Dree Hemingway Learns to Whittle

 

Model Dree Hemingway had never designed before when French label Sandro asked her to collaborate on a capsule collection.  “It was and still is so new and exciting,” she tells Interview. “There’s the process of getting all the ideas and inspiration, and then having to translate that through into a collection, which can be a little overwhelming. After that, having to find the color palettes, fabrics, shapes, etc.” The limits of doing a capsule collection, Hemingway discovered, could be more difficult than the designing itself: “It was difficult in the beginning since I had so many ideas, which had to be whittled down to make a mini-collection,” she says. “There’s also so much to consider, like pricing and what in reality can be produced.”

Hemingway collaborated with the label’s creative director, Evelyne Chetrite. “She had to give me a reality check when I was trying to mix Navajo embroidery with huge flower details,” she laughs. “‘Reel it, in Dree, this is not an Alice in Wonderland moment.'”

But seriously, Hemingway brings American style. From dresses to shirts and jeans, the collection was inspired by Hemingway’s Idahoan roots, using ikat detailing and wild prints. Hemingway’s main other inspiration came from a documentary book, The Stonemasters: California Rock Climbers in the Seventies. “It is a story of these young rock climbers, and in the photos, the boys are in amazing cutoffs or chinos and bandanas saturated in the sunâ??these gorgeous pinks and reds and blue that have a been weathered to perfection,” says Hemingway. “I kind of want to date them and wear their clothingâ??the thought of just throwing something on in the morning and just not really giving a shit is my goal most mornings.”

THE DREE HEMINGWAY FOR SANDRO CAPSULE COLLECTION WILL LAUNCH AT THE FLAGSHIP STORE OPENING EVENT HOSTED BY CHETRITE AND HEMINGWAY ON FEBRUARY 7.