In the short two years in business, Shabd has become known for its ethereal hand dyed fabrics. This is not the bold in-your-face tie-dye of the past. Designer Shabd Simon-Alexander has a way with colour and a technique that creates a beautiful contrast between chaos and calm. It’s a pleasure to have Shabd participate in our Designer Interview Series.

Paper-Doll: How did you get into fashion design?
Designer Shabd Simon-Alexander: I found my mom’s abandoned sewing machine in middle school and started sewing dance clothes for my kitten

What is the first thing you designed (personally or professionally)?
A tutu for said kitten

When did you launch Shabd?
2009/2010

What inspires you / your work?
Texture, architecture (for patterns, not shape), historic costume and textile traditions, nature, traveling.

Describe your SS’11 Collection.
Marble in all forms, the inside of a geode, the strata of the earth, mined and polished marble, marble seamed and pieced together in architecture and design. The Mies Van der Roh Pavillion in Barcelona. Bridge trestles. Oh, all of that on pretty silk dresses and easy to mix and match separates. Summertime!

What is your favourite piece from your SS’11 Collection?
The strata miniskirt – with its juxtaposed dye patterns it’s super fun and easy but also stunningly elegant

Did you have a personal soundtrack or a favourite album that you listened to while working on SS’11?
Yes! I make a mix tape every season that has the music we listened to in the studio while making the collection. SS’11 included classics like the Violent Femmes and Brain Eno, a lot of really dancy pop songs from Germany and France, and my favorite summer anthem from Paris Hilton!

What area of your work do you enjoy the most?
I love the experimental phase of the design process, where I’m testing out new dye techniques and dreaming up the perfect dresses. I also love making excel sheets.

What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
Finding the time to do it all.

What is the most surprising thing that has happened to you as a designer?
Being welcomed into the fold so readily by the design community in Brooklyn and NYC.

If you could collaborate with any designer / artist / musician / etc. on a single project, who would it be and what would you do?
I would LOVE to make clothes in collaboration with the women of Zinacantan and Chamula, two Mayan villages in Southern Mexico that I am enamored with.

If you could design a wardrobe for any one person (past/present/real/fictional), who would it be?
I design for myself, but I’m super happy to have other people wearing the clothes!

How would you describe your own personal style?
Colorful and eclectic, but I find one outfit, however crazy, and wear it obsessively until it falls apart.

What is your favourite item in your personal wardrobe?
A vintage tie dye jacket I found in my dad’s closet and wear all the time now – it all came from somewhere!

Where do you shop for clothes when you're not wearing your own?
I trade with other designer friends, or troll ebay for ethnic folk costumes.

What is on your current fashion wishlist?
Something from the 1994 “collection” of the Mayan Mexican village of Zinacantan.

What fashion trend would you not be caught dead in?
Black industrial architectural designer fashion

What is the one item that every woman should have in her closet?
A gown or fancy dress. I’m all about the glamour and there are more opportunities to wear them than people think!

What is your favourite thing about the city you live in? (New York)
All the creative and entrepreneurial people in it

If you couldn’t be a fashion designer, what other area of interest would you like to explore?
I would love to be a cultural anthropologist, or work with an organization connected to indigenous populations and their artwork and textiles.

What is next for your label?
Expanding on my fabric embellishment techniques.

Visit: Shabd