Elena Occidente
JUICEBOX 23 Day In the life of a fashion intern
Elena Occidente
By ANASTASIOS MOIRAS
JUICEBOX : How has this year been for you ?
From London ’ s Central saint martins To LAnvin paris
ELENA : This is my final year of the BA Fashion Design Womenswear course I am attending at Central Saint Martins and it has been a very exciting and extremely intense one until now . It has not finished yet but the hand in is very soon and I can say I feel very satisfied about the result I have achieved with my collection . Throughout the year I had to stay focused and work very hard all the time but I feel this is the time where I can really express myself through my clothes and I put a lot of effort into everything I have done and I am still doing .
When did you realize you wanted to become a fashion designer ?
This is a difficult question to answer fully , because I think you can never really be sure about what you want to become . I have always loved to express myself through drawing because I found it such an immediate and direct medium to show your feelings and your thoughts . However I started to be really interested in fashion after my Foundation year at LCF . That year has been crucially important for my further development because I really understood that I could use my skills to draw clothes and design garments . I absolutely loved the idea that my drawing would eventually turned into real 3D pieces , into something real that I could touch and wear . Fashion is a passion that keeps on growing year after year . I think you should really go along with what you love and try to make it
into a real and successful career .
How would you define your city ’ s fashion ?
London ’ s fashion is a pure freedom . I feel this is really a city where everyone can express his / her own personality in an athentic way and because this is a city where loads of cultures live together and share the same environment , there is a pure mixture of styles . Street style is very inspiring for the creation of new silhouettes and shapes . Part of my research consists in looking at the people around me and trying to find interesting details or colours , shades , textures . Sometimes just the way a person wears a garment can be the starting point of an exciting process of design .
What are some of your accomplishments as a designer ?
As a new and young designer I feel very lucky I got the chance to take part of this BA course in CSM . I have learnt how it is important to always keep your personality and try to be as authentic as possible in order to create a very genuine and interesting work . I also had the opportunity to work in the fashion industry during my year out and to attend an amazing internship at Lanvin . For sure this final year collection is one of my best achievements .