Interview with Vivienne Tam Fall 2016

Article by Alice Chin
Photo by Shou Chen

I had the great opportunity to interview the iconic designer Vivienne Tam again for AsianinNY.com. I really loved seeing Vivienne’s collection this season. I thought it was very wearable with beautiful patterns from different cultures and wonderful mix of colors and textures. I also liked the fun silhouettes and mix of sporty and luxurious. See below for my interview with Vivienne.

Hi Vivienne, What is your inspiration this season?

It’s a Cultural Dreamland. I had a dream that I went to Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and then to Turkey and Russia. It’s like China’s Silk Road. I was so inspired by the motifs, the fabrics, the jacquard, tapestries, the children’s clothes, the patchwork, the ikat patterns. It was incredible! I was inspired by all the embroideries and colors, the cultural collage. I’m bring all these cultures together to one harmony. That’s my goal… to enhance each other’s culture.

The silhouettes are very contemporary. Even the colors…in Xinjiang, the traditional carpets are a really bright color, but I adjusted the colors so they’re not that bright. I used some of the Xinjiang motifs too.

Have you traveled to Kazakhstan?

I’ve been to Xinjiang, but that’s my dream, to bring all these countries together and bring all these patterns together. You will see a lot of patchwork. You see the triangles. The triangles are called evil eye – fighting to get rid of evil. There’s a lot of those symbols and talismans. It’s really interesting. I learned a lot about talismans and their protection for little children. I love them! I’m so inspired when I worked on this collection. So I can work on it more and more. This is too much for one collection! A lot of those medallion patterns are so beautiful. You will see a lot of sportswear take on silhouettes too. Sports and luxury combined together. High heel shoes with hoods. Combined high heel skirts.

How did you decide to collaborate with Joy and Peace for the shoes?

I love their message – Joy and Peace. It’s perfect for my collection. To bring and joy and peace to the world. It’s like a cultural mix, a cultural collage, so when you’re traveling and wearing our collection you have a feeling of joy and peace.

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