Career - Fashion designer @ Wildfox Couture - Emily Faulstich

 There's no need to present the Wildfox Couture brand, as we're all marked forever with the print of their

amazing knit sweaters. The skeleton, the love potion, the giant smiley face... it's simple :

WE WANT THEM ALL !!!

It's been a while that we had this project : finding an inspirational fashion designer that would give us answers and let us share them with you ! We immediately thought of Wildfox Couture, a brand that we can relate to, that speaks to us

in terms of pop culture and that inspires us each time they produce a lookbook. Plus their story really is a dream

to a lots a girls. Emily and Kimberley were childhood friends with one big dream : creating a fashion label

with the perfect pieces they couldn't find in stores. So they created Wildfox Couture !

Today, we're interviewing Emily (picture above)

Hi Emily, can you describe yourself and tell us what was your dream job as a child ?

I'm a California girl from Santa Barbara, a photographer and a fashion designer, traveler and lover of summer

and pink lipstick. My dream job as a child was to be a famous movie star or a singer on broadway.

How did you become interested in fashion and design ?

I remember my friend in 5th grade had those Barbie Fashion Plates, and I borrowed them for fun and carried them everywhere making cheesy outfits. I studied illustration in college and always loved fonts & pretty packaging...

so design was a huge passion which naturally fell into place when I started working in fashion. 

What was your first job and how did you make your way into the fashion industry ?

My first job out of college was a design assistant at a clothing line in Los Angeles,

I worked there for a year and decided to leave to start Wildfox!

Where do the ideas come from in the first place and what are your inspirations ?

I find inspiration in everything!! I carry around a scrapbook to tape in magazine pulls and write out ideas. 

Things that are inspirational: Beautiful movies & colors in films, nice text layouts, minimal and

white washed interiors, happy songs and palm trees, vacations and polaroids. 

What do you love about the fashion industry ?

I love designing a line around a specific theme and really getting into it. Also I find fashion similar to theater...

the way you can change your look and pretend to be somebody else for fun. 

Can you explain how Wildfox Couture started and how did you decide to work with Kimberley ?

Kim and I had an epiphany in my bedroom in 2007 and realised we could make a clothing line of things

we loved and couldn't find anywhere else. We always borrowed our boyfriends vintage t-shirts that were paper thin

and felt so flattering. We couldn't find anything in stores quite like the vintage tees and decided to make them ourselves!

Who's the Wildfox girl ?

She is confident and fun-loving, always ready to have a party, make cookies in her underwear, dye her hair pink.

She loves her girlfriends and always has a crush, loves kittens and ice cream and lives life like a fairy tale.
 

How big is the Wildfox staff now ?

Can't even count !!!

Wildfox started with knitted sweaters and tshirts and now

you produce a denim line, kids, jewelry, swimwear and so on..

How did it happen and what's next for Wildfox ?

We started with cotton tees, then fleece and our "vintage varsity" fabric. What happened next was us brainstorming about what we dreamed of making and we were able to get in contact with people who could make us beautifully knit sweaters with sequins and intarsia. From that we created our "White Label" collection that I had always planned on adding... then denim, sunglasses, swim, shoes with Jeffrey Campbell, and kids, which was kind of my pet project :)

We heard you're working on a major project now, but how was it to work with a close friend ?

It was fun to collaborate, our ideas always complimented the other. It can get hard sometimes to work so closely to someone, especially a best friend, but we always got through the hard times and were very proud of our work!

There's never a typical day but how do you manage your work daily ?

When I worked at Wildfox it was always different. Sometimes it was a normal workday and we would leave around 6pm,

but a lot of times we stayed well past 10 and usually during photoshoots we worked weekends and till midnight

making sure everything was perfect!! Those are actually fun times to look back on, creating the

best outfits for the models and gathering props from around Los Angeles. 

What do you think set your designs apart ?

Well, I think it's the lifestyle we portray and the love we put into designing the clothes.

What advice would you give to young people aspiring to work in fashion ?

Work every day and power throught the tough times, you can do anything you want, really !!!

We hope you had fun reading this interview and we would like to thank Emily so much for her honest answers !

All pictures come from her tumblr : www.hawaiiancoconut.tumblr.com and also check out

her new one for major inspiration : www.coconutrosey.tumblr.com

On September 6th, Emily will launch her new website, and of course, we'll keep you posted :)