Saturday, January 23, 2016

Laëtitia Kandolo

Photo Courtesy Of Laëtitia Kandolo

WHERE DO YOU LIVE IN FRANCE?
In Paris.

CAN YOU GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF EVERYTHING YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOURSELF BEFORE UCHAWI HAPPENED?
I was a young woman full of creativity, maybe no ready to use it all, thinking that it might be too much for people. And one day she realized how many time she had lost, and how much she wanted to conquer the world through her designs and vision.

WHAT IS UCHAWIWORLD?
Uchawi (meaning “magic” in Swahili) is the place where my label and I fuse. It’s everything, from the way I dress, to my state of mind, art and tranquility. I am really peaceful, sorta like a hippie. Uchawi is more of a lifestyle than a brand. I think I’ve always lived in this world. I just never named it because it was part of my daily routine. And I realized that people would say things like “I need your magic” around me. When you see the look book, it’s not only about clothes.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
I studied at two Parisian fashion schools, Mod’Art and Esmod. During my first year, at 19, I met Sarah Diouf. I was an intern at People’s Revolution’s press office. She owned a publication, and when my internship ended she offered me a position at “Ghubar Magazine”. The same year I was the assistant of the assistant costume designer of Black Eyed Peas’, The End Tour. Since then I’ve been worked for several other artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Sting, Beyoncé, Madonna and B. Åkerlund, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West and many of Condé Nast’s publishing outlets.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU LOOK UP TO?
Most of them are dead. I’m not inspired by one or two people, it depends on my mood. It can be Albert Elbaz today and Sinatra tomorrow. But honestly, I don’t want do something that’s already been done. I would say, no one.

FROM WHENCE DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION?
Everything. Photography. Music dominates. Contemporary art, geometry and travel. I usually work from a mood board that defines my thoughts. It’s not organized. It’s just me and my brain selecting a set of pictures. If I like an image, I do a screenshot, cut the paper or whatever and save it. I don’t know why and I am not asking myself why. With time I start reading where I’m going. The colors, the chi are linked.

HOW DO YOU SELECT WHAT MATERIAL TO WORK WITH?
Every material or fabric is the image of something I want to reinterpret, a feeling, a tribute to an artist by using a similar print that could look like a painting. I apply the same system with colours.

WHAT MOMENT ARE YOU HAVING?
My first love story: Pastel Colors. Ricardo Legorreta. And the Dogon Tribe in Mali. Three different things. Random.

HOW DO YOU OCCUPY YOUR TIME OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I spend time with my family and my few friends. Or chilling on Spotify and Soundcloud. Or just sleeping. I’m usually surrounded by a lot of people all the time because of my work, so I do love being alone to refresh myself and enjoy the silence.

DO YOU SPEAK LINGALA? HOW DO YOU SAY “LOVE” IN YOUR LANGUAGE?
Bolingo.

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