After an amazing show at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia in May this year, We Are Handsome have been taking over the fashion world at a rapid pace, attracting big name fans including Rihanna, Diana Kruger and Florence Welsch. The brains behind this unique label are duo Indhra Chagoury and Jeremy Somers. Coming from creative backgrounds, their collaboration has seen them taking over the swimwear world one pair of bathers at a time. Gemma Kelly catches up with Indhra to chat about how far We Are Handsome has come since its birth in 2009.
Firstly can you tell us a bit about We Are Handsome and how you first got started back in 09?
We’ve been friends for quite a while now, close to six or seven years and have worked together previously. Jeremy headed People Like Us, a versatile design brand and has a solid background in photography, design, illustration and branding, and I come from a family of dressmakers and launched my first swim brand, Oscar & Elvis, in 2003. We decided to creatively collaborate on one project, which became what We Are Handsome is today.
Do each of your creative backgrounds determine what you contribute to the label?
For us, it’s our combination of talents that make WAH work well. We both have strengths, which complement each other. Between us, we have almost 20 years of experience in running our own businesses, and we both have creative projects with varying degrees of success.
It also means we both have different perspectives and ideas on every facet of the business, however we make all decisions as a team and work on the creative together and sharing our inspirations.
What can a general day at work entail?
We still have a very small team, which is only three of us and a few interns. This means we are very hands on and control all areas. I visit our suppliers every week and chase invoices. Everything is still done in house, by the two of us.
Finding out that Rihanna had been snapped frolicking around in one of your designs must have impacted your business in a positive yet dramatic way. How did you guys go about dealing with the overwhelming response?
It’s very always flattering. The celebrity following and attention has happened very organically from the get go. The way We Are Handsome was created was initially as a creative collaboration, it just sky rocketed from there. Everyone from international and national stockists and press, as well as celebrities and our customers have been very supportive from the beginning, which has propelled the brand to this point.
You have come a long way since 2009, what has been your biggest achievement since the label was born?
Showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia for the first time in May 2012, as well as showing in Miami Swim Week in 2011. We’ve had some great compliments over the past two years. We’ve been touted by international media as having “redefined swimwear” and have been considered “some of the best swimwear in the world” – which is very flattering and we were also selected by Sydney Magazine in the Top 100 Most Creative and Influential for 2011. What an honour.
How was the MB Fashion week experience for you?
Humbling and inspiring. We had such a fantastic creative team and I was amazed at how beautiful and polished it was.
The label is heavily print based, how do you go about deciding on what prints will make your final collections?
Both Jeremy and myself work in different creative directions. I work inwards from an inspiration or idea and he works outwards from images that are suitable to use. We come together and brainstorm all of these ideas down to 15 images and then down to six. If we wouldn’t die for it, then it doesn’t get printed.
With all of our print selections, we want you to just wish you were there or feel as though you have been there. The prints transport you. There is also a strong animalistic presence in a lot of our styles.
When you are designing do you have an ideal girl in mind that you are designing for?
Each collection we have a different muse or WAH woman in mind, as do most designers, but mostly it is the women around family, friends and us.
Can you tell us about your upcoming collection and the inspiration behind it?
Each Spring/Summer we release two collections. The Matriarch falls on inspiration from the strong women in our lives that epitomise strength and femininity. You see this through the beautiful florals, bright colours and defined silhouettes. The Streets captures our visit to New York last year with a raw, edgy, urban feel.
Can we see any artist collaborations happening in the near future for We are Handsome?
Absolutely, we love collaborating with other brands and projects. We’re really interested in collaborating with musicians and style icons too, as this allows us to continue the flow of our creativity and bring other people’s inspiration to life.
Do you have any advice for those wishing to make a name for themselves in the fashion design world?
While it’s not easy and takes A LOT of work, you just have to go ahead and do it! We collaborated on this one-time project, and now, we are here.
And just quickly….
My favourite designer is… So many but at the moment, Salvatore Ferragamo. So beautiful and injected with colour.
When I’m not working, my downtime usually involves… A glass or five of wine at my favourite local haunt and catching up with my girls. You have to make the most of any spare time you can find.
The best city/country in the world is… Sydney, Australia. Sydney has magic to it that a lot of other cities don’t have. We love spending time here, at the beach, on the harbour, in the city as well as out in the bush. As kids, almost all of our vacations were Aussie beach side holidays and we keep those memories and destinations close to us at all times.
With The Matriarch collection becoming available July/August in Australia this year, you can check out past collections, stockists and shop over at wearehandsome.com or see more at their Facebook page.