The e.Kaye Collection, from Chicago to World
The moment I started composing this introduction, it occurred to me on the spot that I had never met a fashion designer until I met Emily Sifrit, founder of e.Kaye Collection. I realized too, that this is the first time I’ve ever interviewed a fashion designer. To be honest, I couldn’t think of a better person to start with than Emily. Since I began my interest in fashion in earnest, I’ve become amazed at how one could take a piece of fabric and not only shape it into something functional, but aesthetically pleasing as well. I know what I like to wear and I like to think I have great taste in clothing, but I wouldn’t know where to start if you placed that fabric into my awkward hands.
Last year I was able to get a tiny peek into Emily’s world at a New York Fashion Week event, and that bit was too much for me to handle. I’ve seen what goes on behind the scenes at fashion events in photos and video before, but nothing could have prepared me for the real thing. Observing Emily work, I knew that had it been me in her shoes, I’d be screaming at everyone. She’s as dedicated to making sure her wares are properly showcased as she is to their creation, possessing a focus that (for me, at least) is quite impressive. Her creativity and dedication to her craft are what attracted the likes of GQ, Vogue, and Elle magazines to her designs. I am truly honored and grateful that she granted me the opportunity to interview her for my modest luxury mag.
Meet Emily Sifrit.
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to be part of this interview.
I understand that despite the events of the previous year, your collection has attracted the attention of a lot of the big fashion magazines. Was this unexpected?
Thank you as well!
Ah, yes and no. Unexpected to the point that I hadn’t known I made it on their radars, but then after the initial reaction, I reminded myself this is in fact what we’ve been training for!
The story goes, that when your journey began at seven years old, while you sat at your grandmother’s sewing machine. What were you making, or do you recall?
Ohhh, I was making doll clothes and learning how to hand embroider. There was a project each day I was with her, and for several years we spent a few evenings each week together.
Was being a fashion designer something you decided at that moment in your life you wanted to be, or did it come to you later?
I didn’t even know the job of ‘Fashion Designer’ existed at that time. I thought we were crafting, and I assumed robots delivered our clothes to Kmart. I just knew this was a ‘language’ she and I both spoke, and it was a way to spend our time as an alternative to talking about the Bible (which I didn’t enjoy) or watching Bewitched (which she only tolerated). I was probably 13 years old when I finally clued into the knowledge of high fashion, couture, and the existence of a fashion industry. By then, I was dreaming of becoming an English teacher, suppressing my strongest artistic instincts while still consistently sewing, and pretty much continued that diplomatic quandary for the following 20 years.
When and where did your first show happen and how did you feel?
My first show was held in July of 2010. The whole thing from conception to ‘that’s a wrap’ was really very off the cuff, experimental, and organic. Back story: I had recently attended my first ever fashion show as a guest. It was held in the designer’s Wicker Park apartment. She moved all her furniture to the edges of the room to create a runway down the length of the space. There were maybe 25 people in attendance, and everyone treated it as though we were at the most elaborate event known to humankind. It was fantastic. At one point I looked over at my sister and said… I could do this. So, with really no reason other than having a show, I planned a show. I just ran with my imagination, a whole lot like a child with a summer vacation vibe ahead of them. I sewed day and night for a few weeks. The models were my friends. Basically, the whole production consisted of people I would invite over on a Saturday night. I invited maybe 40 guests max, mostly friends and family. At that time I was an insurance producer by day, and my boss had just purchased one of the original Vaudeville theaters. It would soon undergo major renovations and become an indoor mall of creative businesses. But… at that time it was an understated charming building with a gorgeous brick-laid floor. I just wanted that floor and one long hallway for about 30 minutes. We showed up, clueless, but determined and equipped with a plan. And we put on a show. I had no idea what I was doing. That didn’t seem to matter, however, because each person involved seemed to have the next best contributing idea with each passing 5 minutes. Before we knew it, it was over, I was ready to sleep for days, and we pulled off my first fashion show. It felt… like graduating.
You and I met at New York Fashion Week FW2019, I believe. You weren’t showing that year, but you have had your wares on the runway before. What has that experience been like for you?
That’s right! I actually had shown that year in February with a collective showcase at Pier 59, which was beyond anything I had experienced up ‘til that point. It was like stretching out some very lovely wings finally. I was challenged that year by an intense and super talented stylist, I was surrounded by talented designers from all over the world, and I was very aware of precisely two things: I was not the best in the room, and also I was there because they saw something worthwhile in me so I better make something of it. So we met that September and I had just finished a summer residency in The Copper Room, which is a Manhattan showroom. It was ironically the only season from Feb 2018-present that I didn’t show.
Your bio reads that you have been known to produce “rare garments” using a variety of textiles. What sort of rare garments are we talking about, specifically?
This mainly points to several examples where I’ve chosen to create gowns out of supplies not traditionally meant for apparel. I know a lot of creatives will think way outside the proverbial box in times of frustration, and this has been one angle that has proven positive for me. So, for example, for an event, I once constructed a wedding gown out of a clear plastic tarp and aluminum foil. She did receive a proposal from a stranger on Clark St. in Chicago. Apparently, my design was believable.
You produce a wide array of products, what have you not done thus far, that you plan to make in the future?
I would like to tackle an amazing fitting blue jean pattern. I make dress pants, and casual pants, but not once yet have I done blue jeans.
Where do your ideas come from? I look at a piece of fabric and the best idea I can come up with is maybe a simple bedspread.
Each time I’m asked this question I have a slightly different answer. Movies often inspire tones, colors, and shapes. (I’m recalling Mary Poppins Returns, How to Train Your Dragon, Black Panther, and Dunkirk.) Music always. I can hear a song and see a design. I can be walking through a unique building and see an alternate version of reality where my designs exist there. I think the common factor is something I’m going to call inventive vision. I’d describe it the way a computer program might project possible outcomes. There is a starting point, and there is a projection made of possibilities. I think musicians do this with notes. They may wake up with a combination of notes representing a new sound in their ears. If they write it down and play it, new music has been made. If they roll over and ignore the gift, maybe no one will ever hear it. My ideas come from that place. The place between dreams and awake. It’s Spirit.
What are some of the challenges you’ve had to face in 2020?
I think the top challenge has been mindset. Not one person was left unaffected by the year, and the experiences were as varied as we are as people… in my opinion. Early on in the year, it was about learning how to remain valuable to my customers. Then, it also became about plugging my purpose into each facet of my career. Where things aligned… I focused. Where they didn’t, I adapted.
Looking forward, I’m sure that you, like the rest of us, are hoping for things to improve in 2021. Is there anything you want to see happen in the new year personally and professionally?
I want to see trust. Trustworthy people, trusting themselves to do something good. I’m going to paraphrase this very awkwardly I’m sure.. but I think the saying is something like, ‘When you don’t know what to do, just do something good.’ That. It’s time. This industry is evolving, and it has been for some time. We are in for some big operational improvements, and I believe we can embrace that while honoring the artistry it was built upon.
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Photography: top gallery (left to right) Lyndsey O'Connell, Rudy Arias, and Staff at WALK Fashion Show. All other photographs by Rudy Arias.
