Where did the name Wilew come from and how did the brand develop its vision? 

WILEW is a collaboration between myself, Lauren White, and my partner Cat Lewis. The name is an abbreviated amalgamation of our surnames. Both myself and Cat have design backgrounds, in fashion and graphics/art direction respectively.

Having worked extensively with vintage (pieces) as a fashion designer myself, I have developed a deep appreciation for quality, and timelessness. Cat has an impeccable eye for colour, form and composition, and so WILEW is the result of our skills combined. The creation and development of the brand together is driven by our innate sensibility within our fields of work and interests.

As an art curator for fashion, how have you seen fashion becoming more critical with its vision and deeper connection to art as a practice and discipline?

Fashion is entering a much more creative phase. This may sound ironic, as the term ‘fashion’ itself should instantly prompt the notion of creativity, however over the past ten years or so, we have observed the industry becoming increasingly commercialised and the creativity being somewhat lost. High street giants at one end, and high end, overtly ‘branded’ offerings at the other, have been key drivers in this.

But the landscape is changing, and consumers are wanting more. Something more interesting and individual. Something also, with sustainability at its core. This, for us, is where art is re-emerging in all forms; be it a vintage piece, a reworked piece, or a piece of “wearable art”, the shift toward human connection, story telling and craft is becoming more evident in the output.

You have numerous channels for exposure, Depop being a major part of your brand's vision and backbone for ecommerce. Why Depop?...and now instagram and pinterest?

As a small business, platforms such as Depop and Etsy have allowed us to present our brand instantly to an international audience.

With the curated nature of our offering, this wider reach has been important for us in connecting with a broader customer base who are interested in seeking out unique pieces.

Instagram is our visual mood board; it’s where we not only showcase some of our product, but where we play with ideas, and offer some insight into the ‘WILEW world”.

WILEW x Joanna Layla

"In terms of a brief, we didn’t give Joanna anything specific. As creatives ourselves, we believe a brief can be limiting and often stifling. Joanna explored our e-commerce platforms and social media mood board, and selected pieces from our collection that she was both drawn to and excited to interpret; the output was very much artist-led. 

The process has pretty much been an informal conversation, which for us, has been the strength of the collaboration."

Has the response to the work been rewarding and how will you develop this relationship?

It has been very rewarding, both for us in seeing Joanna’s interpretation of the products and subsequently seeing the reaction from our followers. Our plans are ever-evolving, and can certainly see an opportunity to develop our relationship with Joanna in line with this in the future.
Where do you see the relationship growing for fashion artists/illustrators in the future? How do you think they could get more recognition and support from brands and more projects like yours?

With remote working becoming more mainstream, and consumer demands for sustainability and the reduction of carbon footprint, we see an opportunity for Fashion Artists/Illustrators to offer an alternative means to the traditional photoshoot; allowing brands to consider these factors in their presentation of collections and campaigns.
What value does the illustrator bring to the brand and where else could you imagine illustrators getting involved with fashion brands?

Put simply; Individuality. The ability to capture an essence, add an element of flair, and the ability to, quite literally, create new faces for a brand is the unique strength of the fashion illustrator. Armed with these tools, the potential for illustrator and brand collaboration is endless across many channels.

"We feel that Fashion Illustration has a bright future, this has only been accelerated by the pandemic. We now find ourselves living in a very different working world, and as a result of this people are craving a sense of escapism – to be drawn into an alluring story that bypasses reality. What better medium than illustration to capture this? "

We love your work at Wilew and wondered how you found out about Fida and what is most interesting about fashion illustration/art for the future? 
We discovered FIDA through our work with Joanna. We feel that Fashion Illustration has a bright future, this has only been accelerated by the pandemic. We now find ourselves living in a very different working world, and as a result of this people are craving a sense of escapism – to be drawn into an alluring story that bypasses reality. What better medium than illustration to capture this? We also feel that individuality and the desire for a unique point of view, particularly amongst Millennials and Gen-Z, are driving brands to review their creative output. This provides endless opportunities for fashion artists and illustrators, which is both interesting and exciting. Gone are the days of the carbon copy!

How has lock down affected your business in a positive way and enhanced your way to think differently during the period of isolation?
Lockdown has really helped us to re-focus and re-connect. Our initial WILEW offering included clothing alongside the accessories and footwear, however the time allowed us to reflect and consider our direction, and for AW20 we decided to hone this. We have since seen the brand experience its most successful period to date.

https://www.depop.com/wilew/