Interview

SLESIN: Do you share your wife’s interest in ecological factors, or even animal rights? Does that ever come up in your collections?

WILLIS: I would be lying if I said that I have the same level of commitment. I just returned from seeing her show in Paris, and the reviews have been great. That a fashion designer of her position does not use fur and leather . . . Well, it’s integral to her personality and therefore to her company. Does that also exist with Established? No, it doesn’t, but what does exist is a sense of responsibility toward working with materials and production methods that are certainly less dangerous to the environment. Just as we’ve expanded beyond Britain in our collections, we’ve also looked for alternative methods of shipping and production. I’m nowhere near my wife’s level, but I’m a vegetarian—I have been for many, many years—and I share similar beliefs that I try to reflect as much as I can in my company.

SLESIN: It sounds like you have a plan for the future.

WILLIS: We should be taking more of a responsible attitude to every part of our existence on the planet, from the environment to how we treat others—just our legacy in general and what we leave behind . . . I’m 38, but I feel so optimistic when I talk to teens and hear how genuinely concerned they are about changing the way we’ve treated the planet for generations. I think something good is going to come out of it.

SLESIN: You sound optimistic. Stateside we haven’t been too optimistic in art and design this winter, so it’s nice to hear these things.

WILLIS: We’ve had a pretty hard winter here, too. Interest rates are down to half a percent, the lowest this country has ever seen. Three hundred and some odd years and the Bank of England is the lowest it’s ever been. And then wars and so forth . . . But on a creative level, I’m optimistic. On long-term future, I am too. On a short-term business level, I think by maintaining who we are and keeping a clear identity and voice, we’ll be fine.

Suzanne Slesin is an internationally known design journalist and the publisher of Pointed Leaf Press.