Laura Dawson

We talk with the avant-garde designer about dressing her heroes and the need for fashion to go organic

By Genevieve Diesing
Published: May 5th, 2007 | 10:18am

Brooklyn-based indie designer Laura Dawson has dressed Moby, worked with her creative heroes, and seems to live every second of her life in the moment. Dawson, previously a music industry stylist out of Paris, New York, and Amsterdam, launched her affordable high-end womenswear line in 2003. Known for her ability to interlace edgy with glamorous, we chatted with the former As Four designer about organic fashion, the difficulty with heroes, and one day dressing Lady Sovereign.

What do you consider your greatest professional achievement thus far?
It's a knee jerk reaction to say that working for As Four or dressing Jake Shears were the best things. Or dressing Moby. It's actually very difficult to meet or get to know someone who is a hero to you, being faced with the imperfections of people who you want to be flawless can be absolutely crushing at times: the more you look up to someone, the more easily they can break your heart. On a different occasion, Lily Taylor has always been far and away my favorite actress, for tons of reasons, not least her politics. She wore some of my clothes for a shoot for Nylon. The picture didn't actually get published, but just knowing that it happened and that she liked some of the work I was doing was great. There are some things in life that just make you think that things like peace on earth are possible.

What was the period of working with As Four like? How did it influence you?
Having been there is always careful stepping to avoid allowing something to influence you too much. I was talking to Tina Alexiou, who used to work there and is now working as a stylist. After looking at my collection she said "I really like it and I'm glad it's not trying to be... anything." Which I thought was really telling about how much you have to think about your own body of work in relationship to people who influence you. And there are influencers and then there are influencers.

How would you describe your target market?
I'm so completely immersed in the kind of scene that I design for that actually verbally describing it seems like stating the obvious to me, but it isn't at all. I would say the person is young in behavior and mentally young — having little to do with the year of your birth. Metropolitan. The usual suspects can be seen at art gallery openings, clubs that aren't quite sure exactly which preferences they were catering to, and by 2 a.m. have absolutely no idea. It could be characterized by that infectious sound that doesn't allow you to keep still in a chair and sounds very unlike anything you've ever heard before.

Would you classify your style as avant-garde, street-style, indie, or something else altogether?
I decided a long time ago that (avant-garde) was what I wanted to be, whatever form its definition may take. And I love being described as that. It's like someone inadvertently saying "It worked. You did it."

What direction do you want to see fashion take?
Fashion must go organic, effective five minutes ago. My project for the season is researching where to get organic cotton and environmentally friendly products. It's super difficult when producing quantities that are less than thousands because industry has completely left a human scale in many, many cases.

Where do you feel you fit in, in the grand scheme of modern fashion?
One thing I notice when talking to people is that some of the crass, useless waste and unkindness of the '80s particularly has left a lasting impression on people. Any medium, any genre is only relevant when people are paying attention to it and when it improves the human condition. Every economic exchange that helps peaceful international trade is one more thing that can keep people on peaceful terms. Every weapon can be a tool if it's only held the right way. Some of the old ways: snobbery, criminally unfair trade, child labor, absurd imbalances in compensation, exclusion... Well, they just don't have a place I don't think.

What musicians/celebrities do you want to dress, or feel represent your
message?
Apt candidates for dressing include Lady Sov, although she would be really difficult to dress as she seems very comfortable with a specific look. That and her coziness with Adidas. Well, so was Moby and he liked his grey T-shirts. Lovefoxx of Cansei de Ser Sexy would be fun, fun, and then topped with some fun.

What long term goals have you already accomplished?
Quite a long time ago, in a city that is beautiful, much smaller and very far away, I set some long term goals for myself that were enormous and all looked impossible: Move to New York, hang out with everyone who I thought did really great work, be a designer, live in the East Village, get some press, have fashion shows, live in Europe, create a better place to live for myself and others. Now that I've done everything I ever wanted, sometimes I just don't know what to do next. Really. I guess I'd better make another list...