The Rule Breaker: Evan Biddell

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Tucked away in a sleepy alleyway somewhere off of Queen West one could stumble upon designer Evan Biddell’s front stoop and most likely not even know it. After a few minutes of searching alleyways and buzzing disgruntled tenants, we found the designer’s loft-turned-studio and were invited in. The laid-back Evan Biddell was surrounded by his personal team who appeared to be discussing his upcoming show in LG Fashion Week. While Biddell’s crew wrapped up the meeting, the photographer Arkan and I had a chance to poke around. The main floor of the studio was chock-full of oversized drafting tables, sewing machines, sketches of and fabric swatches in every colour under the rainbow. Thrown in the mix were a few couches, a coffee table and a fantastic candy apple 50s refrigerator. Biddell quickly shooed the others away and took a few minutes to sit down with Pink Mafia to discuss all things fashionable.

B: Do you have any specific people that inspire you – designers, artists, friends?

E: Yeah, I am really into robots right now. I think they are cool. I have been seeing a pop up in street art and I think it is a result of all of us growing up in the 90s with Transformers. Also living in a city where people get up and do the same thing is almost robotic. It’s as if you don’t have to think about what you’re doing anymore because you have done it so much. We’re on autopilot.

B: Is that what we are going to see in your FW10 collection?

E: The attitude is still going to be strong Biddell; I can’t really take the Biddell out entirely. I am playing with a lot of shapes and geometry. I drew the silhouette from the logo from Transformers. The make-up is inspired by that.

B: Any colours in particular you are focusing in on?

E: They are going to be laser sharp punches of colours, a circuit board of colour if you will.

B: Why do you continue to stay and work in Toronto?

E: I am here because I am in Canada and I had a lot of exposure across the country. As we know, fashion happens in Toronto for Canada. So right now Toronto is the place to be for me and where I am at in my career. I definitely have a lot more exploring to do.

B: What do you think you would be doing if you hadn’t won Project Runway Canada?

E: I was living out west so I would probably still be in Vancouver. I was working in a costume department for film so I might still be doing bits of that.

B: We’re you designing clothing for film?

E: Yeah, I was building clothes. I was a “custom builder”, sounds like carpentry instead of fashion. But Project Runway gave me a career out here and now I’ve got to work!

B: I’ve seen from your collection that sustainability is important to you as a designer.

E: Yeah, I’ve got elements. I have been exploring those fabrics and I feel like in the past two years I’ve almost used all the sustainable fabrics I’ve been able to find. There are about three options out there and I’ve used two and a half of them. Not to say that I’ve exhausted them but fashion is ADD and you have to keep it fresh. I have an appreciation for the fabrics; sustainable fabrics are great to wear every day. They make great pajamas, great sheets but its casual, it’s not as high end as I want to go. For this season if I’m going to be doing robots, I need a stiffer material. I am using this nylon I found with bright colours. I do have a line of sustainable basics coming out and that’s where I think it’s more important to be using those fabrics anyway.

B: So you haven’t attended any formal fashion school. How did you get to where you are today without school? Do you think it’s helped you or hindered you in any way?

E: It’s definitely hindered me now. We just finished our first production and in the factory it was hard trying to communicate technical ideas and speak the language. It’s a little bit tricky when you don’t know where to notch the pattern. There’s some terminology that I don’t know because I never went to school. As for as creativity goes, I know that I don’t make the most commercial clothes. I wasn’t taught a way to make clothes, so it’s a little bit more creative the way I do it. Say if someone taught me how to make a proper pair of pants, then that’s how I would be making pants rather than the way I make them now. I don’t think it’s been one or the other to the extreme.

B: Run me through a day in the life of Evan Biddell.

E: Lately it’s been waking up, brushing the teeth, getting my Starbucks and jumping on the TTC to the factory. I overlook production which means making sure my samples are being cut and seeing what’s coming back from the factory as far as sewing goes. Then I tag the clothes, stick stickers on the hangtags and pin them to the clothes. We just shipped our first order last week to Kuwait and we are going to be shipping our next order over to Queen Street West; Pho Pa has bought it. Then I come home to my studio that I live in. Right now I am working on my fall collection so I do my work until late in the night until two and then hit the hay.

B: Do you take a break after fashion week?

E: Yes. I usually work really hard for a couple months and then I take a couple of months off.

B: Do you follow trends? Do you believe in following trends?

E: I think trends are okay. I think it would be boring to be a little too trendy. I definitely pay attention to what’s going on out there, I think that’s what trends are. You need to know what the other guys are doing. For example shoulder pads are hot right now, so if I was to do shoulder pads next year when everyone had done them this year then I would be shooting myself in the foot. So it is good to know what’s happening. Same thing goes for doing something a little too early. I did the drop crotch and then all of a sudden it was everywhere, so then I thought maybe I should do it again. Last season I kind of had it across the board and now this season I only have a couple. I still think it’s cool and I am not just doing it for the trend, but I don’t want to exhaust it because people are getting sick of seeing it. I still think it’s relative to my brand entirely; it wasn’t just a seasonal thing.

B: Why do you like designing clothes for the female form?

E: That’s just the name of the game.

B: You would never venture into menswear?

E: No because I think you can have more fun with girl’s clothes.

B: Are there any designers you look up to?

E: Obviously Nicolas Ghesquière and Alexander McQueen, all those heavy hitters. I like Jeremy Scott, he’s got some balls.

B : My last question…are you planning on wearing a mask for the upcoming show ?

E : Possibly. Possibly a helmet. Right on.