Marie Cordella
Today I am excited to share an interview with Raleigh based fashion designer Marie Cordella. I love Marie’s ability to combine texture, pattern, and unconventional forms. She has a daring and innovative approach to fashion, and it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to learn more about how she conceives and constructs her inspired designs.
Photo by Kurt Schlatzer
How did you first become interested in fashion design?
Really, I would have to say that I just plain stumbled upon fashion. Often using materials such as wood, plastic, metal and stiffened felt in my work, textiles came as a natural addition. I have always been highly attracted to graphic compositions and contrast in design, and over the course of my undergraduate and graduate education my personal experimentations gradually led me to costume/garment design. I think of each commissioned dress as a commissioned sculpture. More than anything, I’m looking for an emotive response from each piece.
Photo by Stephen Aubuchon
Your designs often have striking structural components and beautifully combined textures and patterns. Where do you find your inspiration?
I can remember being an adolescent and being aware of patterns in the woodgrain on my kitchen floor. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with the information, but I filed it away in my memory. As I matured and began to pursue design as a lifestyle, these patterns and textures re-surfaced with different projects. Synapses. Today, these same kinds of elements in my surroundings influence my designs. I often see poured cement or lines in a building and have instant ideas. I can really only attribute the honing and development of my own intuition to the placement of the structural and graphic elements in my work. I have learned through trial and error that I have to do what feels right. To deny my intuition is to have regrets. This applies both to my work and to my personal life, between which there is a very fine line…if any.
I also read as much as I can. Subjects such as science, philosophy, psychology and other non-fiction genres are highly inspirational to me. In learning about humans and the natural world, I find further validation to experiment and push my own creative boundaries. I am fascinated with auto-biographies of those whom I admire; I am specifically moved by those of Albert Einstein and Coco Chanel. It seems that those of us who follow our own paths find the most success and exuberance in life.
Photos by Kurt Schlatzer
What is your creative process when working on a collection?
I tend to think of my entire body of work as one ongoing collection. The name of my last solo exhibition was Chapter and Verse, which was representative of this notion. Instead of having a creative process by which I work, I have more of a rule. The rule is to always create a unity within each piece, and within the entire collection. My new pieces tend to come in groups of six. I suppose, on thinking about it, that it must take six pieces to have enough repetition and attention to detail with each piece to create something completely new, and yet still have it tied to something from way back in the line. I also think of everything in terms of a linear progression, a line paralleled with the passing of time.
During the creation of each piece I drape, pin, and stand back. The majority of the process takes place during passive thinking. I feel my way through the design and construction. Time is vital. The pieces that take the longest are consistently the best pieces. It’s important to mention that taking longer doesn’t mean that a piece is any more complex in design…it means I felt it out as well as I could. Intuition is key in design.
I love the designs you’ve created for Kelly Crisp of the Rosebuds. How did you get involved working with them?
My involvement with the Rosebuds is due to the lottery of friends and personal relationships that develop over time; I met Ivan Howard through a mutual friend. We ran into each other at a wedding this past October, and I was wearing a dress that I’d made. I learned months later that he’d called Kelly Crisp from the wedding to tell her about it. The next time she was in town she randomly stumbled onto one of my dresses on display in an exhibit. We made an appointment to meet, and I’ve been creating for Kelly ever since.
Photo by Stephen Aubuchon
What projects do you have coming up?
This interview comes at a complex time for me. Having just finished with Raleigh Fashion Week, I am currently focused on a host of dress commissions and preparing for a trunk-show in DC. On a larger scale, I’ve recently hired a couple of excellent women to sew for me, and I am currently looking for a new studio space to rent - something more to the effect of a studio in the back and store in the front. This is a very exciting new endeavor, and I look forward to announcing my progress!
Where can people find your designs?
When seeking a commissioned piece, people simply call or email me. Select pieces can be seen on my website, and I very frequently update my blog.
I also appear at designer trunk shows and tent sales with lines of unique skirts and bags. Dates and locations are announced by email and posted on my blog.
Nice post!
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