To-Nya: Definitely my biggest inspiration when it comes to design is the female body. I feel like, I know how woman want to feel, want to be perceived so when I go to design I’ m always considering all of the lines, proportions and details that would bring out the natural beauty of a woman and showcase her in the best light. I also try to keep, the mind of women in my head when I go to design, and also the same when I go to design for men.
Q: Who does most of the design, is it evenly split and balanced or does To-Nya do more of the design?( Speaking to To-Tam)
To-Tam: Definitely my sister, she is definitely the creative brain behind the brand. We usually come up with the theme together, the collection together, conceptualize the story and then from the storyline the characters come to life and she will start to come up with the silhouettes and the different items in the full collection. Then I do the branding, pricing, marketing, and it all comes together with the runway show ….
To-Nya: We try to keep it separate because we have very strong personalities and because we both like to be leaders within our own sphere, we made it a point that she would always have the last word when it comes to business and marketing, and I would always have the last word when it comes to design, product and creativity. Because those are our strongest points, although we always consult each other to make sure we are on the same page, and are following the direction of the company in general. But we made it a point for us to each have our own,‘ empire’ within the empire, so-to-speak.
Q: When did you both know you wanted to go into Fashion Design and when did you decide this would go from concept to reality?
To-Nya: I always knew as far as I can remember, I wanted to go into design; I knew that I wanted to be a fashion designer. We don’ t have any family members that are in the field but I just remember loving color, fabrics and really the female body. I would watch beauty pageants and I was always so absorbed with their dresses, and I started designing dresses for them in my head, on paper and that drive never left me. It was so clear for me that was what I wanted to do with my life …
To-Tam: … And for me it was almost like destiny, I sort of fell into it. You know, she was always the designer, but for me I always wanted to go into the arts, and entertainment but as luck would have it, after graduation the first job I landed was with a fashion company. I sort of fell in love with it because the president of the company was always traveling, which allowed me the opportunity to really run the company when he was away. I really learned how to run a fashion company and how to conceive a garment from start to finish to production and to shipping. Then we sort of looked at each other and were like,“ why don’ t we do this together …” we sort of have both sides of the puzzle and it kind of just happened, it was very organic.
Q: Many of your designs have been worn by celebrities and athletes such as:( Nicki Minaj, Devon Thomas, Patti Stanger, Angela Simmons, Vanessa Simmons, Kat DeLuna, Teresa Giudice) and the list goes on and on. Did you ever imagine your designs would become so popular, and admired?
To-Tam: I guess I can humbly say that we’ ve always really believed that our designs could work for all body types, and all ages … so that being said it would only be natural that it would fit celebrities as well as, a teacher, or a president of a company, or a sales rep. But we’ ve always had a very big vision of what we wanted to do, we are very confident and at the same time we know we have to work very hard and there is always more to learn and to do. Deep down though if you don’ t have the confidence in your own craft and your own art then it’ s going to be difficult for anyone to succeed, because as you know when it comes to art and entertainment it’ s a very tough business. So we’ ve always had the inner confidence within our selves …
Q: You received wide acclaim for a particular design,“ The Swan Dress” do you plan on designing more theatrical pieces in the future, or sticking to Ready To Wear when it comes to Sachika?
To-Nya: In the future, I see for Sachika a brand that can be worn by every woman who appreciates class, sophistication and femininity. The beauty of being able to have a runway show is having the opportunity to take it to the next level. You can take your creativity to a level where it’ s perceived as art, and not necessarily the most wearable pieces but just to display art as art in a more fashionable way. I think Sachika has the potential to create more intricate pieces, when it comes to runway— and maybe they are not designed to be worn every day but when it comes to our main label, our Ready To Wear line, we absolutely aim to have a line that is wearable functional and that appeals to a wide audience as well as the modern woman of today.
Q: Can you talk to us about your most recent collection and walk us through your design aesthetic, some of your ideas, and sketches?
To-Nya: Yes, absolutely— I’ m currently designing for fall 2013. I think for some reason the fact that I grew up in Canada, and I lived in New York and now in Los Angeles, I feel as though it has widely influenced me when it comes to design, especially when it comes to Fall I feel as though I love both seasons. but for some reason my creativity flourishes and I feel more inspired during Fall. I feel as though I have more to play with, as far as designing outerwear pieces, separates and so‘ Fall’ is always a very inspiring season for me. It’ s like I have to find a way to confine myself and not go over board.( Laughing) And that’ s where To-Tam comes into play, that’ s her job, she comes in a tells me“ let’ s just try to streamline the line and make sure it’ s cohesive …” But for this collection, it will be ready for MAGIC in February. We really want to focus more on“ The Dress” because it’ s really our strongest point, we’ ve always been known for designing dresses. We want to develop different dresses with more prints, more Tribal and an Egyptian feel, playing more with texture but still keeping the line classy and feminine. It’ s going to be a beautiful array of dresses, cocktail, day dresses, evening and play a lot with textures, colors that are rich and timeless.
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