Interview with Tenue de Ville, Winner of the ‘Your Tribe vs. Your Geometry’ Design Challenge with ‘Genesis’

Back in November, FRS launched ‘Your Tribe vs. Your Geometry’, our very first leggings design challenge and an exciting opportunity for creative people from around the world to design their own unique and exclusive leggings. The challenge was to leave the safe haven of scarves, and put legs – and leggings – front and center, by using bold geometric shapes or ethnic tribal prints.

Alexia de Ville, the brain behind Brussels-based textile design studio Tenue de Ville, best known for their vivid motifs designed by hand, jumped head-on into the design challenge and we couldn’t let her ‘Genesis’ leggings design go unnoticed. By combining several different techniques and genres inspired by Inca designs, Alexia managed to come up with a powerful and detailed design to be reckoned with.

Inspired by the rough lines featured in the paintings of Gauguin, Kirkeby or even Peter Doig, ‘Genesis’ will be available as of April 2013 as part of our Spring/Summer collection – so make sure you watch this page for more news in a very near future.

Congratulations Alexia! – You’re the one of the fantastic five winners of the ‘Your Tribe vs. Your Geometry’ design challenge and you stood out among over 2OO designs. How do you feel?

I feel great! And rewarded for my work, obviously. I take my job very seriously and I’ve been working hard for a year now, and it seems like 2013 is going be a good year for me!

How did you get started? When did you decide design was the road for you? Tell us a bit about yourself.

I studied Fine Arts in Brussels, and then did a year in London at Central Saint Martins. After that, it was quite hard to get a job in London, as everyone there agrees to work for free, so I had to find another solution. Two years ago, for my brother’s birthday, I decided to draw a unique design on a t-shirt for him. He loved it and all his friends asked him where he got it, so I decided to create a small collection. One thing lead to another, and so my own brand was born: Tenue de Ville. The project is based on surface design, and it is mainly focused on women, so it seems like the perfect time to develop our own accessories collection. I’ve also just received a grant to develop my patterns for interior design, which really comes in handy!

This is your first time here at FRS – what made you decide to submit to our leggings design challenge?

I discovered FRS through Facebook, and I thought, “why not?”. I had something that fit the brief so I just added some colors in there and hop!

Can you explain a little about ‘Genesis’? What was your inspiration in its creation?

I had drawn ‘Genesis’ before I saw the brief, so I added some colors to fit the color scheme. I started off by drawing some shapes by hand to add my own personal energy to it, and made the rest via computer, incorporating elements from Inca designs.

What are the tools you couldn’t live without? Did you use any in the creation of ‘Genesis’?

Ink, I guess. Well, actually what I love about my job is that I can create using many different mediums. If I’m tired of drawing, or just not inspired, I create from a photo. If I don’t have access to a computer, I take the print of a surface somewhere or draw something in my sketchbook. It’s a never-ending inspiration!

How do you feel about having your artwork on leggings to be sold worldwide? Do you plan on submitting again? What’s next?

Yes, for sure! The best would be being on a trip somewhere and come across someone I don’t know wearing a Genesis pair of leggings!  I’ve got lots of projects going on now, including a scarf collection for this summer, a little leaflet with a friend of mine, but the biggest project is to develop my own patterns for interior design and turn them into wallpapers, curtains, porcelain, stone floor, pillow cases, etc. I’ve been also featured in the Belgian newspaper with some of my work, which you can read here. These are pretty exciting times for me!