One of my favorite discoveries at Montreal Fashion Week was designer Caroline Constas. This young designer originally from Montreal wasted no time launching her own fashion company once she decided to pursue a career in fashion instead of medicine. Her namesake line which is based in New York is strong, flirty and feminine. For her Spring / Summer 2014 line she presented a collection which epitomizes the lifestyle of a New York City career woman. I appreciated her choice of fabrics, fine tailoring and overall aesthetic. [SEE PHOTOS]

This was her first time presenting a collection and she wanted to do it in Montreal. “… I really love the idea of showing in the hometown where I’m from.” she said.

Read on! We had a lot more to talk about!

F.W.A.C.: Why did you move to New York?

CC: You know, it’s crazy how life brings you in the direction you are supposed to go in. I went to college in Boston, and from there I was always really debating between medical school and fashion. So I decided to move to New York and try fashion because I had done retail but I had never really gotten into corporate fashion. This was always a dream of mine when I as a child, I got into it and the die was cast the second that I did, and there was no going back. From there I started in wholesale and merchandising, I enrolled in Parsons, I did design, and then I started consulting for different companies. That’s how I ended up in New York and now it’s my home…my second home.

FWAC: What was the inspiration for this collection?

CC: Well actually, everything started from a childhood vacation. I spent my childhood summers in France and Greece and I found a mosaic … a beautiful mosaic in a monastery. I’ve had it with me throughout the years, and I wanted to do something with it. It really set the precedent for the prints for this season. I also really wanted to mix East and West, and really offer a lot of French, Greek and Mediterranean inspiration. I wanted it to be a fun collection, a wearable collection that you would want to wear on the plane while you are jet setting and to work if you want to look chic and feminine. [SEE PHOTOS]

FWAC: I noticed you had this yellow and black trench coat, it was amazing.

CC: Thank you! It is a waterproof vinyl rain jacket. And yeah, it’s a great piece. It’s been getting a lot excitement, and that’s also a design that I’ve had, and wanted to do for a while so I did it in the yellow and black, I did it in solid black and in solid white also.

FWAC: Who is the Caroline Constas woman? 

CC: I hope I do appeal to a very wide age group, who loves to travel, who is very cosmopolitan, very sophisticated, you know the jet-set customer. I think someone who will really take to the collection is someone who really appreciates quality. My philosophy is fit, fabrication, and functionality. So I want my girl to feel like she has a beautiful fabric that she could own forever and that she could wear everywhere.

FWAC: What advice would you give to someone who would like to follow the same career path you have?

CC: Get experience in every single aspects of the business before you start your own line. It’s hard enough when you know every aspect of the business so don’t go in there blindly. And really love it, it has to be the only thing you ever want to do.

FWAC: Does Caroline Constas have a cause that is dear to her heart?

CC: I do, yes! It’s something that I want to do in the future, and I’m not going to get into the details yet, but I definitely have an urge to do something philanthropic. And I know exactly what it’s going to be, and when the time is right a lot of energy will be put into it.

Well, I look forward to seeing what Constas’ philanthropic project will be. So I’ll be staying tuned and I hope you do too.

Stay Conscious + Chic!

 

 

Photo credits: Edmond Chung Photography for Fashion With A Conscience. [SEE PHOTOS]