Hi, We’re Daniel Feld and Wesley Nault, also known as WesFeld, the design team that won the Plastics Make It PossibleSM designer competition. The response we’ve been getting over the first few weeks, since winning, has been so wonderful! We are so excited to be part of this and begin our journey to New York Fashion Week. So, we thought we’d give everyone some insight as to how we got involved with Plastics Make it PossibleSM, and answer a few of the most popular questions we’ve been asked….
How’s the collection going?
Actually, great. We’re about halfway through designing and finishing the collection we are showing at the New Garde show during New York Fashion Week. It’s very whimsical and fun. The challenge is that we want to design complete looks: accessories, shoes… so we’re working pretty much around-the-clock to realize the vision.
How did you get involved in the competition?
We have been dreaming up this collection for a while. When we saw the Gen Art announcement, we thought it was a perfect fit. We had the two dresses almost done, and because we like working with innovative materials in ways people don’t expect, we thought that we had a good chance.
What does winning the competition mean to you?
To get this grant is just incredible. The funding means that now we have the time to immerse ourselves in our design work, to pay for studio time and rent. We’re just really grateful for the opportunity. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and we’re lucky that our current employers were nice enough to let us out of our day jobs to do this collection.
Especially in today’s economy, it’s really difficult to showcase your art as a young, unestablished designer. We’ve been given a really rare opportunity, and we are putting our hearts and souls into this collection.
Plastic? Fashion?
Oh yes. Plastic-based fabrics are allowing us to realize our vision and innovate in ways no other fabric can compete with. They allow us to be really creative. For example we found this amazing nylon mesh that is just so easy to work with: incredible texture and we can even dye it. It’s great. What many people don’t realize is, nylon is actually made with plastic fiber.
Especially in drape and structure, these plastic-based fabrics give us a really clean look and finish. Fabrics like duchess satin and linen, two commonly used fabrics, leave terrible creases as soon as you wear them. The plastic-based versions are more resilient and don’t do that, which make them incredibly easy to work with.
That’s it for now… back to stitching! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.
Thanks so much!
Dan & Wes
