Yara Flinn is a NY based designer who focuses on crafting pieces that are timeless and free from specific trends. An art history graduate from Oberlin College, Flinn is inspired by her personal life and incorporates art themes into her collection. “Since my background is more in art I’m more interested in lines, balance and texture. Last season it [my theme] was Japanese armoire. It’s not literal. It’s more about what defines it for me which is structure, symmetry, angles,” says Flinn. Her Spring 2011 line was influenced by her passion for basketball, she said, as she showed us an example of one of her dresses with netting (photographed above). She used inspiration from the lines, shapes and symmetry of a basketball net but never tried to evoke feelings of actual basketball in her clothing. The W hotel chain selected sponsored her show this NYFW, assisting her with production and allowing here to show at Lincoln Center. Her SS 2012 collection that debuted on September 14th was full of silk separates and dresses, with small eye catching asymmetry and detail. A few weeks ago we visited Yara in her shared Brooklyn studio. Below are a few of the things we discovered about this up-and-coming talent.
Tell us about your break into the industry.
I never had formal training in design. I went to Oberlin and studied art there. I experimented a little bit with clothing and made some hand-sown pieces. I was very interested in seeing clothing as performance and loved working on installations. I staged a lot of installations. I was never really interested in fashion as “fashion” and my installations had a lot of over the top pieces that were not necessarily wearable. But I loved that.
I then started working at Prada’s Art Foundation in NY. I was always exposed to the most beautiful pieces and I could never stop thinking about them. At one point they decided to close their NY office and that is when I decided to try out the clothing thing a bit more seriously.
I got some old patterns and modified them. Then I got 3 sample dresses made. My friend wore one to a meeting she had at Barney’s and soon after they had placed an order. I kept learning as I progressed. I worked out of my bedroom at first and just kept learning every season. I’m still learning now.
Nomia SS 2012 Collection
Who is your customer?
It is less of a demographic and more of a style of person. The personality of the person. Someone who appreciates designs and details and fabrics and quality. Every season I try to develop an idea or a theme but I’m not very trend oriented. I appreciate the minimalism of the 90’s, like designer Helmut Lang. Those pieces weren’t of a time. You can still wear their line and feel current. That is what I want, rather than having a really popular product that exhibits a trend. My Spring 2012 line is more about the ideas, the softness and the colors. I’m trying to appeal to a broader customer with more every day clothing rather than just special occasion pieces.
Nomia by The W Hotels
Yara Flinn Shopping Picks (Click to buy)
Shop One By Nomia now on ShopBop
Portrait of Yara by Naomi Shon
