studies of fashion apparel and footwear design finally embarked on the scary journey of starting her own label. Her goal is simple: to create designs which flatter every shape. Her first collection reflects this - feminine meets masculine fit to be worn by you, me, and everyone.
Originally based on 40s menswear tailoring, the collection has taken a giant leap to appear so feminine. The color palette she chose for the current collection might be girly, but the practicality was definitely on her mind at all time. As the description of Spitfire Shirt Dress says: “It has a cowl-neck back showing off the shoulder blades, strategically cut so you can still wear a bra. There is a skinny leather belt that weaves through the side seams to pull in the waist. It can be worn open still wearing the belt or as a vest without”. Sasha wants the wearer to be comfortable and confident in her design, and is passionate about getting real girls to wear her stuff. She spends time writing descriptions for each pieces to ensure that her customers understand the conception of the pieces and how they can be styled. The fact that the pieces are so versatile and thoughtfully crafted actually makes even a bargain-hunter like me ignore the price tags. And really, how am I to resist the beautiful hand-dyed leather?
She explains how extensive and often frustrating the design process is. Being a perfectionist, she is very particular about how a fabric drapes and doesn’t believe in easy-fix. Using elastics is an easy solution to shape mass-produced designs, but Sasha refuses to take this route. She would rather go through the grueling process of producing multiple prototypes to find the design that looks and sits perfectly on the body. Her neurosis was also on display as she showcased her own footwear on the launch night. She started designing her own shoes years ago as she refuses to believe that you should sacrifice comfort for beautiful designs. Her brogues are not for sale yet, but I am hopeful that one day she will let me get a pair - they all look so comfortable!
With the pieces carefully produced in Bali, Sasha-Rose dreams of opening a flagship store there. She has fallen in love with the place and was very excited upon finding out that I’m Indonesian and am planning to holiday there soon. She wants to also relocate there in the future - in the mean time learning the language and the culture to prepare herself. Knowing that she was going to be at Bizarre Bazaar last night, I planned a visit to try on a few stuff. I had to elbow some girls in the process, but I finally reached her stall. I can proudly say that I came home with the Sasha Rose Spitfire Shirt Dress, which isn’t a surprise since I had wanted it since the day I saw it.
I shall now leave you to admire her pieces on the online store - and you really should get a piece of Sasha-Rose before everyone else.
Thanks to Sasha-Rose for the interview, and Christopher McLaren of A Series of Fortunate Events for introducing us. Photography by Justin Lee.
