Q&A: Joe Mimran of Joe Fresh Style
Last Wednesday’s Joe Fresh Style runway show was full of crisp, clean sportif—complete with quilted skirts, sheer mesh and a knit jumpsuit. As always, Fashion Week goers clamoured to see what Joe had on tap for fall and which big Canadian faces would come down the runway. (This season: Irina Lazareanu, Amanda Laine and Taryn Davidson). FASHION talked to designer Joe Mimran post-show about the collection, speed skating style and that cozy little onesie.
I enjoyed the show last night. It looked very warm.
“It was nice and cozy.”
We’ll start with the inspiration. What was your starting place for the collection?
“It really started with this whole idea of skating and the first thing I drew out was the down skirt. I wanted to have it in very teacup shape because it’s got the bones in it and it really does give this whole sense of skating. And then from there it kind of got into speed skating and the notion of our Canadian speed skaters and that’s where the cat suit came from. [The sheer top] was a great way to show the inner garment–the satin bra underneath–because we do a whole innerwear collection as well. And also it’s got a bit of an ’80s kick to it, with all of the leggings and with all of the speed skating and all of the really, really slim pants. And then a bit of after-skating and after-ski with the whole plaid, Buffalo check look.”
I was thinking too of that intarsia knit full jumpsuit. We were sort of wondering where you’re going to wear that.
“Well I think that was again the whole one-piece trend and there’s been a lot of noise about the one-piece from a fashion perspective and just to give it that knitwear spin, I think it made it fun. That was really a runway piece.”
So did the Olympics happening next year inspire you? Was this collection timed with that?
“It’s timed with that because it’s next year, it’s around the corner. But I also like the theme because I was thinking that it would be far from what was happening on the runways this season and [we could] sort of just do our own thing, make it very Canadiana and have our own personal idea of what that should be. But it did dovetail quite a bit with what’s going on on the runway anyway.”
What always strikes me about your shows is the mob scene. And when the clothes hit stores, people are making pilgrimages for it. Does that surprise you at all?
“It makes me feel really good [laughs]. I mean, I think at first when we first started this project it was a difficult one. It was, first of all, the environment we’d be selling in and the price points that we had to sell, and, you know, how can we bring credibility to that. It’s not easy.”
Is that part of why you want to bring it to Toronto Fashion Week?
“I like to bring it to Fashion Week because it’s a huge challenge to try and do runway at that price. I think too, it’s just something that I like to do and I just don’t want to lose that edge because there is a lot that goes into these shows and there’s a lot of work and thinking that goes into it. And I think it’s important to celebrate fashion. [Fashion Week] is a great way to talk about the brand and talk about what we’re doing and I’m involved as chair of the FDCC so I just think that it’s appropriate that we show there.”
Do you find it difficult to keep it edgy, being a national brand you can buy at the grocery store? Do people respond to it?
“I think they certainly do in certain stores and they don’t in other stores. And it’s always a very delicate dance that we do in terms of how much fashion and how much we dial it up. I mean I could keep dialing the thing up until it’s just good for Toronto and New York, you know, and a couple markets. And then you don’t have a business left. You’ve got to be very very cautious of how much fashion you do inject into it.”
Do you feel that the recession is an opportunity to dial it up because people are looking for fashion items at a lower price or do you need to be more cautious?
“I think people are just going to cut back their spending in general and I think discretionary spending is going to go down in general. I think if you’re a fashion customer, you stay a fashion customer. I don’t think you automatically become a basic customer the minute the economy’s tough.”
Do you see the brand expanding further beyond fashion and beauty?
“No. I think our plates are full right now and I think we’re good. We’re already in everything you would normally see a fashion brand get involved in and I think that’s it. I don’t really want to start, I don’t know, designing cars. I just think that the brand is a fashion brand, it’s a very accessible fashion brand. And it’s fun because it’s a Canadian brand and when you take a look at the traction that we’ve had, it’s pretty amazing and I hope that it holds up to the international brands. That’s what my hope always is, that we’re as good as anybody internationally.”
View the collection: JOE FRESH STYLE
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://fashionmagazine.com/style/qa-joe-mimran-of-joe-fresh-style/&title=Q&A: Joe Mimran of Joe Fresh Style&picture=https://fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/apr09joefresh2_lg.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_4328" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="JOE FRESH STYLE Fall 2009. Photography by Jess Baumung"][/caption]
Last Wednesday’s Joe Fresh Style runway show was full of crisp, clean sportif—complete with quilted skirts, sheer mesh and a knit jumpsuit. As always, Fashion Week goers clamoured to see what Joe had on tap for fall and which big Canadian faces would come down the runway. (This season: Irina Lazareanu, Amanda Laine and Taryn Davidson). FASHION talked to designer Joe Mimran post-show about the collection, speed skating style and that cozy little onesie.
I enjoyed the show last night. It looked very warm.
“It was nice and cozy.”
We’ll start with the inspiration. What was your starting place for the collection?
“It really started with this whole idea of skating and the first thing I drew out was the down skirt. I wanted to have it in very teacup shape because it’s got the bones in it and it really does give this whole sense of skating. And then from there it kind of got into speed skating and the notion of our Canadian speed skaters and that’s where the cat suit came from. [The sheer top] was a great way to show the inner garment--the satin bra underneath--because we do a whole innerwear collection as well. And also it’s got a bit of an ’80s kick to it, with all of the leggings and with all of the speed skating and all of the really, really slim pants. And then a bit of after-skating and after-ski with the whole plaid, Buffalo check look.”
[caption id="attachment_4324" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="JOE FRESH STYLE Fall 2009. Photography by Jess Baumung"][/caption]
I was thinking too of that intarsia knit full jumpsuit. We were sort of wondering where you’re going to wear that.
“Well I think that was again the whole one-piece trend and there’s been a lot of noise about the one-piece from a fashion perspective and just to give it that knitwear spin, I think it made it fun. That was really a runway piece.”
So did the Olympics happening next year inspire you? Was this collection timed with that?
“It’s timed with that because it’s next year, it’s around the corner. But I also like the theme because I was thinking that it would be far from what was happening on the runways this season and [we could] sort of just do our own thing, make it very Canadiana and have our own personal idea of what that should be. But it did dovetail quite a bit with what’s going on on the runway anyway.”
What always strikes me about your shows is the mob scene. And when the clothes hit stores, people are making pilgrimages for it. Does that surprise you at all?
“It makes me feel really good [laughs]. I mean, I think at first when we first started this project it was a difficult one. It was, first of all, the environment we’d be selling in and the price points that we had to sell, and, you know, how can we bring credibility to that. It’s not easy.”
Is that part of why you want to bring it to Toronto Fashion Week?
“I like to bring it to Fashion Week because it’s a huge challenge to try and do runway at that price. I think too, it’s just something that I like to do and I just don’t want to lose that edge because there is a lot that goes into these shows and there’s a lot of work and thinking that goes into it. And I think it’s important to celebrate fashion. [Fashion Week] is a great way to talk about the brand and talk about what we’re doing and I’m involved as chair of the FDCC so I just think that it’s appropriate that we show there.”
Do you find it difficult to keep it edgy, being a national brand you can buy at the grocery store? Do people respond to it?
“I think they certainly do in certain stores and they don’t in other stores. And it’s always a very delicate dance that we do in terms of how much fashion and how much we dial it up. I mean I could keep dialing the thing up until it’s just good for Toronto and New York, you know, and a couple markets. And then you don’t have a business left. You’ve got to be very very cautious of how much fashion you do inject into it.”
[caption id="attachment_4326" align="alignright" width="250" caption="JOE FRESH STYLE Fall 2009. Photography by Jess Baumung"][/caption]
Do you feel that the recession is an opportunity to dial it up because people are looking for fashion items at a lower price or do you need to be more cautious?
“I think people are just going to cut back their spending in general and I think discretionary spending is going to go down in general. I think if you’re a fashion customer, you stay a fashion customer. I don’t think you automatically become a basic customer the minute the economy’s tough.”
Do you see the brand expanding further beyond fashion and beauty?
“No. I think our plates are full right now and I think we’re good. We’re already in everything you would normally see a fashion brand get involved in and I think that’s it. I don’t really want to start, I don’t know, designing cars. I just think that the brand is a fashion brand, it’s a very accessible fashion brand. And it’s fun because it’s a Canadian brand and when you take a look at the traction that we’ve had, it’s pretty amazing and I hope that it holds up to the international brands. That’s what my hope always is, that we’re as good as anybody internationally.”
View the collection: JOE FRESH STYLE
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