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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. |
Photos: courtesy Taste Makers Clothing
Locally designed label, Taste Makers, offers up striking graphic prints in simple, easy and wearable silhouettes. Designer, Trish P., draws inspiration from art, music and nature while keeping posted on current events, essentially making each piece a conversation starter. What’s more is that Trish takes a very hands-on approach by manipulating her own photography to create her own graphics. Combined, these elements make Taste Makers especially unique statement pieces.
I chat with Trish to discuss her process and her latest collection titled, “Let Me Bee.”
Valerie Tiu: Can you talk about your background?
Trish P.: I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba and I moved to BC to go to The University of the Fraser Valley for Fashion Design. When I graduated, I did technical design for companies like Sport Chek and Smith and Wesson. I fell in love with print design while I was doing apparel graphic design for a custom athletics company. I spent a year working with them just learning everything I could about creating prints and garment construction.
VT: When did it all get started with Tastemakers?
TP: My first collection under the Taste Makers Label was in 2012 for Vancouver Fashion Week.
VT: How do you describe your brand and who wears it?
TP: We have a very youthful appeal. It’s for women who appreciate art and graphics and feel confident enough to express that in their own style. The garments are styled in a sophisticated way, so even women who don't usually wear a lot of graphics are drawn to the line because it's so versatile and different. They are the type of pieces that make people stop and ask about it -- that’s really what we are trying to do, start a conversation.
VT: Although your pieces are simple, it's clear that graphics are the focal point of your garments. How do you source images and translate them onto clothing?
TP: I am a sucker for a theme and I also really love to focus on topics that I think are important. I do a lot of research when it comes to my collections. Once I have my photo research I use four different computer programs to put it all together. It’s kind of like digital painting. And it’s so much fun to see it all come together from an idea.
For the “Let Me Bee” Collection, I actually contacted a few different beekeepers until the Honey Bee Centre in Surrey agreed to let me come into their hives and get the base photos. It was funny because at first, they wanted come into the viewing centre and take the regular tour, and I was like, “No, I need a bee suit and some active hives”.
VT: Your latest collection draws on inspiration from images of bees and honeycombs. How did all of this come together?
TP: Last summer I found myself staring at a lavender bush in my back yard, where the bees would always swarm. Something about the way that the bees operated just spoke to me. Then I started thinking about them as a print focus, so I went out to The Honey Bee Centre in Surrey BC and talked to a few commercial beekeepers. I also spent some time just hanging out with bees, getting stung a few times, and observing the way that they operate.
After learning about colony collapse disorder and the loss of the world’s bee population, I started to feel like maybe I could make a difference by using my platform to raise awareness about the problem. I design clothing that is usually a conversation starter, so that conversation should be about something important.
VT: What is your most memorable garment that you have created?
TP: I have two. The jacket I made for Iggy Azalea had 200 bee replicas sewn onto it with her song lyrics on the inside. And our Reversible Sucker Skirts. They are super simple body-pro skirts that shape you and it can be worn printed or black. It’s just the best piece I have in my own closet.
VT: What's the biggest challenge of working in the Vancouver fashion industry?
TP: I think it’s the same challenge that we all face regardless of our industry. It’s finding out where you fit in, or figuring out that you don’t fit in because you are meant to stand out. I feel like being a “Taste Maker” takes guts in Vancouver, but I also believe that people are really tired of owning all the same things that their friends own. So as much as it’s been my biggest challenge, it’s actually been a really important learning lesson.
VT: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring fashion designers?
TP: Get some sleep. Nothing good ever happens after 23 cups of coffee at four in the morning. Trust Me.
VT: What makes Vancouver awesome?
TP: Vancouver is awesome because it’s the kind of city where a girl can show up with a camera and a sketchpad at a commercial beehive and the owner will not only let her in, but also give her a bee suit.
It’s also the type of place that, even if you didn’t grow up here, you can call it your city. It took me a long time to actually call Vancouver home but now it really feels that way, and I’m happy to be here.
Taste Makers is available online, Global Atomic, Adhesif Clothing and Alfie Italia in Vancouver.
