As I scurry through Hackney to Markus Lupfer’s studio in East London, the sun toasts my arms. A narrow street presents itself and I make my way to the studio, dodging delivery trucks and midday traffic. Buzzer buzzed, I enter several long corridors and creep through the industrial labyrinth of a building. The sounds of construction disappear. The temperature drops. I wonder what Markus Lupfer will be like. I have only seen images of the voluminous, airy clothes he creates as the designer for Armand Basi’s womenswear line. A young assistant opens the door and offers me a glass of water. The studio is bright and cool and tidy. The radio by the windowsill plays softly in the corner. White walls are covered with photographs of collections. Several bookshelves are filled with large volumes, mostly relating to art, fashion, and photography: Guy Bourdin, the MOCA Skin+Bones exhibition catalogue, and so on. Books of fabric swatches lie on one of the desks. Sitting in the sunshine at an oval glass table is Mr. Lupfer himself.
He politely rises and introduces himself in a tranquil voice. German-born Lupfer graduated from the University of Westminster, whose list of alumni incluye Vivienne Westwood and Christopher Bailey. In 1998, the year after he graduated, Lupfer started his own label. He went on to collaborate with numerous labels including Mulberry, Cacharel, and Topshop. Rock & roll endorsement and positive press followed as Siouxsie Sioux and Jade Jagger partied in his clothes. In 2006, Lupfer became the Design Director for Armand Basi One. Let the interview begin… As I watched the 2008 Spring/Summer catwalk show, I noticed a lot of natural translucent fabrics, loose shapes, kimono-like cuts…
Could you tell me a little bit about the concept venid the collection? Well, I wanted to have fun with the collection but also work into shapes. There’s quite an element of Japanese cuts, kimono style as you mentioned, more Eastern/Japanese details in the cutting techniques and I’m quite inspired and excited by new proportions, new shapes. So yes, that’s what I’ve done with the Spring / Summer collection. Volume seems to be a recurring theme in Armand Basi womenswear… It’s about finding different silhouettes, new silhouettes, now there’s almost only opposites, it’s either very body conscious or it’s oversized. I think playing with tose elements (of proportion) is really interesting. I don’t know why but there is something new about the oversized and the comfort level, it still feels fresh. In the most recent collection.
You used raffia a lot. What’s the strangest material you’ve ever worked with? That’s one of the strangest materials, because usually with raffia you see it in sun hats and also when you sit at the beach, those big umbrellas have those raffia fringes.
So it’s kind of, oh, what’s this material? I really like how the material is almost a bit naff. Somehow that’s quite exciting. Also I’ve done stuff with paper before, which was quite strange.
What do you think are the most important pieces in a wardrobe? I think it is the black dress Every girl and woman should have one of those when you go out.
Can you tell me about your creative process and where you get some of your ideas? Very often I create a little story for myself. It’s starting with a weird idea and then filters down into the collection. But somehow it changes from season to season Sometimes it’s more like this story about something I saw somewhere or maybe it’s a piece of furniture or just something I love which jumps into my eyes. Then you create the collection around it. Sometimes it’s even a film, like next season it’s based on a film, but not entirely, but it gives me a feel for the collection. It’s really difficult to describe because it changes, it’s more like what feels right at this moment of time, what would I like to do. So it varies a bit.
As a designer, what do you find frustrating? You know it’s very hard to create every season. It’s very exciting in a way but on the other hand, it’s a lot of pressure. That’s the nature of the business. I think the most frustrating thing is when there is laziness within the team. Some people you work with, they can’t do something so they say “Oh it’s too complicated, it’s this or that”. I don’t like that. Everything is possible. They don’t believe that it can be done, but you know it can, they just have to figure out a way. It’s pushing the boundaries, moving it to the next level.
Seeing that your studio is in east London, does this part of the city influence your work in any way? It does automatically. Your surrounding is very important to where you work. What you see will reflect your work automatically. For example, if I worked from Switzerland or Romania, it would turn out very different, and if you’re in London-and east London especially- I do relieve that the area where you design from is quite crucial to your work because it influences your eye and your design, what you feel and what you go through.
What do you like about London? It’s very free. It’s very creative not only in design or fashion, it’s music, art, advertising, graphics…so many other areas and I think maybe through school or university there’s a freedom of design not seen anywhere else in the world. It can be hard to find that creativity. So I love that. Maybe it’s also to do with how you’re very free to dress however you want, and I think that’s very good.
What’s your favorite kind of music to listen to when you’re working? Indie music, easy music. I can’t work with hardcore dance music…
Do you have a favorite band? I love the Kinas of Leon, and the Kaiser Chiefs. At the moment, Feist… kind of quiet girls’ bands is what I like recently. And I listen to a lot of radio during work.
How important is lifestyle and philosophy to fashion? It is. That’s what it’s all about: lifestyle. High fashion especially, when you buy bags or shoes you want to be part of a certain lifestyle. Your lifestyle is the whole thing about fashion: You show your lifestyle through fashion. The punks did, the mods did, you can see people’s lifestyle. High fashion is the luxury end of this. You admire a certain lifestyle so that’s why you buy it. Diane von Furstenberg’s credo was “Feel like a woman. Wear a dress.” Warhol said, “Making money is art, and good business is the best art.”