16 Avr Mercedes Morin Spring-Summer 2017 Collection Launch

A few days ago, Mercedes Morin, a young Montreal designer, celebrated the launch of her Spring-Summer 2017 collection. We invite you to step into Atelier Vio-Li with us, where the fun and friendly “5 à 8” event took place, for an opportunity to  meet Mercedes and discover her newest designs.

Friends, family, collaborators, all gathered at Atelier Vio-Li for the occasion. The new designs greeted the guests right from the door, and the shining sun created the perfect ambiance for the launch of a summer collection.  A series of hand-dyed dresses, white t-shirts with coral inserts, and a gorgeous white organza shirt were all part of a beautiful white-and coral-tones Summer 2017 collection for women. What’s new this season is a collection for men. It was a great occasion for the guests to get some fresh new designs for this season, and, for the more budget conscious, older designs were available at discounted prices.

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Mercedes has always had a passion for fashion and design, so it comes as no surprise that at only 25, she is already launching her third collection. Pure creative spirit, Mercedes is more than just a designer, she is also a textile artist, and part of the fabrics used in her collections go through transformations like dye, knit and weaving. In order to get to know her better and have a better insight into her designs and creative processes, here is our interview with Mercedes Morin.

TrendsConnection: Tell us about your new collection: what was your inspiration for the new designs?

Mercedes Morin: The Summer 2017 collection is called “Reef”, and is inspired by corals and a wave of my childhood memories on the beach. My father is Dominican, so I spent a lot of time with him on the beach. I created, for example, the pattern of the shirt inspired by corals and little minerals. I wanted pastel colours for this collection, as they remind me of the sea. The sweatshirt for men for example, has a slight turquoise tint.

TC: How would you describe your signature aesthetics?

MM: It’s quite classic but with a twist. You can wear it at work but also as an evening look. I pay very close attention to the quality of my fabrics and everything I use is made here in Montreal.

TC: What inspires you to create in general?

MM: All sorts of things, really. I try to always keep an eye out and pay as much attention as I can. It can be from a movie, it could be from a travel. I love a a preppy style and I’m also interested a lot in 20th century fashion. I love the 60’s, so I integrate that a bit in my designs.

TC: What do you do when you feel uninspired? How do you get out of a creative rut?

MM: When this happens, I have to take my mind off things for a bit. I try to go out, I try to expose myself to a lot of different things. I try to immerse myself in art, go to museums, but even going out with friends can help, because ideas could come out of nowhere.

TC: Tell us a bit about you and your career path.

MM: My mom is a costume designer so I was always immersed in design. I didn’t want to do this at the beginning, but after all this exposure to costumes, fabrics, sewing, I ended up falling in love with the profession. I studied fashion design at Marie-Victorin, but I didn’t finish the program, because for some reason, I didn’t find my place there. I worked in fashion for a few years for various Montreal designers, and then I went back to school to study textile construction, a program from which I graduated last year. I learned semi-industrial knitting, weaving and dyeing, which I integrated in my work. I have a lot of pieces which are hand dyed and knits which I designed.

TC: Quebec is not quite the best market for fashion. How do you manage to push through?

MM: Social networks help a lot, for sure. They put us in contact with a lot of people around the world. Also, online sales help. Eventually I hope to break into other markets, like the US market, or, something I’m really interested in, the Asian market. Maybe one day I’ll go on a business trip to Japan or to Korea, which is a big and very interesting market. Over there they value Canadian and American design a lot; they see it as high quality and exotic.

TC: Can you share with us some of your plans for the future?

MM: Well, already this summer we introduced designs for men. This is something new and I am excited to see how it will work out. But my big dream would be to create a shoe collection. But this is something I don’t know much about, and I don’t even know where to start. Maybe I’ll do a collaboration, if I meet the right person, eventually.

TC: If you were to have a conversation with your younger self, what would you say?

MM: That it’s all right to take your time, there’s no rush. I really started young and I got involved in a lot of projects. And it’s ok to do something else as well. I was always involved in fashion and tailoring and i didn’t explore other things.

Atelier Vio-Li is the workshop where Mercedes’s designs come to life. It’s the place where she spends most of her work time. Here are some “behind the scenes” photos, a sneak-peek into the world of Mercedes Morin.

Photo  Credits: Tora Photography for Trendsconnection.ca (thank you for using these credits, for any use of these photos).

Text: Tora Chirila