Each season we gather around our design table and conjure up what we will design next. It doesn’t matter how many times I have done this, I love this part of the design process!
For our Holiday '17 collection, we decided we would channel our inner royalty and we started dreaming of all things opulent...pretending we were queens or better yet, rock royalty for the day. We channeled silk-like, body skimming dresses, matching separates, and lofty knits all in eye-catching fabrications with whispers of opulence along with feminine florals and the idea of pairing denim on denim. We imagined our muse channeling pure rock irreverence as she played dress-up, wrapping herself in our most coveted pieces. We dreamed the end result would mean capturing our collection on film in some castle in a faraway land and when we actually found our " Castle in the Sky,” we were thrilled!
Our collection came to life better than we could have imagined and we didn’t have to go very far as we stepped foot in The Villa Leon. This magical castle sits high above the sea, just outside the hustle of LA in Pacific Palisades. It was built in 1928 by Kenneth MacDonald for wool manufacture Leon Kauffman. His original design and furniture are still there today offering up Eighteenth-century French and Italian style with walnut paneled walls in the dining room overlooking the ocean, polychrome beams with an overwhelming amount of detail throughout the dramatic theater size living room, Regency Revival chandeliers in the entry with a winding marble staircase. The home has a countless number of bedrooms along with an entire secret floor that we never got to explore. We heard they throw amazing parties at this home...if only the walls could talk!
So much of our story is told through the campaign and our beautiful muse, Barbara Di Creddo along with photographer Brydie Mack who took it to a new level for us. What a dream it is to get to create every day and work with such an inspiring group of women. Together we brought our vision to life and I am so thankful to the entire team for all they did to create this collection and campaign.
xx, Mandy
Check out below for some behind the scenes images from our latest collection “Castle in the Sky” and shop the collection, here.
Shot by Stefanie Vinsel at Vitae
