Thank you! The first thing that gets me started is a gut feeling of what I want the show to feel like. Then I work backwards and it continues to evolve from there. I’m very excited and grateful to share the brand with a growing audience! It’s really a dream come true for me.

I think the city has always inspired me as a whole. In high school, I used to go to this club called Bungalow 8, and the best part was always the outfits. I loved getting ready and seeing what everyone else was wearing. It was a celebrity hang out, and I loved the production of it all, like the heavy eye shadow, fur coats, sheer tops, tights, heels. I still love that today. Paris Hilton and Marc Jacobs would be there, and they really inspired me at the time! I called my first collection A love letter to NY because I wanted to encapsulate the upcoming generations of NY and the sense of freedom I saw in how they express themselves.

I normally get inspired by a concept first; like suiting, or workwear for instance. Then I consider the way in which I can approach the category, whether it be reconstructing old Carhartts, sourcing dead-stock fabrics, or working with textile artists on sustainably produced materials. There are many ways to go about it, so I try to stay really fluid with it and not have too many rules. I used to source a lot in California, but I have become a huge fan of eBay. It’s a bit of a gamble, but if you do your research you can find a lot of gems. Most recently, I have been developing sustainable materials in South America for my upcoming collection this September.

I include sustainable practices ranging from up-cycling and dead-stock materials to ethically produced new materials, or even my packaging being made from old Muslin scraps on the design floor. I think this results in a lot of experimentation and unexpected outcomes. For instance in our last show, I made a skirt out of 7 pairs of 501 Levi’s. It wouldn’t have had the same effect if I had made it from new denim. I think the beauty is often in its history seeping through.

I understand the need for affordable apparel, and I think it's very important to offer people a good value. Whether you sell lower price point goods or luxury goods, what matters most is the internal culture of a company and whether they take responsibility for their effect on the environment. I think it's a balance that we all need to consider. Like if your only goal is to beat last year's sales, your clothing quality and production ethics will probably be low. But if your only goal is ethical production and design, you can become too expensive for your audience. My goal is to find balance in the spectrum and provide opportunities for people to invest in a Sam Finger piece at varying price points. I think regardless of what side of the spectrum one is on, the incentive should be about choosing brands that not only speak to the customer but also make an effort to improve their environmental impact.

I love Kevin LeBlanc’s comment! It was so in line with what I wanted to say with the launch of the brand. I love the drama and creative expression fashion offers, but I also love the wearability of a garment too. Range is something I’m really excited to explore and expand upon in future collections by offering custom sizing, genderless options, varying price points and models that speak to all backgrounds. I want people to feel Sam Finger’s inclusivity when they explore the brand.

Mostly I’m inspired by any designers that take risks and stay true to themselves. Brands like Luar (Raul Lopez), Vaquera, and Puppets and Puppets inspire me for their authentic voices. In regard to sustainability, I think it’s very cool how Hodakova elevates and commercialises their up-cycling practices. That’s always really important to me when up-cycling; creating something that’s in-between being one-of-a-kind and also producible. 

I definitely had profiles in mind. I saw a kind of person in each piece as I designed it. But I cast completely through my own community. The universe really opened up at the time, and I felt like I just kept meeting people and being like “Do you want to model?”. It was really fun and organic. I cared more about what the person’s energy was then just a certain look. It was such a special experience and beautiful to see all the models getting along so well after the show. Many are still in touch with each other to this day!

A lot! I love the story each person tells in the clothes. So I cast each model and styled it [along with Jenny Assaf] so that each model told a story unique to themselves. I wanted the clothes to feel like they were elaborating, and at times exaggerating, the models identity.

Maybe I’m just feeling the heat this summer, but I definitely want this Spring/Summer to be hot! There’s a visceral feminine power and a wild masculine energy I am playing with. We’ll see how it evolves at the show this September!