Q & A with Finnish menswear designer Marjut Uotila & Dusty for Topman LENS Spring-Summer 2010

What is your background as a designer? How did the label get started?

I studied fashion in Finland and in Paris. The idea of starting my own
menswear collection first came to mind when living in Paris in 2000, when
I realized the lack of inspirational menswear even in the fashion capital.
I did the first Dusty collection as my graduation work and got encouraging
feedback. Soon after graduation I started my own company. Lucky coincidence
was a Japanese buyer discovering Dusty in Helsinki. I continued developing
the collection and did several collections mainly for them. In 2007 I thought
the time was right to concentrate solely on Dusty and quit all other design jobs
I had been doing. First collection shown internationally was Spring-Summer 2008
in Paris and after that we've shown the collection every season in Paris.

What is your main target group?

Young men all around the world in search of something new and special in
menswear. Even so, I always aim to design wearable clothes, and keep in
mind the artistic viewpoint.

How did the co-operation with Topman begin?

Topman's Design Director Gordon Richardson and Matthew Murphy
(founder of b Store, London), who also coordinates Topman Lens collections,
discovered Dusty in Paris and asked me to join the Lens team. I'm very happy that
through Topman a much wider audience finds Dusty's design.


What are the key elements in your Dusty SS 2010 collection?

It's called 'Cover - Reveal'. There are garments with fringes actually
revealing more than covering. Also a lot of braided, plaited and knitted
details, characters very typical to Dusty. Colours are black and white,
with some blue tones. Also note that all the materials are organic cotton.
My favourite piece is the fringe-back T-shirt, there is a real superhero
feeling in it.

Does any designer excite and inspire you in the fashion world today?

There are a lot of small independent menswear designers with a great
hands-on attitude and brilliant ideas doing never-seen-before things,
that also girls would like to wear. Overall, I think that the most fascinating
trends are coming from the menswear scene.

What about the future?

New collection coming in June. Make Dusty bigger and better,
there is still a lot of young men to reach.

http://www.dusty.fi/