Projectspace

The Business of Arts 2012:

Master class with fashion designer Liz Mitchell

 

Liz Mitchell is one of New Zealand’s leading couture and ready to wear designers. Her clothes are chosen and worn for their gorgeous colours, sumptuous fabrics, classical design, impeccable tailoring and attention to detail in every aspect of their construction.

With a label founded on design excellence, Mitchell focuses on creating unique and quality pieces that can be enjoyed over a number of seasons.

“I think the clothes we create have an enduring quality and that's always interested me,” she says.

With a background in fine arts and theatre, Mitchell brings a sense of drama to her sophisticated designs.  In 2005 Mitchell was appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the fashion industry. Her knowledge of and respect for design history is reflected in her own work. Her exquisite evening wear, glamorous made to measure garments and elegant ready to wear designs are an expression of modernity, with a whisper of tradition.

"You are not just recreating the past; it is about giving a garment a past, present and a future."

In this Master Class she talks with arts consultant Tara Jahn-Werner about the realities of creating her work in an often harsh economic environment.

She has had her share of difficulties – in 2010 her company went into voluntary liquidation after suffering a downturn in sales and orders. But she survived and set up again, focusing on her core products and moving her company forward as a leaner entity, and coming through, as she says, stronger and hopefully wiser.