Estonian-born, London-based designer Roberta Einer’s frenetic and playful vibe is infectious. Since launching her label in 2015, Einer has become known for her bold use of couture-level embellishment and hand embroidery. It’s no surprise that prior to launching her label, Einer worked with Olivier Rousteing as a print and embroidery assistant at Balmain.

We chatted to Einer about her spring collection, which is a mix of mad prints and reworked silhouettes inspired by pastel-hued South Beach circa 1980. 
 

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A look from Roberta Einer’s spring 2017 collection 

What’s the mood and feeling of this collection?

“I drew main inspiration from Miami and South beach – 1980’s poolside poster art was translated into embellishment, highly worked fabrics featured botanicals and tropical birds. For the colours I was  inspired by illustrators like Jiro Bevis and Yoko Honda who [featured] Miami a lot in their work. I wanted to recreate what all those strong Studio 54 characters like Bianca Jagger, Janice Dickinson and Debbie Harry would be wearing if they went to Miami. The pastel hues of the city’s architecture lead to using rainbow palette of greens, blues, pinks and fluorescents that were set by monochrome. It’s a very fun and sexy collection – just like Miami! – with lots of high shine and big contrasts in textures and cuts.”

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In terms of textures, what was the process in selecting or creating then?

“Fabric and material sourcing is one of the most important parts when designing collection. We get custom tweeds done in Linton mill, which is the same mill that develops Chanel tweeds. We get jacquards from Paris and leather from Italy. All embroidery is manufactured in one of the best hand embroidery factories, that also produces for Balmain, Ralph & Russo and Lanvin. We [experiment] in-house for the most creative techniques and finishes and then give the production to the industry’s best.” 

 

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Who’s the Roberta Einer customer?

“I don’t really believe that there is a certain age or image that most of our customers have, because for me it has always been about designing every kind of woman – all ages, all ethnicities, all body types and characters. I started selling from the very first season globally, so it became vital to design for all types of women.

One thing that unites all customers is that they wish to stand out and have this playful way of dressing and living. For me, it’s really important that the customer wears clothes and not the other way around. And with designs like mine, you will really need a quite a character to pull it off!”

 

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