Scarlet Seal: Uke Forever - Designer Interview and 2012 Collections

To say life is busy for the modern women today seems like a far fetched understatement. On average, we attend far more events and commitments in a single day then our mothers and grandmothers may have ever thought doable. We navigate our cities from the early morning hours till the sun goes to rest. Busy as it may be, most of us would not change it for anything!

In order to accommodate such full spectrum day to day lives, many fashion labels have taken the above into consideration and are now designing transitional and beautiful, functional and playful pieces that transcend from one moment to the next without ever skipping a beat.

Spanish Designed and Made label, UKe., has created a brand concept which caters to the lifestyles and fashion demands of such women. "Effortless sophistication from day into night. Focused on modern designs that translate from workwear and tailored staples through to playful mix & match statement pieces."

I have had the pleasure of interviewing Uke.'s head designers and sharing with you their inspirations, ambitions, ideas and insights that create the "sunny minimalism" that is UKe.

Stripe Green Fluor Shirt

School Kid Short

S/S12

Cute Denim Bib

S/S12

Trench Blouse

Katherine Big Male Trousers

S/S12

How did you begin your career in design?

We have always loved fashion, since we were kids, but we really started to turn fashion into a business 2 years ago.We saw this as the perfect vehicle to express ourselves, our creativity and our point of view to the world.

What inspires your creative process?

Our design is based on what we call “sunny minimalism” which is based loosely around the Spanish way of life, which is always happy and 'sunny', and also our minimalistic approach to fashion.We believe in minimalism as a vehicle to produce both classic and timeless pieces. We use minimalism through pure colors, simple geometric shapes and natural fabrics, and then we finish it with a sunny, yet relaxed touch, creating the essence that defines our clothes, the ukespirit. We want to create clothes that translate through any time of the day, from work through pleasure, and the girl who likes to play with fashion, creating clothes that are versatile and essential to any contemporary wardrobe. uke is born with a global spirit but with local production, which brings us back to our sunny touch: the quality of a product made in Spain.

Tank Blouse

Katherine Big Male Trousers

S/S12

Silk Blazer

Katherine Big Male Trousers

S/S12

Silk Back Dress

S/S12

Basic Cotton Blouse

Eights Short Jersey

Katherine Big Male Trousers

S/S12

Geometric Triangle Dress

S/S12

How do you see the brand evolving in the next 5 years?

We hope to answer to all elegant, fun loving women who are in search of finding timeless pieces with a fun and flirty, contemporary spin, to help create their own style. We love to recommend the best combinations of how to wear our collections, but what we love even more, is to see how our consumers wear the collections on their own, and with already existing pieces in their wardrobe.

Super Back Zip Top

Vintage Dancer Skirt

S/S12

Basic Cotton Blouse

Vintage Dancer Skirt

S/S12

Denim Back Shirt

Pret-a-Porter Jeans

S/S12

Triangle Silk Dress

S/S12

Twisted Shirt Dress

S/S12

What prompted you to bring your designs to N.America from Spain?

We have always been attracted and curious about North American culture and fashion design, however our first step towards this market came out of interest by an American customer. We attend Paris Fashion Shows and most of the interest surrounding uke comes from Japanese and American buyers. In fact, we just launched in Opening Ceremony Tokyo and that´s something we are really proud of. Of course there was also a lot of support from our Showroom in NYC, W29 Showroom, and their owner, Susanne Renhstrom.

Super Comfortable Caftan

S/S12

Round Neckline Long Jumpsuit

S/S12

Basic Blouse

Cutted Silk Trousers

S/S12

Who would you love to style?

We have a contrast of a nostalgic point of view like Katherine Herpburn and Annie Hall's masculinity meets the feminity and elegance of Grace Kelly . But of course modern and cool women of today include Sofia Coppola, Vanessa Paradis, Miuccia Prada and the fresh style of Alexa Chung, Cara Delevingne, Emma Stone, Diane Kruger, Kate Bosworth and Kirsten Dunst.

What can we expect from the SS/13 collection?

Color and fresh new things! New fabrics and a playful touch in the details and volumes. Hope you love it!

Fall - Winter 2012/13