So on Wednesday night, after a hard bikram class (day 3 of 30-day challenge) I trundled along to Mad Dogs and Englishmen in Milford to meet James from JUIDfashion. As it turns out, we went to intermediate school together. James arrives, and we have a bit of a chat while the rest of the bar partakes in some kind of very loud quiz night. Here’s how it
went…
How long have you been designing for?
Only 3 months.
How did you get into designing?
I am an ex-triathlete, and have done post-grad business, so fashion design is not where I saw myself heading. I do want to study fashion at some stage, now. I just started getting really fussy with clothes, and I couldn’t find what I wanted in shops. So I started making a couple of t-shirts here and there, other people liked them and would comment on them, so I kept making them!
Tell me about JUIDfashion.
JUIDfashion is really what you want it to be. Some people call it JUID (jooid), while I will say J.U.I.D. It stands for James Upton Inspired Design. I’m hesitant to say I want to be like another designer, as I don’t want to end up imitating them. If I had to say which designers I like, I’d definitely say Stolen Girlfriends Club. I want to get inspiration from music, lifestyle and culture, rather than other designers. Obviously one day I would love to make it big, but at the moment it’s my friends and a few randoms who are buying from me.
What kind of culture and lifestyle do you get inspiration from?
I like painting. I do a bit here and there. I really think art and fashion go hand in hand. If you can imagine a tee as a canvas, and you’re a painter, you’re probably going to get some cool wearable art.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
At the moment I am setting up things like accounting and GST. It’s easy to have these cool designs but you need to have the right business background as well. It is important to get structures in place, like a website, GST and Trademarking.
So you like the sound of hand-sewn, individually made t-shirts that not many other people have? Check out JUIDfashion on Facebook – this is where James does most of his connecting and selling. Otherwise you can go to Cheapskates in Takapuna and check them out there. And soon, rose coloured glasses will be selling them as well!
