I’ve become a bit of an A Détacher fangrrl. I’ve enjoyed the collections since I started following fashion casually a few years ago, but I just recently read a few interviews with Mona Kowalska. She is living the dream, guys. She drapes her own muslins, does her own patternmaking, and produces samples in her atelier/boutique (which is the same space!). Her company consists of three people. Her clothes are made in NYC (some knits are done in Peru). She dabbles in homewares (those pillows!). Her collection also has some of the best shoes every season. Her clothes are always wearable and comfortable. She designs for herself. She is concerned with the experience of wearing clothes and with her creative process rather than marketing. She rarely seems to wear makeup. I am so fascinated by her life because she’s found the balance between fashion, craft, art, and intellect that is the stuff of my fantasies. She is the antidote to the industry-driven undercurrent in the classes I’m taking that starts to pull me off course. If you know me, you know that I’ve never had a desire to live in NYC. But I’d drop everything (except my cat), quit my job, and move there in an instant if I could work for/learn from her. Not to be creepy, Mona, but I’d really love to meet you someday.

A couple interviews to read here and here