Swide: Your first fashion memory or dear item of clothing?

Daniel: I remember being maybe five years old, lounging on the end of my mother’s bed as she got ready for work. She had her back to me while she sat at her vanity, face reflected in the mirror, as she held various jewelry options up one-by-one. I still recall her putting her gold earrings in, high heeled legs draped casually to the side and the streamlined silhouette of her fitted kimono dress (very fashion-forward for a suburban working mother). The dress was jet black with a delicate mandarin collar and sleeve caps, and had gorgeous hand-embroidered orchids in teal and evergreen on the torso and hip, with taupe piping and a thin taupe rope belt.

Swide: What made you decide to pursue fashion growing up in Michigan?

Daniel: I have always been involved in art, even as a small child, always painting, sculpting, building, drawing, and more, but it wasn’t until my first year of college that I realized a career in fashion could be a reality for me. After going through an extremely stale semester of graphic design/advertising, I took a clothing construction course on a whim in hopes that I would learn something new. In a matter of weeks I went from making pajama pants to cocktail dresses as somehow, it just clicked for me. I then began the process of learning how to channel all of my previous experiences and education in the arts, into fashion: color theory, balance, and perspective; a canvas is a canvas… fashion’s is just three-dimensional. Swide: Who were the designers that inspired you?

Daniel: Alber Albaz for his ability to make a woman feel and look strong and sexy without any of the clichés. Dries Van Noten for his intelligent and thoughtful way that he combines prints, colors, fabrics, and Nicolas Ghesquière for making techy futurism with a street-edge, cool.

Swide: Your collections have a strong sense of a story being told, what story?

Daniel: I find myself obsessed with survivors - strong, intelligent women who are bold and courageous. In past seasons I have placed my muse in a wide-range of settings: For Spring/Summer11 it was a camping trip gone wrong – animal attacks, forest fires, mud slides and the idea that my heroine was being chased by an ominous being. In the end she may go down but she would go down fighting! For AW12 it was a clash of 1850’s American frontier life combined with undertones of S&M. Both subjects have women playing a key leadership role, and I enjoyed the results of combining such seemingly contrasting subjects: the hard working frontier woman, burdened with the tasks of not only caring for a family and home, but when times were tough and jobs were scarce, she toiled in the fields from dawn to dusk just to stay alive. In fact, one of my key repeated silhouettes was inspired by the profile of a woman standing exhausted but solid: head and hips tipped forward, back rolling slightly, and the way the fabric stands away from the back of the neck and droops on the lower back has become a staple of my collections… the concept that this woman will never give up. Swide: First a television show, then a book, a music video, a fashion collection, what is next for Daniel Vosovic, and was it all planned?

Daniel: Haha none of it was planned! I want to have a successful design career because it will also allow me more freedom to experiment, and perhaps incorporate, other areas of interest into my work. Film for example, has always been a huge interest of mine, one that I experimented with in my SS11 runway show, and is something that I’d like to explore further… perhaps incorporating fashion, though maybe it’s something else completely. I love telling stories and with technology, new media, various outlets (and a lot of creative friends), there are so many ways to get your work out to people and I’m so excited to explore them all! In fact, I’m already planning something particularly special for AW12…

Swide: Why should we find new ways of dressing ourselves?

Daniel: I always say that the world doesn’t need more clothes, but our need for more fashion should never cease. Fashion has such a subtle power, able to dictate someone’s persona or other’s perspective of them, all based on pieces of fabric sewn together in a certain way… that’s powerful. As we live our lives, our needs and desires change, as do our goals and challenges. Fashion is a tool there to guide you through those times, regardless if you’re looking to stand out, shrink away, appear confident, alluring, harsh, provocative, or any of the thousands of other combinations that can exist. The constant need to find new ways to dress ourselves is dictated by our constantly changing lives, politics, socio-economic standing and countless other factors… ultimately, you move forward or fall behind. Swide: What's the ultimate must-have from the Daniel Vosovic FW 2012 collection?

Daniel: My favorite piece has to be the Wool & Leather Zip-front Wrangler Jacket! With zip-out sleeves to allow for transitional styling, a great silhouette, and fantastic details throughout like pierced closures at the hem cuff which give it just the right amount of edge.

Swide: Define in three adjectives the Daniel Vosovic woman...

Daniel: Confident. Intelligent. Modern.

Swide: Can you tell us the mood of the collection we find in Spiga2, what was the inspiration? 

Daniel: The collection was strongly influenced by women and their roles in 1850’s American Frontier life and S&M. I design for strong, powerful women and through development began to realize many similarities between the seemingly incongruous inspirations: strength and fragility intertwined, as well as hints of control and vulnerability. A long, fluid silhouette emerged the strongest with a relaxed structure to balance the look.

Swide: What remarks can you give us from your experience with Spiga2, how did you feel about your involvement in it?

Daniel: Spiga 2 has been so supportive of my young brand from the beginning, willing to take a chance on an emerging designer and I’m extremely grateful for it. I aim to design for modern, intelligent women who appreciate good design, and those women know to find me at Spiga 2.

Interview by Acelya Yonac

Watch the Daniel Vosovic Collection below:

Discover all Spiga2 Designers on Swide