Q & A — ClothLogic (Spring 2009)

New label Cloth­Logic is based in Los Ange­les. ClothLogic’s designer, Leon Shpayer is forth­right and does not deter from acknowl­edg­ing that his label plays it safe when it comes to design. How­ever, Shpayer’s main goal when it comes to fash­ion is pro­vid­ing an acces­si­ble qual­ity brand at an afford­able price. Obvi­ously Shpayer is doing some­thing right. One of his celeb fol­low­ers includes Gos­sip Girls’ Ed West­wick and we know his choices are never-​​ending.

Q & A

The Fash­ion­isto: How did your inter­est in fash­ion develop?

Leon Shpayer: I come from a long line of cloth­ing mak­ers, going back to 18th cen­tury.  I grew up around sewing machines, pins, nee­dles, fab­rics, threads, scis­sors and all that jazz.  Hang­ing around the Ateleier on my school vaca­tion was a com­mon thing in my life.  It wasn’t till I was 17 and assist­ing Lika Volkova “Anti­lika” that I realised how much I con­nect to the world of cloth­ing mak­ing.   I was absolutely con­sumed and it was wonderful.

TF: How did Cloth­Logic come about?

LS: Cloth­Logic was built on the suc­cess of a women’s line Tulle, who is the sis­ter to ClothLogic.

TF: What makes Cloth­Logic dif­fer­ent from any other brand?

LS: I can’t say that Cloth­Logic is recre­at­ing the wheel in any way, but we felt that there is a cus­tomer in the mar­ket that’s look­ing for a qual­ity design for a fair price.

TF: What is the process from design­ing a col­lec­tion to get­ting it pro­duced to see­ing it in stores?

LS: It’s all about the process isn’t it…but, it is really not com­pli­cated and yet, the process is very detail ori­ented and requires a whole team of peo­ple to mate­ri­al­ize a sketch into some­thing that’s hang­ing in a store, with­out any trace of labor.  Mak­ing Clothes is still one of those indus­tries that requires a very hands on approach.  I feel peo­ple today don’t real­ize that.  I see how in a store if a gar­ment falls on the floor, they won’t even blink and walk right over it.  I don’t blame them, but I will pick it up and hang it back on the hanger.

TF: What is the largest dif­fer­ence between design­ing a fall and spring collection?

LS: No Wool in Spring

TF: What do you have planned for next season?

LS: Ask me again in a month.

TF: Does your per­sonal style dif­fer from the clothes you design?

LS: No, my per­sonal style only evolves as the clothes I design evolve or vice versa.

TF: What design­ers do you like?  Do you keep up with what every­one else is doing?

LS: I absolutely look up to many designers…and there are plenty out there. Some of my favorite local inspi­ra­tions are inde­pen­dent design­ers such as SANS-​​by Lika Volkova, Jazmin Shokrian. Brands such as JoyRich, Brown Sound, Mike and Chris, Nice Col­lec­tive. I really love the Japan­ese design­ers Under­cover, Junya Watan­abe, Comme de Gar­con, Num­ber (N)ine. I try to keep up as best I can, it helps to keep things fresh and see what other design­ers are think­ing about and how they solve problems.

TF: If you could dress any­one, who would it be?

LS: The kids who play Bike­Polo… that would be awe­some to see some­one wear­ing Cloth­Logic while rid­ing their fixed geared bicycles.

TF: How is the reces­sion affect­ing your label?

LS: Our Busi­ness is actu­ally see­ing an increase in sales.

Pic­tures cour­tesy of Cloth Logic