1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Louise Amstrup 191

058

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Danish-born Louise

Amstrup spent part of

her childhood living

in Germany to then

return and complete

her studies. In 2003

she graduated from

Akadamie Modedesign,

where she was awarded

the Graduate Talent

prize. Now based in

London, Louise has

worked with various

designers including

Alexander McQueen,

Jonathan Saunders,

Alistair Carr, So a

Kokosalaki, and

Catherine Walker.

However, with the

growing interest

and demand for her

work, she successfully

launched her self-

titled debut collection

“Louise Amstrup” in

2006 and, following a

phenomenal response,

is proud to announce

the launch of her third

collection. Recently,

Louise showcased her

collections at London

Fashion Week for two

seasons, was awarded

sponsorship through the

Fashion Scout to show

her S/S 09 collection

at Shanghai Fashion

Week, and opened

Copenhagen Fashion

Week with her F/W 09

collection.

Louise Amstrup

www.louise-amstrup.com

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© Mads Perch

© Mads Perch

571 INSPIRATION. I usually start off

by evaluating my previous collection and

look at strengths and weaknesses. Then I

start my research for the next collection. It

often comes naturally to go in a different

direction, inspiration-wise. For me, it is

important to create something new yet still

with my signature.

572 M

ATERIALS. I source my fabrics

from all over the world. Personally, I love

silks because they have a very luxurious

feel and quality and yet come in so many

variations that it never gets boring. It

is “dangerous” to say never whenever

it comes to creative work, but so far I

have not worked with polyester satins or

chiffons and they will not be a part of my

next collection either.

573 C

OLORS. For me, color is a way

to underline my concept and to link the

pieces together so that it has a “collection”

statement.

574 E

VOLUTION. Yes! I think it is

important to look at my career as a journey

and development. I do my best every

season, however as soon as a collection

is done I think of how to improve and

progress. This is what keeps the dynamic

of a label.

575 S

TYLE. I am always very focused

on maintaining a very high quality of the

pieces as well as the design. I obviously

also have some signature styles and

features that you will see again–however

always slightly changed and new. I do not

think my style loses anything, however I

do often decide to drop certain styles in

order to strengthen my style overall.

© Mads Perch

192 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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Louise Amstrup 193

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© Mads Perch

© Mads Perch

© Mads Perch

© Mads Perch

© Mads Perch

577 GOOD HABITS. Apart from always

keeping an open mind in terms of design,

make sure you know how to do patterns

and sewing on a very high standard

yourself.

578 Y

OUR RIGHT ARM? My right arm is

my assistant Cindy. She has been working

for me for more than a year and it is great

to have someone around who understands

my “language.” Not only is she technically

really skilled but she also has a calm and

lovely personality.

579 I

NDIVIDUALITY VS. GROUP

BELONGING.I believe that fashion gives

the person an opportunity to emphasize

her individuality or emphasize a group

belonging all depending on her wish, and

isn’t that the essence of democracy?

580 C

OMMUNICATION. Communication

is essential! There is always a story or

a message behind each collection and

naturally it is important to try and get

that across. This can be done in many ways

and I guess that, being the designer behind

the collection, it would be a mistake to

leave all communication for someone else to

do. However, I do work with a PR company

and they are doing an amazing job, which I

alone would never be able to do.

576

A

DVICE. The best lesson I have

ever received is that “cutting

corners” never pays off. And that

if you have the courage to give it

your all then you have already

come really far.

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