Mayu would like to present a guest post from Laddhavan Sutana, our esteemed designer from Chicago. Without her, Mayu’s accessories would not be the snazzy and fabulous pieces of art that they are! Here Laddhavan provides the answer to one pivotal question:
When did I decide to become a clothing designer?
I don’t know, really. I do not ever remember saying I was going to grow up to be a designer. This was before Project Runway and celeb designed labels. I always was an artistic kid and drew lots of pictures of glamorous women and copied pictures of period costumes in books-paying close attention to seam lines, ruffles, and other design features. In middle school I was awarded best artist and best dressed. I guess my fate to become a clothing designer was sealed at an early age.
After graduating from high school in Wisconsin, I moved myself down to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for the fashion program. It was a very creative driven curriculum with no business orientation. I was not a stellar student as I felt I wanted to go more into the direction of designing with the intent to sell instead of designing for runway “wow” factor. I did take from it some technical skills like pattern making from draping and designing a cohesive collection. I also took a knitwear design and construction class and that was when I learned how to knit by hand and on the hand loom.
I fell in love with knitwear and apprenticed with my instructor, who had her own small design company. She taught me the most wonderful skill of doing fully fashioned knits on the loom and exceptional hand finishing techniques. I was doing production for her and eventually was given a knitting loom to use at home to work at my own hours. I was also fortunate enough to land several more jobs with other small design companies after graduating from college in 1999.
I worked in fashion as design assistant, designer, and pattern maker…and also odd jobs in between. Eventually, I decided to do my own thing and in 2003, launched my company, Sutana Clothing Co. The hours were long, but I was driven and loved what I was doing. I was selling to 14 stores and venues and working non stop doing all the designing and patterning, some sewing, and all the knitting and finishing. I took on several interns to help out, but the hours caught up with me and after filling my Spring 2007 collection, I went on hiatus with the intent to return in a couple seasons.
Then the economy took a nose dive and I decided to sit out since I was feeling burned out still from fashion and felt like I needed to go in a new direction. I still love to design, but focus more on the technical like production management, pattern making, styling.
In October 2009 I became a first time mom to a baby boy who is growing quickly to become the next energizer bunny. While I am spending my days in domestic bliss, my mind is never far away from the next collection.
Thanks Laddhavan! What an adorable cutie-pie! We hope to hear more from you soon as Mayu continues to develop their upcoming fall collection! Keep checking back with Mayu’s blog, Twitter, and Facebook for more on eco-fashion, Fair Trade, and sustainability news!
Tags: accessories, Alpaca Hand-Knit Apparel, Eco-fashion, Guest Blogger, knitting, Mayu, Weaving
