Day three of London Fashion Week, Sunday February 16, 2020, showcased the debut of the De La Vali Spring/Summer 2020 collection at The Store X, The Strand.
De La Vali at London Fashion Week 2020
The collection, named ‘Even Cowgirls get the Blues’, was inspired by the wild-west, romanticising the image of a nomadic yet powerful cowgirl, with figureheads such as Dolly Parton in mind.
In a Q&A session after the show the designers, Ibiza-born Jana Haveman and Laura Castro told actress Jaime Winstone who the De Vali woman is, and how their ready- to-wear brand started in 2017.
The cowgirl image embodies what they cite as the De Vali Woman. The De Vali woman is vivacious, sassy and celebrates womankind. She helps other women to use clothing to enhance their mood and feel confident and happy within themselves.
De La Vali was inspired by women such as Frida Kahlo, and a woman they met in New York who walked barefoot with a fox on one shoulder selling her art and had tattooed all her face. They saw these women as powerful in expressing themselves boldly and without shame.
They told Winstone how their brand started with a trip to India where they learned how to produce clothing and to sketch their designs.
The ladies began selling in Ibiza and quickly found a lot of people wearing their designs. They reminisced about seeing 20 girls at a party wearing their designs- with three girls wearing the same dress.
They then went to London and were picked up by Brown’s department store- and Kate Moss requested Vogue to use their clothing for a photo shoot.
However, they don’t manufacture in India, and are aware of fashion’s environmental and ethical responsibility. They are working towards changing all their packaging to starch over plastic and to use sustainable materials in their clothing.
They said that it will take a while for the industry to be fully converted, but all of fashion needs to work together.
Next for De La Vali is another fashion show in Amsterdam in March. They are showing their collection, ‘The Divine Drama’, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s films with a monochrome colour palette and long gowns
Tagged in London Fashion Week