为了篇幅和清晰度，这篇采访经过了轻微的编辑.
麦茜·施洛斯(视觉艺术, 2009) knew that she wanted to be a fashion designer from a young age and recalls the influence that old runway videos had on her in the early 2000s. 她对视觉艺术的热爱使她在大二的时候进入了学院, where she was able to fully envelop herself in the arts with a newfound sense of independence and artistic freedom.
After graduation, Maisie’s love for fashion design took her to New York City where she studied at Parsons School of Design. 大学毕业后很快, Maisie moved across the country to Los Angeles where she began working for Yeezy and later launched her own label called Maisie Wilen.
Maisie现在是美国冉冉升起的时尚设计师协会的成员, 纽约时装周的设计师, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 artist. She has been making waves in the fashion industry since her time at The Academy.
Read more about Maisie’s time at The Academy and her life post-Academy below.
跟我们说说你在学院的日子吧.
我主修视觉艺术，2009年毕业. 我在大二的时候转学，这对我来说是一次很棒的经历. I felt really well served at the school; I felt connected to school in a way that I hadn’t before. It was a really encouraging place and a place with so much creative exploration and development.
这所学校和你以前上过的其他学校有什么不同?
它真的很擅长培养每个人. Everybody has a really unique thing going and it’s really embraced and celebrated. 和典型的体验相比, it’s a lot of people who have vision and direction and really love to see that in others, 那真是太棒了.
离开学院后的生活是怎样的?
毕业后，我去了帕森斯学院学习时装设计. 我在纽约生活了6年，包括上学的时间. I worked a few jobs there before relocating to LA where I started working at Yeezy and ultimately launching my own label. It’s been great. I went to The Academy knowing I wanted to be a Fashion Designer and I kept very consistently on my path, 所以很高兴我能够一如既往地追求这个目标. I’ve been in LA now for 7 years and have always either been studying art and design or working directly in it.
How do you think your time here at The Academy prepared you for college and post-college life?
Especially just the arts training – even at Parsons where they’re theoretically selective and I used a portfolio to apply – I felt very ahead going in. I felt like I was very good both with having learned some technical skills but also creatively understanding how to develop a concept. I feel like I had a bit of art college-adjacent experience before I even went in [to college]. It was definitely an easier and more seamless transition for me than my fellow students who had gone to more traditional high schools. 我刚进去的时候占了先机.
学院真的允许你如此独立. I feel like, 在传统高中, 你的一生都系在这个小泡泡上, 而(在学院)你被给予了很长的约束, 每个人都有独立的生活. 当你过渡到大学时，你的独立性会有所帮助. It’s less of a culture shock than people who come from really structured and regimented environments. 正是这种自由让我在学校感觉很舒服.
你能介绍一下你最近的一些展览和系列吗?
I run on a pretty atypical fashion schedule where I show a little less than most people; I show twice a year, 也就是说每六个月我就会有一个全新的系列. The hologram show (Fall and Winter 2022 Collection) was a collaboration with Yahoo, 这让我有了一个超级高科技的元素. 老实说，我是边走边学的. 他们只是说:“嘿, we have this really cool technology that can capture holograms” and I was like, “Cool. I want to do that. 我绝对想这么做.” It was at this insane studio they had in LA and I think there were 150 cameras around this green screen room – it looked so cool. 这比我以前做过的任何事情都更像是一次电影拍摄. 我们让模特们表演——我们让一个女孩假装哭, 我们让一些女孩对着镜头笑. 给出这样的方向也是全新的. 这是一次独特的经历，绝对是一种展示服装的新方式.
A common theme in my work is considering how technology can both affect the view of clothes as well as the creation of clothes. 我想那是因为, 作为一个从2000年代开始关注时尚的人, 我和它的关系一直都是数字化的. 我在电脑上和博客上看旧节目. And of course now, 社交媒体是我们看待时尚和营销的主要方式, 人们看到彼此穿着衣服, and that digital sharing of clothing is such a huge element of why it’s created. 我喜欢思考如何以这种方式操纵设计.
你现在在忙什么?
这项工作从来没有萧条的时候. I am always simultaneously working on producing whatever I’ve just sold for large production and distribution while developing the next collection. I will have a new collection ready in February… I should be further along on it than I am, 但我正在努力, so it’s fine. 我要和Keds合作了，这让我很兴奋. 我花了很长时间才做出来的. We are releasing 4 pairs of sneakers together and they will finally be available for sale, 我们将举行一个盛大的聚会来庆祝. 这是即将出现的下一件大事.
Maisie与Keds的合作于11月18日发布. 在这里查看独一无二的系列: http://www.keds.com/en/maisie-wilen/.
What is one piece of advice you would give to an incoming Visual Arts freshman and one piece of advice you would give to an outgoing Visual Arts senior?
对于即将到来的新生: 拥抱自由和独立，你可以在学院. It will help creatively; it will give you such a strong identity.
即将离任的长者: 尽量把那种(自由和独立)带在身边, 在你继续前进的过程中，试着保持真正的创新精神.
