Thursday, February 10, 2011

Ivy h.'s Fall-Winter 2011 collection debuts



Photos courtesy Ivy h.
Visions of white- and yellow-hot magma, the black surface of lapahoehoe and blue of the Pacific as lava and ocean meet inspired Ivy Higa's latest collection for Fall-Winter 2011.

It was great to be able to catch up with Ivy Higa by phone in advance of her Ivy h. New York Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2011 presentation in Midtown Tuesday night.

The previous times we talked, our conversation had to be chaperoned by Lifetime in case she spilled any of the results of "Project Runway."

Since then, she's been busy working on her Big Island volcano- and lava-inspired collection, and she says it's "do or die time," as far as funds are concerned. She was in the same position last spring, and ultimately decided on auditioning for the show in hope of being able to sustain her business another year.



The question always is, how long does one chase a dream if one has to eke out a living? There are a lot of lucky people who have unlimited support and can afford to separate art and commerce, but unfortunately, many others who choose to create must weigh both aspects of their work.

I think hers is a dream worth pursuing, so I feel sad about the thought of her ever giving up for lack of money. I don't think she'll ever stop designing, but, even though she's currently working with fashion superstar Zac Posen, there's a big difference between working on someone else's collection, and calling a collection your own. And having had her taste of creating a brand, I'm sure it must feel like nurturing a baby. You want to see it thrive and be successful for a very long time.





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