Featured Designers: Serpent and the Swan

FK talks to Hayley & Lauri from Sydney based label, Serpent & The Swan.

Tell us about your label and where the name comes from?
We are a women’s/ mens/ accessories label based in Sydney and are currently in our third season. Our whole unique approach to fashion is that we create our own animal inspired trimmings – buttons, zipper heads, brooches and toggles which compliments our collection. Each trimming is designed and hand sculpted to highlight it’s uniqueness, and emphasis on the deeper meaning behind the label.
The name ‘Serpent and the Swan’ came from the notion of dualism in nature.We have always had a shared interest in how animals have been symbolized throughout the centuries and the great significance that they hold for many cultures and belief systems.

Can you share your backgrounds with our readers?
Hayley comes from a background in fashion design, head designing for various international brands. Lauri comes from a fine arts background specialising in prosthetics, special effects and monster making.


Describe your style and where you get your inspiration from?

We like the idea of people expressing their individuality through what they wear rather than simply following runway trends.  As always we love our black and muted earth tones.

Our inspiration comes from our shared love and admiration for the animal kingdom, obscurities found in nature and the anatomy of these creatures. We also are continually inspired by our our favourite music and films and our own dark imaginations.

What are most popular pieces and your favourites?

The most popular pieces from our SS10 collection have been the Elk modal dress with deer head toggle detail, the Between the Shadows and Hoof tees which feature our cameo inspired deer buttons and horse hooves toggles.

We have a  favourite pieces from our latest AW11′ collection… such as the Sleeping Horses chunky knit with horse toggles… Nocturnal cotton and leather tee with moth button detail…  Warm blooded chunky knit with large crochet horns…  Hunter and Mane wool and velvet jackets have been extremely popular too (and also one of our fave which will all be in selected boutiques March this year).

How do you work together creatively and as a business?
As sisters, we know each other well and working together comes naturally. Creatively, our different backgrounds compliment each other and our shared visual aesthetic helps our design process. When designing our new collections we often arrive at the same ideas before having discussed them.

What are you currently working on and planning for Serpent & the Swan?

Currently we are working on our SS11′ range which draws inspiration from Desert animals and dry sun bleached bones. We are looking to extend our label into bags, shoes and obscure homewares in the near future. We are also heading to New York as we have been selected to showcase our latest AW11′ range with GDAY USA. At the moment we are very busy people!

http://www.serpentandtheswan.com/

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