Stalked: Simone Leimgruber, Emerging Fashion Designer, Le Fille

8 September 2015

Recently I stumbled across the very talented menswear designer, Simone Leimgruber, the creative brains behind the brand Le Fille. Simone challenges the boundaries of menswear without breaking any traditional codes, her designs are focused on high quality and attention to details with a sporty twist and a feminine aesthetic build the core.

I caught up with her to find out how she's shaping her brand and what inspires her..

Why did you decide to get into fashion?

I am drawn to everything aesthetically and fashion seams so naturally in expressing this. Five years ago my parents took me to a design exhibition where fashion schools advertised their courses and I realised that this can be a realistic profession. After a year of gaining technical skills at the Swiss Textile College I moved to London with the ambition to study in a vibrant fashion metropolis. And here I am, still enjoying the richness of cultural resources and opportunities.

What is your latest collection about?

The concept originated from my personal experience of leaving ‘home’ and re-evaluating what gives me this feeling in another city. Mixed with the trend of globalisation and long -term matters of migration and climate change it became the ‘climate refugee’. I constructed this story of the men who has to leave his country. I asked what has physical and emotional value and how would he preserve his cultural identity. This is translated in digital prints of national flowers and seeds, becoming emblems and reconstructed basics with sportive elements for movement.

What inspires you?

It’s a mixture of curiosity and emotional connection. It can be a movie or a book, a place, nature, an époque, a lifestyle; something I want to learn about, something that fascinates me.

Best advice anyone has ever given you?

Everything happens for a reason! I am not waiting for life to happen but I always follow my instinct. I believe in destiny - mixed with hard work and a positive mind.

What has been you best moment since starting up your brand?

The morning after my first fashion show my outfit was presented at the Vogue Italia Instagram. It was surreal enough but then reading quite harsh comments from people made me in a wired way feel proud; it was the moment I didn’t felt like a student anymore.

Also platforms like NJAL where I get to collaborate with stylist, models and artists. I am not a believer in displaying garments on a rack. I feel happy when my designs are appreciated and used.