London Fashion Week Begins! And to Kick Things Off, An Interview with Olivia Rubin

Now that New York Fashion Week has come and gone (see you in September!), it’s time to jump across the pond and get all up in the madness that is London Fashion Week, which began yesterday. Since we are chained to our desks here at PAPERMAG HQ, the lovely Zandile Blay, fashion student at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design by day, fashion blogger by night (check out her blog, The Blay Report), will be sending us daily dispatches. Her first installment is a q&a with the all-the-buzz up-and-comer Olivia Rubin, who she caught up with at the The Exhibition at London Fashion Week.

While TopShop packed all its Next Generation Designers, including London fashion wonderboys Christopher Kane and Henry Holland, in an 18th Century saloon-style setting at the London Exhibition, Olivia Rubin set herself worlds apart. Literally. She designed and built her own exhibit -- sans sponsorship –- meters from the Next Gen showcase. True to the 26-year-old’s reputation for chic, graphic-printed and edgy looks, her exhibit was decorated with crème and black wallpaper, an antique-y table and Lucite chairs that sported the recurring top-hat motif that ran through her collection. Needless to say, like a fashion-obsessed moth to a very chic flame, I was drawn in. Luckily the feeling was mutual, because despite being super busy, she warmly agreed to a chat with me.

Zandile Blay: We love that you are gaining ground as an up and coming designer, but do you see yourself ever closing shop to take a gig at a big label ala Kim Jones?
Olivia Rubin: I hope I never get to that stage. I wouldn’t want to change my style to work for a label that doesn't fit my style. But I AM happy for Kim Jones. And honestly, if he is happy -- then that's really all that matters.

ZB: Speaking of your style, how would you define it for people who aren't familiar with your label?
OR: It's definitely quirky and feminine. It's not typically girly, because it has an edge to it.

ZB: Do you think you learned how to build on your style while studying at Saint Martins?
OR: I learned loads at Saint Martins. When I was younger, I always saw the bright lights of Saint Martins. There is a misconception that the school will launch you as a designer. That you will graduate and become the next big thing. But that doesn't happen just from graduating from there. It's from really, really hard work. Saint Martins is a great school though because it nurtures you and helps you develop what your style is.

ZB: Besides the wonderful piece on you in Vogue is anything new going on at Olivia Rubin?
OR: YES! I just opened a showroom in London. I am also debuting my latest collection. It is based on Victorian menswear circa 1910 -- surrealism, top hats and Edwardian style, among other things. I am also talking to a few London retailers about selling my collection.

ZB: Any chance that we'll see you over in New York!?
OR: I'd LOVE to go to New York. I love the boutiques there!