How did it all begin?
After graduation, I worked in different positions for French fashion houses such as Alexis Mabille, Anne Valerie Hash, and I got my first job offer at the multi-brands shop, L’Eclaireur. Working for others was great experience and I learnt a lot. At some point, I was hoping to have my own voice, to express myself. So I prepared a collection, applying for the French fashion competition, Festival de Hyères de la mode et de la photographie. I got selected to the one of the 10 finalists and was awarded the Public Prize. After that, I took a step forward and launched my brand.
Tell us more about your research, design and technical process.
I felt very lucky to be in Paris, surrounded by endless sources of inspiration. Although the internet makes things much easier today (image research, upcoming new things..), I am more often inspired by the people I come cross, the books and the exhibitions… There’s never a very clear ‘theme’, but a concept of what kind of clothes or products I pictured at the beginning of each collection. Then it all comes very naturally, joining the dots—— the fabrics, the accessories, the silhouette, the cuts… In the atelier, we spend lots of time on the toile, looking into the volume, the details, the length, doing fitting as frequently as we could. I believe a good construction is fundamental.
Do you have the time to take a step back to look at your works?
Yes, but I’m not a lingering person and I do wish to turn the page quickly, and move on to something new. Besides I haven’t done much to look back yet.
What was the main source of inspiration behind SÉRIE 7? The choice of fabrics, colours and silhouettes?
I was thinking much about the Autumn at the beginning, in Paris we step into fall early in the year. The palette from the parks and forest around are magnificent, also a bit melancholic. The leaves are falling everywhere and I wish to find a way to interpret it.
So I started the collection by painting the organza, which I feel comfortable — with tones of maroon, beige, old rose, ginger, olive green. I think autumn is also a bit ‘crispy’ and ‘winkled’, so I’ve led to washed cotton, winkled crepon and wool blend linen cotton. They give leaf-like texture and a more casual aspect.
I also decided to work with the pleating. I contacted this amazing pleating house ‘Plissés de France’ near Saint Malo to develop a series of pleats for the new collection. Although lots would regard pleats as something a bit outmoded, I intend to bring a modern breeze to it—- by layering different pleats together to enrich the visual effect, to sew it with unlikely items —a pull over, a sweat shirt..
I remember reading about Yohji Yamamoto’s interview, he said that it should be an air between the body and the garment. I like the idea of finding the good distance between these elements, never too tight, or over-sized. I want to give a little bit more space to move in, whether it is a shirt or a jacket.
What does hand-painting mean to you and why is it a medium of choice in your brand?
While making my first collection, I struggled to express the ethereal atmosphere through colors, the yarn dyed or piece dyed fabric, is a bit too perfect, unified and plain. so I decided to create the colors myself. Through my experiment, I realized the surprising reactions between hand painted colors and the fabrics. It turns out to be an art of odds and coincidence. I’m not the one who found the colors, but them found me.
Later on, I keep researching new techniques of hand painting. As it will be on a clothing that worn by someone, not every techniques or colors will fit. I spent also considerable amount of time to produce the orders. Sometimes, a garment requires to be painted piece by piece before cutting the fabric.
However these processes never trouble me, I think they make the garment less monologue, less ‘industrial’, but with a hint of personality, which carries my feeling and the very moment of creating it. People that owns a Shanshan Ruan hand painted piece can be sure that they have an unique piece.
How do you balance your time between creating and running a business?
The brand is very lucky to be carried by the showroom NoSeason in Paris where a great numbers of buyers come and place orders. This saves me lots of energy. I’m also supported by my associate, Tracy who indulges me quite a lot and allows me to concentrate mostly on the design.
However, it is unlikely that I ever detached myself from the business world. For instance, we spend time with the agents from the showroom to discuss how better to carry on the next collection after the previous season, discussing the type of product I should include, the balance of different categories, the fabric choices etc. We go back again and again to the collection plan during the season. It rises a constant battle in my brain: one wishes the wildest ideas while the other pulls back to the reality. I can’t say that I master it yet, or will ever completely get hold of it, but I think it is a challenge for every designer today, to impose a style and ensure the audience.
How do you envision a Shanshan Ruan girl to be?
I’d much love the Shanshan Ruan wearer to be passionate and bold, not fearing to be ‘different’ and keen to have their own statement.
Where do you see Shanshan Ruan in the next 5 years?
Although the fashion industry is very unpredictable and becoming more and more difficult for independent designers, I wish to develop the brand steadily. It means taking time to make good decisions. The officially ‘commercialized’ collection ‘Série 3’, I had 14 pieces in the showroom and one buyer for LA.
The collection then grows little by little, slowly gaining the approval of more clients. I’m quite aware that my design will never please a large number of customers, it might stays ‘niche’ just like the way it is. Instead of universal popularity, I hope to gain affection and faith with those who truly like my work.
What would be the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt since starting your label?
Every one has brilliant ideas, but without execution, they will remain ideas.
Explore Shan Shan Ruan’s Autumn / Winter 2017 collection in-store here.