An Interview: 5 minutes with designer Jennifer Kate

An Interview: 5 minutes with Jennifer Kate

I was privileged enough to have Australian designer, Jennifer Kate spend a few moments answering my questions for this interview. Jennifer designs timeless, high quality and beautiful furs, leather vests and jackets and stunning silk pieces - all with the modern elegant woman in mind. Thanking Jennifer and Tailormaid PR for the opportunity! 

1) Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your label? 

Jennifer Kate was born out of a simple desire to make clothes that I wanted to wear.  I was constantly buying clothes and making little changes to them – whether it be making a dress into a top, getting rid of sleeves to create a Summery dress out of a Winter staple, or adding embellishment or leather patches to revitalize an old piece.  I even found myself buying things online knowing that I was going to completely alter them when I received them!  It was becoming an expensive habit – but I always had such great feedback, so I made the decision to turn it into a business.

2) Why did you start your label and did you envision it being what it is today?

When I started I was still working full time in Corporate PR, and was only selling my designs to friends, and friends of friends.   To be completely honest, the great feedback I received and the popularity of my designs was a complete surprise to me!  I slowly found myself spending more and more time on them, and here I am today – doing it full time!

3) You live in Sydney, has its culture and style influenced your designs?

Absolutely – I grew up in country NSW, and came to board at school in Sydney as a 10 year old girl.  I remember being in awe of not only the glamorous clothing everywhere, but also the range of personal styles walking the streets!  Sydney is a melting pot for fashion – and I think sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live here!

4) What are some of the perks of being a designer?

It might sound silly – but honestly the best thing about being a designer is knowing you have created something which you can actually see hanging in a store (don’t laugh!).  In terms of perks, I would of course have to say the clothes!  I have also loved getting to know all of the amazing boutiques across Australia – we truly have the most amazing selection of stores here, and some of these I would never have found if I hadn’t been doing what I am doing!

5) Please describe your typical working day?

Always up early and head straight to the gym – there is truly no better start to the day than exercise.  I will always review my list for the day before I leave – I am a big list-maker (I know it’s nerdy, but love nothing more than ticking things off!).  Every day is different in terms of meetings, designing; calls to agents and boutiques, and then the less glam side with excel sheets and charts galore used for running the business.

Something that every day includes is music, and (now the weather is warming up) if I can fit it in a swim at Bondi.  Running your own business can be a very stressful thing at times, depending on what you might be doing on a particular day – so I always try and listen to music to keep myself creative, and have a swim to refresh my energy.

6) Are there any upcoming and exciting events we can look forward to?

Our third AW collection will be hitting stores and online in February – which is so exciting.  We have really extended the range this year to include lots of leather and silk pieces, as well as the fur – so cannot wait to share it with you!

We are also currently working on the Jennifer Kate debut Spring/Summer collection, which will launch in Spring 2013.  It has been such an amazing process to get the range just right, as we are traditionally a Winter brand, and I am so incredibly excited about the amazing pieces we have in the range.  Now it’s just about fine-tuning, and trying not to wear it all myself this Summer!

7) Are you a MAC or PC person?

MAC!  When I was working in PR we only worked on PC’s and I used to hate “MAC people”, but I have now solidly crossed over!

8) Favourite lipstick/lipgloss at the moment?

I don’t tend to wear a lot of lipstick, but am never without Lucas Pawpaw ointment – keep it simple!

9) Favourite nail colour at the moment?

Magella Wine by OPI.

10) Favourite scent/perfume at the moment?

I will always be a Dior Pure Poison girl.