I had the privilege to have a sit down with Metal Apparel and Accessories designer Laurel Dewitt. We had the chance to discuss what attracts her celebrity clients to her work, her biggest challenges in perfecting her craft, and more.
Oumou Fofana: Your work has been featured on celebrities such as Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Amber Rose, Vanessa Hudgens and more. What do you think attracts these stars to your work ?
Laurel Dewitt: I think that my products are very original, one of a kind, and also very sexy. When celebrities or their stylists are looking for something that’s very exclusive they come to me.
OF: How are you able to work around the preferences of your various clients who all have different tastes in fashion?
LD: I studied at one best art schools in the country, Pratt Art Institute. I was trained in all aspects of fashion… draping, pattern making, costume history etc. I also designed handbags for Kenneth Cole Reaction and Juicy Couture (to name a few). Through that experience, I’ve learned how to do trend forecasting so I kind of naturally know what’s going on in the industry as a whole and make sure I keep my own unique flair. I combine my career and school training and get direction from the stylists / celebs and make their vision come to life. Its always a challenge, but for me I stand true to what I do and I am very realistic. I say to myself, this is going to work or this isn’t going to work. I’ve become sort of an “expert” in my niche of metal and chain and they come to me for that.
OF: How are you able to work around the preferences of your various clients who all have different tastes in fashion?
LD: I studied at one best art schools in the country, Pratt Art Institute. I was trained in all aspects of fashion… draping, pattern making, costume history etc. I also designed handbags for Kenneth Cole Reaction and Juicy Couture (to name a few). Through that experience, I’ve learned how to do trend forecasting so I kind of naturally know what’s going on in the industry as a whole and make sure I keep my own unique flair. I combine my career and school training and get direction from the stylists / celebs and make their vision come to life. Its always a challenge, but for me I stand true to what I do and I am very realistic. I say to myself, this is going to work or this isn’t going to work. I’ve become sort of an “expert” in my niche of metal and chain and they come to me for that.
OF: What has been your favorite piece that you have designed?
LD: I think my finale gown from last season. I always like the finale gown from every collection Its the last piece that I work on and its obviously the most grand. I started making metal flowers last season and it was teaching myself a new technique. It has black metal mesh with handmade gold metal flowers. There were hundreds of hand cut flowers on it. The look was so extravagant and so different from my previous collections. People would say my past work had an Egyptian feel so I kind of went out of my comfort zone to make metal flowers “bloom” on the runway.
OF: How did you get into the art of gold weaving?
LD: I guess you could say necessity. I haven’t had any investors. The brand is self funded and I have had to find different ways to manipulate raw materials. I constantly have to reinvent and evolve and come up with different treatment. I think being prolific is the key to everything. Practice makes perfect… as they say.
OF: What is the biggest challenge you have faced in perfecting your craft?
LD: Probably just overcoming the pain involved in it. I am bending metal. It is very very very hard on my hands, my shoulders and my arms. If I am working on a really big project I have to work through a lot of pain. That, and the lack of sleep because it is really time consuming. So its really just like physically hard on me.
OF: And you do all of this by yourself?
LD: I have my production manager, his name is Sire. He helps me do the linking and stuff like that. It’s basically just me and him. I have some friends and family that help me during crunch time as well. But, I couldn’t do this without him. Sire also handles all the pulls for me and helps me with my sanity which is a big thing (ha ha). He’s amazing, he’s my right hand man.
OF: Many of your head pieces seem to have an Egyptian influence, is the city of Egypt a major influence in your work?
LD: People say that, but I really don’t look at Egyptian things for inspiration. When I’m making apparel its like manipulating metals to become a “fabric”. The crowns are more sculptural. Its just something that I kind of just build on. I usually have a lose idea of what I want to do but I just start like cutting and bending the metal and they evolve. However, my first crown was made was for an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute of African art in the Egyptian wing (that crown is now my logo). So I did one mini collection of literal Cleopatra inspired head dresses. I think the regal gold aesthetic is just like natural to to me. I like things lavish and encrusted and gold. It’s not so intentional, it just part of my personal style. It’s what I like.
OF: Who was your biggest influence throughout your journey to this point in your career?
LD: My mother and father always provided me with whatever tools I needed to evolve as an artist from when I was a kid. They saw what I was good at and fostered my creativity. They let me paint my room in murals when I was in high school and I ended up winning an award for this in YM Magazine for the coolest room in America. They always just let me be free and didn’t put up any boundaries. My father went to Pratt and he is an artist and built the house I grew up in. He is the person that literally gave me tools to work with. My dad is more of an observer type of guy. He would see what I was working on and tell me what tools that could be of use. He’s actually the person that introduced me to the metal. He sent me a box of metal to use for an assignment I had for class when I was in college. I made a bra out of the metal scraps and that’s what kind of started the metal clothes concept.
OF: Is there any new pieces that we can expect to see from you for New York Fashion Week next month?
LD: I am incorporating a lot of leather and denim as companion pieces for the metal outfits. It’s really dope. I am very excited to premier this!
OF: What is one piece of advice that you have found useful that you would give to an inspiring designer?
LD: WORK! Like I said before, be prolific. There are no books that taught me how to make metal clothes. If people saw my original collection they would probably laugh. It was a lot of trial and error. Every piece that I make brings me to something else. Either it tells me what doesn’t work or I discover some new technique. I’ve made hundreds of pieces and I listen to feedback. Develop your craft. Also, do things for free. People are so caught up in thinking that money is everything. Experience and association is just a valuable and when you are in the industry. Doing things for free is so important because those are relationship builders and good PR. Most of the time, celebrities do not pay for what they are wearing. The borrow it and send it back and this is perfectly normal trade for the promotion you get for it. Invest your time and your money into that and it will come back to you…. I promise.
Article Written By: Oumou Fofana
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Kingoumou
Photos Courtesy of: Laurel Dewitt(Laureldewitt.com)
