Reparation Studio and Starving Artist Fund at NVV.world Show
In late 2022, I was honoured to interview Reparation Studio and Starving Artists Fund at the NVV.world show for Ratworld Magazine. NVV.world is a Tamaki Makaurau based collective of fashion designers that operate under a sustainable ethos. They had spent months assembling an independent fashion show staged at Open Coffee on Karaphange Road. The show was an incredible experience that prioritizes accessibility for a local audience and inclusivity in their model casting. The show’s effort played a role in a resurgence of grassroots, independent fashion, unregulated by the exclusive and hierarchical standards of the traditional fashion sector. The following year would similarly see further shows, such as Rogue and Maesteal Collective. The final print of the interviews was heavily cut, so I decided to publish the full script a year after print was released.
Reparation Studio
founded by Jessica Jay
Lucas: What's your name, and why are you here today?
Jessica: My name is Jessica Jay. I represent Reparation Studio, a repairs and alternation business. For this show, I put together a collection of visibly repaired looks. I am pushing the boundary on how visible a repair can be with these pieces for the runaway.
Lucas: How do you go about sourcing these garments?
Jessica: I've collected a lot of damaged garments, so they have been sourced from a range of places. A few pieces are knitwear from Trademe, then a lot of ripped samples and faulty pieces from Jimmy D, and a few donations from friends.
Lucas: What's your process? How do you get the whole collection together?
Jessica: My work differs from when you're designing a garment from scratch. The first step was sourcing these garments that needed repairs and then just analysing the damage and working through the pieces. I want them to be visually interesting and still be sympathetic to the garment by repairing the holes and tears. The damaged garments have informed this collection; I didn't go into it with any preconceived ideas. I think the concepts and ideas behind the work form during the process; for example, one of the jumpers I've done was 65 hours of yarning, just me sitting there hand yarning; it's pretty process-driven.
Lucas: What got you into fashion?
Jessica: So I studied at Whitecliffe and graduated with a BFA in fashion design, and then after that, I worked in the local industry for a few local designers doing sampling, predominantly in pattern making as well and then a couple of years ago, I wanted to work for myself and started my own business. Over time, I got a bit jaded about making new stuff constantly. I wanted to work with clothing that already exists somehow. Repairs became a real passion and specific interest for me in implementing longevity.
Lucas: How did you become a part of NVV.World?
Jessica: My studio, where I do all my client consorts, is upstairs, so I share a studio space with Nicole and Rhys from NVV.World. Nicole is working on her first wholesale collection and was planning to do a show. While planning, it became a group endeavour. It's been great to work on everything together and within the space. We are very collaborative and constantly talking to each other and giving each other feedback on work.
Lucas: What's it like sharing space with other designers? Does it get stressful? Is it fun?
Jessica: I find it fantastic. I find it's so good for me. Nicole and I met while working at Kate Sylvester. We both worked on sampling, and I knew I would have a great working relationship and friendship with them. When I started my business, I was working out of my garage at home, and I realised I was going insane, only having myself to talk to all day. So it's been great to have other creators around and have someone else give you critiques. I am inspired by being in a space where we are all working on these different creative fashion practices and working on similar ethos.
Lucas: Tell me about your sustainability principles; what does that mean to you?
Jessica: It is a part of my practice. It's what I do with my repairs and alternations and how we can keep textiles and garments in use for longer and stop them from going to landfills, and at the end of the day, that ties all of NVV.World's work together, and you'll see this on the runway. When you're looking at sustainability and the fashion industry, it's like there is no one approach; there needs to be these multi-faceted practices and ideas coming through.
Lucas: So when did the show all come together? It's pretty busy upstairs, pretty intense. It has many components, and it looks to be going well.
Jessica: Nicole and I had been planning this for months. Nicole has been the big organiser of it. She has done the heavy lifting with all of it, but the first step was finding a venue, sourcing all the models because we have 22 models in the show, and hiring hair and makeup. It's hard to say what the process has been because we have been discussing this since the start of 2022 and adequately planning for the last five months; a lot of work goes into the behind-the-scenes.
Starving Artist Fund
Founded by Natasha Ovely
Lucas: why are you here today?
Natasha: well, I'm the designer of Starving Artist Fund, and I was invited to be part of the show, and I'll jump at any opportunity to show garments in real life, especially after, you know, the couple of years we had. It's just a great motivator to be freer creatively because I have done many things I'm not used to lately. I've been doing the label for a while now, but with that, you have to make a lot of compromises; it's paying for your rent and food, which means you have to do more commercial work sometimes. I was uncomfortable with that, so this is an excellent way to do, you know, get out there; this is a lot of fun.
Lucas: Can you tell me a bit about Starving Artist Fund?
Natasha: So I started the label in 2018 while living in Munich and moved back to New Zealand to pursue the brand. It was a great reason to return home. I wanted to make a space where people could express themselves freely by utilising my sculpture practice and applying it to sewing. I'm a self-taught sewer, and that's how I've learned by letting the fabric tell me what it wants to do and what it doesn't and just pushing in that direction, you know, really playing around with the material. Starving Artist Fund has further grown, reaching into events and community experience. My following has been supportive in different ventures, so I've had to stick with it and create a collection.
Lucas: So, did you say you came from a sculpturing background?
Natasha: So yeah, I started sculpturing at Elam. So, I never studied fashion.
Lucas: So how did that translate then to fashion?
Natasha: There was a lot that happened in between, so when I graduated from Elam, I did photojournalism for a while, then I worked in publishing, and then aviation. For a long time, I had this nagging sensation I wanted to try my hands at fashion. I started doing it in my own time and finally got the push to pursue it gradually.
Lucas: that's so cool. Can you tell me a bit about your clothes today? What is the inspiration behind them?
Natasha: Recently, I got a donation from a woman whose mum had just entered a retirement home, and her mother loved sewing. So she donated all her fabric, beads, and materials; it was so special. These are fabrics that I would never pick up in a million years because I'm so stuck in a ruck with going for structural forms and materials. The goods given were tablecloths, soft, lightweight cotton, and fabrics of a similar manner; it was a nice challenge for me. I also wanted to respect her history and intent for the materials, which is how it started. Then, I began bringing in some of the fabrics I already had in my studio, trying to marry everything together.
Lucas: what's your process for making the clothes? How does it go from fabric to a whole collection?
Natasha: Well, I am a massive overthinker, so when I'm making, I try to get away from that completely. I just cut, and I don't start with a pattern. I hack into the fabric and then start draping it on myself, following my intuition and not letting my brain interfere too much. So that is how it all comes together in the end.
Lucas: Is it casual? Is it couture? How would you describe your apparel?
Natasha: different people would have a different definition of how they would use and wear the garment. I know people who have brought garments from me that they wear that they go to every day, others for dinner wear, for friends, for special occasions, for work, for doing this, for anything! It depends on your personality type, the people you interact with, and how you view the clothing.
Lucas: What are the origins of your brand name?
Natasha: When I moved into my apartment in Berlin, I only owned a coin jar and a stuck a strip of masking tape saying 'Starving artists fund.' I knew I was already creatively inclined and unsuited to the corporate world. One day, if I did start something of my own, it would have this name, and I stuck to it in my mind.
Lucas: Since then, what trials and tribulations have you faced on this creative journey?
Natasha: The biggest struggle in the recent year and a half has been the change from doing it full-time to part-time. Because it was always a big dream of mine, it meant something to me to make my entire income from what I love doing. I realise now that this expectation has corrupted my career. I would rather have a part-time job in a bar and stay true to exactly what I want to make rather than do it full-time, all the time.
Lucas: As a person, would you say you are more extroverted or introverted?
Natasha: People who know me well know I'm a massive introvert, but on first impression, I consistently come across as an extrovert cause I enjoy people, but at the same time, I get so overwhelmed. If someone is feeling stressed and sad, I take those emotions onto myself, and sometimes I need to go away and rest a little bit.
Lucas: How did you become a part of NVV.World fashion show?
Natasha: Nicole van Vuuren sent me a message asking If I wanted to be a part of this; she was a part of the independent show organised many months ago.
Lucas: How did your previous show go with Nicole?
Natasha: It was immense. That was six months of planning because it was in the middle of the pandemic, and we went into lockdown two days before the show. Then we got the new date, and then the Omicron variant happened. Everyone put in so much work and passion. I felt a lot of responsibility to honour everyone involved, so we made a film. We broadcasted live online; it was an extraordinary moment for me to reach so many people. I was amazed by the reactions and support because I initially didn't have faith in the engagement for a digital fashion show, but it ended up being a great experience.
Lucas: Talk me through the designers presenting with you this evening.
Natasha: So Nicole is showing 15-17 looks, I'm presenting five, Rhys has five looks, and Jess does bespoke repairs; she is showing some repaired garments, and she has four looks.
Lucas: Before we wrap up, when you started Starving Artist Fund, what did you wish you had known beforehand?
Natasha: Manage your finances, think ahead massively, and honestly keep your part-time jobs. Don't be fooled by Instagram and how people skyrocket and sell a lot because you don't know what's happening behind the scenes whether they have wealthy parents, funding or investors. It depends on all that, so don't measure your success rate and how quickly or slowly you progress based on other people's journeys because many factors go into it.
Lucas: Being a designer seems to be much more complicated than merely talent and skill; you also need to know the business, numbers, and all these extra skills you were never taught in fashion school.
Natasha: You'll find many designers need assistance understanding the logistics; if you look at some of the most successful brands in New Zealand, their position is more than creative efforts; it's also about being business savvy. It just depends on your intentions going into fashion. There is no right or wrong; if you want to secure the bag, go for it, but if you want to be a creatively motivated person, you have to accept that financial instability will be in your life. Some people are not cut out for that kind of life; some people need security, and that's fine, but be aware of these aspects when pursuing a creative career.
Lucas: This reminds me of a conversation with Ratworld's Editor before this interview about how the creative industry can sometimes be about knowing the right people. What do you think about this as someone who started as an outsider to the fashion industry?
Natasha: I'm such a believer in e-mailing people because when I came back here, I hadn't come back in 7 years, and I knew no one. I went to several fashion brands on Instagram, searched who they were following, started following them, checked if they had an e-mail, and hit them up, asking if we could meet for coffee. That was my approach to getting industry players to sit down with me, and these people have been supporting me since. I believe you need to reach out and shoot your shot. You are going to have a lot of rejection, but who fucking cares?
