Deconstruction Done Right: Mark and Estel

A few years ago, I was utterly obsessed with the brand Mark and Estel. To be completely honest with you all, I was obsessed with the brand mostly because Mary-Kate Olsen was a huge fan. However, years down the line, I am still impressed by Mark and Estel's designs, and they are one of a few brands that are still 100% relevant and worth checking out, especially if you are as into the deconstructed look as I am. I was extremely honored to score an interview with the designers, and so pleased to be able to share it with you all! Read on:

How did you guys meet? What made you decide to start a clothing line?
We got to know each other at first working on some of the same fashion and music projects in LA. We very much enjoyed working together and felt already that we could combine our visions. Estel moved to New York to work for a while, but we kept in touch, remembering our shared ideas. When she moved back we formed our company and band together. (Now as Mark and Estel we work mostly in LA and NY).

Where do you find inspiration from in your designs?
We find inspiration everywhere and anywhere. We look to High Fashion and Street Fashion equally. We get inspired from nature, buildings, cars, anything. A lot of it is also a hybrid of our constant striving to mix comfort and beauty, so some of our designs develop organically. We view Fashion as Art, so we treat each piece and each collection as a work of art.

Mark once said that “art and music and fashion are very much the same thing.” How do you feel the three are related, and what characteristics do they share?
Art, Music, and Fashion come from a place or places of expressing oneself and communicating with those who share your expression. When you are looking at a piece of art or listening to a piece of music, you the viewer or listener are interpreting it in your own way and experiencing in your way thereby communicating with the artist to express yourself. When you are wearing a design you are creating 'a new you' expressing yourself with the help of the designer. All forms of art are related in that they are basically ways of communicating and expressing, like languages that you can infinitely explore to go deeper and wider without any limits.

Who are your favorite designers and/or musicians right now?
There are too many to list favorites, and we don't really have favorites, because we feel there is something to be learned from everyone. We listen to all types of music and enjoy all kinds of fashion. We admire the European classics as well as the avant-garde, and we also admire many other forms like Oriental design.

What inspired you to create a Mark and Estel membership club? Can you explain how the membership works and what benefits members get from joining?
When we first noticed that customers come back to us again and again, we felt so grateful, and we wanted to create a way to give special appreciation to them like they give to us. We wanted to do something huge, something that makes a very very big difference, like 50% off. So we were trying to figure out how we could do that, and we decided on the concept that if they became members and paid a small monthly fee rather than paying full price for every purchase, return customers can save a lot of money.

Do you have a favorite piece or a favorite collection you have created?
Estel goes through phases of wearing certain pieces more often than others, right now it is the Skinny Kimono Short and the Off Shoulder Kimono Short.... As far as collections, we do not have any favorites. We actually are working on cataloging all of our collections to this point, so that customers will be able to purchase any piece from any collection we have done.

Who have you been most excited to see in your designs (celebrity or not)?
Anyone. We get super exited every time we see anyone wearing our designs. It always feels like the first time. It is such a wonderful feeling that we have made something somebody enjoys.

Be sure to check out Mark and Estel's website - I've already found a few pieces that I plan on ordering! And if you join the membership club, the pieces are half off! You can't get a much better deal than that. Happy shopping!