Margot Molyneux is a talented fashion designer whose comfortable and interesting clothing caught my eye well before I met her. I remember my first purchase was a black and white dress with an interesting sailor collar – it remains one of my favourite clothing items. In short, her clothing is as awesome as she is (which is very awesome).
Her label turned two years old recently, which also coincided with the launch of her online store. I asked her a few questions about her lovely self and her clothes. She has also kindly offered to give away one of her beautiful creations. Scroll down for more information on how to win!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Cape Town and have lived here all my life. I love this city and am excited to be a part of growing our local design industry.
How did you get into fashion design?
I was unsure about what to study after school and fell into fashion design. I had had an interest for sewing and creating things for a couple of years so enjoyed the course. When I finished I was once again unsure of which path to take, however I was encouraged to try my own label. It soon became something I took quite seriously and has since grown into my full time job. I believe very strongly in local design and production. We have so many talented, skilled people in this city and to be able to provide some work in this exciting growing country of ours, makes me very proud to be a small business owner.
What type of person do you design for?
“We design for women who want to feel good and comfortable in the clothes they wear everyday. We try to produce items that are appealing to older as well as younger ladies, items which are striking, yet simple and easy to wear. We keep our prices affordable, allowing for women of different ages and backgrounds to appreciate local design.”
Describe your creative process, how do you go about creating a collection?
There are many factors that go into creating a new collection, but as we are a ready to wear brand, we do look at past styles to get hints of what our market appreciate. We are not a very trend based label, rather looking to satisfy the need for classic items in your wardrobe. We usually choose colours and fabrics and design styles from there. Aside from the silhouette, fabric choice is very important to us.
Tell us about your latest collection.
Our latest collection is a transition between Summer and Autumn. We tried to focus on femininity, without being too overt. Interesting length dresses, flared sleeves and high necklines are factors we focused on in order to emphasize different parts of the body.
What is your dream project?
I would love to one day own a store/ studio space where people can come, collaborate with exhibitions as well as shop, while being able to view and appreciate the skills that go into producing each item.
Any exciting projects in the works?
We are about to receive our first batch of printed fabric. We had a custom print designed for us by local textile designer, Tiphaine Alston. We are very excited to make some products from our very own print. We have also just launched our online store, with some new items for Autumn as well as existing favourites, which we hope will be able to broaden our horizon of customers to more cities in our country and abroad.
HOW TO WIN:
Margot has recently started a non-profit project called the Poncho Project, which aims to create fleece ponchos for homeless people in Cape Town who have to endure the cold winter months outdoors.
The ponchos will be distributed through Haven Night Shelter in Greenpoint, that provides shelter to approximately 210 people every night. If you have R60 to spare I urge you to donate to the project - just think about all the good samaritan points you’ll get.
All you need to do to win is to like the Poncho Project on Facebook and leave a comment on this post about what shirt you would like to receive (please include your size).
Winners will be announced on 15 April 2013.
