Laurel Wells

Creating yesterday's fashions tomorrow

By Meghan Murphy
Published: March 15th, 2007 | 9:30am

Laurel Wells isn't a woman who is confined by her era. Her clothing designs are timeless, without resorting to being classic in the way your mother's plain black loafers and white button down shirt are "classic."

"People have described my collection over and over again as 'retro-futuristic' which I love. It's my attempt to create a classic look; something that doesn't look like it came from any era in particular."

This self-described "imagined aesthetic of the past, present, and future" is exactly what makes her collection almost beyond description. Angular tops are softened by fabrics such as dupioni silk, high necklines are lifted out of the Victorian era by modern construction, and comfortable wrap dresses that embody the future's promises of efficiency while embracing a sort of femininity of the past. Her designs reflect a down-to-earth wisdom that Wells seems to possess. She's insightful and self-aware. "I'm really fascinated by our minds' ability to project what the past and future looked/will look like. We of course have photographs to tell us... about the past, but without having lived it we must construct the aesthetics of any given time."

As a full-time designer, Wells spends most of her day working in her studio and listening to NPR. "The thing that might surprise people is that as a designer you spend huge amounts of time alone." she says. "I realized the other day that I hadn't left the house in three days."

Wells' career began in Athens, Georgia, while in her freshman year studying painting at the University of Georgia. She says that hers is a common story, one in which a designer is noticed wearing her own pieces and then invited by a boutique owner to sell them there. "I ended up supporting myself completely while I was in school with this little dress business, so it organically turned into a career." She believes her fine art education, rather than one in fashion, provided her with the opportunity to express herself in ways she wouldn't normally have. She also thinks that it gave her a "refined sense of composition," as evidenced by a collection that is, simply put, so beautiful.

The strong sense of self that Wells' possesses is likely due in part to her parents. She says that they never questioned her decision to start her own clothing business and that they don't worry about her when she complains of having to eat cereal for dinner due to tight finances. "They know that's part of it, and they have faith in me," she says.

Her mother represents illustrators, and her father is a pilot and musician who plays 22 different instruments. "I wonder sometimes what I would be like if my parents had 'normal' jobs," she muses. She says her mother encouraged creativity and drawing and taught her to sew, and her father would often give her new instruments to play for birthdays and holidays. That kind of musical encouragement manifested itself in Wells' musical ventures.

"Music is really a life-saver for me because my business can get all-consuming if I let it," Wells says, revealing that she is indeed multi-talented. Currently, she is collaborating with partner Yusuke Hama to create what Hama calls "Dirty South Film-Score Pop." Wells breaks it down: "I guess you could also say it's sort of avant hip-hop." She says that Hama "puts down beats and sketches of songs, and when he emails them to me I record vocals and various other analog instruments on top." With a record coming out on Eastern Developments in May, Hama and Wells are "trying to figure out how to perform the songs live." She also plays with Mia Riddle and Her Band, whose sound needs a much less nuanced description. Wells describes it as being much more straight forward indie rock. With this band she sings, plays keyboards, banjo, mandolin, and glockenspiel. "I have to have a couple of things on the side to keep me from losing my mind, and music is something that makes me really happy without any pressure," she says.

Wells' spring collection can be viewed on her Web site. She confides that she's anxious for a warm up in temperatures so she can wear her "Sunday Dress," a sweet "wasabi green" dress that Wells describes as "very lady-like."

She advises artists, designers, musicians, and writers trying to make a career for themselves to be patient. "Things don't happen over night, and you have to keep the faith. Your hard work will pay off in the end. And you should read Kathleen Fasanella's book, The Designer-Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing; it's my bible."