"Sea": A fresh look at casual clothes
IN RUBRIC "NEW MARK"Wonderzine presents young designers and tells where and how you can buy their things. Our heroes this week are Svetlana Gruzdova, Nikolai Afonchenko and Denis Makarov, the creators and ideologists of the Sea brand.
All young brands have a hard time. Even those who start their business in Moscow or St. Petersburg, where, it would seem, more opportunities, are faced with problems in production, the inability to issue a small order of materials and establish communication with distributors. What to say about young designers in the regions - people there are used to lower prices and are taking everything new with caution. In general, at the initial stage there are so many difficulties that many people are left to start up their own business, without really having time to start. But there are several opposite examples that, I want to believe, a great future awaits, and our current brand is one of them.
“Sea” is a casual wear brand from Vladivostok, founded in 2015 by three friends: Svetlana Gruzdova, Nikolai Afonchenko and Denis Makarov. They make concise, very modern clothes for every day, inspired by the atmosphere and the place in which they work and live. They grew up in a seaside town, where everything is connected to the sea, so there was no need to think about the brand name for a long time.
Prior to working on the “Sea,” Sveta created custom-made clothing at the Attic studio at Vladivostok, where she gained experience at the same time as a designer, designer and technologist; At the same time, she constantly communicated with people who work there - real professionals in their field - and clients who themselves were well versed in the tailoring and quality of things. After that, the girl made a collection under her own name, arranged small shows and developed a client base. Kohl worked for many years in the iconic Vladivostok textile store.
After cooperation in the framework of several joint projects, the guys decided that they were ready to launch their own brand: "What it will be, we were told everything we love and appreciate: what aesthetics do we like, who are the people in our clothes. Our addictions in clothes are similar like tastes in music and movies. We value things in a very similar way, we are friends and congenial people. " Sveta notes: “If a team is formed, then everything will turn out - this is a fact. After all, a good and well-coordinated team is what moves and develops the idea, fills it with meaning, mood.”
All things "Sea" are sewn in Vladivostok: the development and most of the production process takes place in a small studio, which now employs six people. "We are pleased that we were joined by both people with experience in the atelier and hands set, as well as graduates-interns who are just starting their path, who very quickly get involved in the process of creating clothes at all its stages." The guys order fabrics and accessories from Japan or China, but they do not ignore Russian manufacturers either. For example, real kondovy textiles from the naval arsenal found its use in the attributes that “Sea” creates for the international film festival in Vladivostok.
Regarding the pricing policy, the creators of the brand say that it is important for them to create high-quality clothes, “Sea” is not fast fashion and not luxury. The price of things of the brand can not be low, but should not be high. So, the cost of T-shirts starts from 2 thousand rubles, 8 thousand rubles are asked for a skirt, but a raincoat or a park will cost no more than 17,500 rubles. Best of all, the guys succeeded in tracksuits similar to those worn in the 80s, long trench coats with neat graphic accents, laconic shorts, pants and dresses — with a perfect fit and interesting details, such as a sewn belt with a contrast stripe. All - from light, pleasant to the body tissues. The colors correspond to the concept of the brand - white, blue, black with rare patches of turquoise and yellow.
While the brand’s products are not represented in the offline store, you can order your favorite model by writing to the guys directly. And if you are in Moscow, it’s worth trying your luck at the upcoming Lambade, which will be held on August 14 at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design. "Sea" will participate in it a second time.
At each stage of the development of the brand its difficulties: the delivery and purchase of fabrics, the development and gradation of patterns, production possibilities, post-production, presentation and sale. The main thing is that no one can say how to do all this correctly, so you just have to immerse yourself in the process and adjust all its components.
In our practice there were many different difficulties: marriage and rework at the factory, delivered fabrics of the wrong colors. But the most exciting, interesting and difficult thing is to find and establish productive interaction with each member of the process, whether it be the artist, the artist or the photographer. All this is done by people, and their competence is the most valuable in such a matter. Creating clothes is perhaps one of the most energy-intensive areas where people and the human factor play a major role at every stage.
Photo: More