Dauphinette founder Olivia Cheng believes that her fun-loving clothing, jewellery and accessories can lift your mood. We spoke with the up-and-coming designer about style icons, sustainability and how to spend 24 hours in New York City.
29 July, 2019
One
of the greatest things about fashion is its ability to
instantly change your mood, something Dauphinette’s founder Olivia
Cheng knows all too well. In fact, the rising star describes the
New York-based brand’s uplifting clothing, jewellery and accessory
collections as “the happiest on earth”.
She’s right on the money – the wispy plumes fluttering at the
collars and cuffs of the label’s coats are enough to make anyone
smile, and they’re always realised in serotonin-boosting hues and
lively patterns. What’s more, aside from just looking good, since
Dauphinette’s inception in 2018, Cheng’s designs have all been made
locally and sustainably using recycled fur and leather, plus
hand-painted techniques. Here the designer tells us about how
travel and art provide endless inspiration, and the best way to
spend 24 hours in NYC.
A small town outside of Chicago, Illinois.
I’ve always been very interested in fashion – first as an
experimentational tool and later as a way to navigate our cultural
atmosphere. One of my earliest memories about clothing is from when
I was four and my mom sewed me a pink swing coat with leopard print
buttons and a matching beret. I was extremely shy and didn’t speak
up much, but I remember wearing the outfit to preschool and feeling
like an emboldened version of myself. In my designs today, I try to
capture that childlike essence of excitement and imagination.
A trip to Paris. I was vintage shopping in Le
Marais and noticed how people were neglecting the incredible
selection of vintage furs and leathers in favour of 80s and 90s
nylon sportswear. I knew I had to pay it forward to these pieces
and their histories and give them a new life in a contemporary
marketplace.
“Dauphin” is the French term for the male heir to the throne,
and the word had been on my mind a lot when I was first thinking
about the brand. Since Paris was where I came up with the brand
concept, I decided to feminise Dauphin in a subversive way, and it
became Dauphinette.
It’s very internal and would probably seem chaotic from the
outside. For our repurposed styles, I source a vintage piece to
follow a particular vision I have, or sometimes I discover an
incredible vintage piece and build the design around it. For our
main seasonal collection – which will be new for SS20 – I began by
thinking about the types of materials I wanted to use, sketching a
lot, and approaching a more traditional development process with an
unconventional perspective on materials.
Yes! As a kid I was always, always drawing. Later, I also
trained in classic oil painting and metalsmithing. Some of my
favourite artists are Monet, Manet, Sargent, Rothko and Warhol.
A joy-seeking human who approaches dressing optimistically.
The Jackie coat, Rambutan bag and Garden Party earrings.
I have a website – dauphinette.com – and also at
Assembly NY and Fancy in NYC, plus Macondo in
Verona.
Michelle Obama, Gemma Chan, Zendaya, or any of the women in John
Singer Sargent’s portraits.
My mum and Princess Diana.
In the summer: a flowy combination of sunshine colours, flora
and fauna. In autumn and winter I prefer darker colours and styling
a turtleneck underneath something bright. I always carry a
colourful bag too. My most-loved item of clothing is a vintage
fuchsia sequined dress from the 80s. I haven’t been dancing in a
long time, but I love to wear it backwards at night.
Inspiration comes best through experiencing and imagining, not
from the pursuit of it. Ultimately, I derive a lot of inspiration
from food, flowers, art and my journal. I’m extremely fortunate to
have travelled frequently, and I find that the opportunity to
travel teaches us how to be ourselves in new contexts. I write down
every idea in the Notes section of my phone, which may be one of
the best resources to come out of the digital age.
A Dauphinette Rambutan bag and Garden Party earrings, my
journal, vintage dresses, a 35mm camera, refillable water bottle
and snacks galore.
Oaxaca,
Seoul,
and a long drive through Italy.
We only us recycled fur and leather, and we repurpose a lot of
vintage. I believe that sustainable practices and objectives should
be expected from all companies, rather than seen as being
exceptional and brand-enhancing. We should all take action in our
part of the supply-and-consumption cycle.
I’m currently developing our first collection for SS20. It’s
just a small number of styles, but each full of love, soul and a
bit of madness. Longer term, I would love to open a store and a
restaurant. I’m deeply in love with the idea of a Dauphinette
clothing store/ cheese-and-wine bar.
Bibber and Bell in Williamsburg has an incredible selection of
biodynamic and organic wines. Pick up fresh peonies in the Flower
District, a block-long flower market, or books from The Strand. For
small furniture and antique jewellery, there’s a store called
Pippin Vintage on 17th Street and 7th Ave – the store is inside a
19th-century blacksmith’s cottage, and you enter through a narrow
alleyway lined with baroque mirrors.
The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dia
Beacon and the Brooklyn Museum.
Start with brunch at Miss
Ada in Brooklyn, then walk through Fort Greene Park before
heading to the Flower District in Manhattan to buy some fresh
Japanese peonies. Walk downtown along the Hudson – if it’s summer,
you can kayak for free at Pier 26. Stroll through West Village and
soak up the magic of a New York sunset. Stop for dinner at Delice & Sarrasin on
Christopher Street. It’s a small vegan French spot tucked under a
twisted tree. Order the vegan cheese plate and mushroom escargots,
the buckwheat galette with konjac “salmon”, and finish with the
lavender rice pudding. Cap the night off by taking in a jazz show
and heading to one of the neighbourhood speakeasies for elderflower
margaritas.