Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta ConstantineRachel Idzerda/The Globe and Mail
It's been 10 years since Canadian designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong came together to form their fashion label Greta Constantine (named for Wong's mother and Pickersgill's grandma). Known for their ability fit and flatter the female form, the Toronto-based duo showed their latest collection in Paris earlier this month and are up for Womenswear Designer of the Year Award at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards in April. Here Pickersgill shares some of the secrets to their success, including why not all critics are created equal.
Everyone's a critic, but not every critic counts
We're pretty hard on ourselves, so if we're happy with the collection then it's all good. Not that we don't care about criticism, it's just that you can't get too caught up in it. One of the things today is that there is so much criticism out there with social media and fashion coverage online. You kind of have to decide which opinions you're going to value. There is one woman in the industry who we really like and whose opinion we really care about. We will always know if she liked a collection because she would come back and congratulate us. If she didn't come back, it was like – okay, well maybe she wasn't so fond of this one. That's one opinion we definitely cared about, but even then, you can't dwell too much. You take it in and then you move on.
The double-edged signature
Having a signature for your brand is a great thing, but it can also come with some challenges. When we started out we were the label that used jersey. Initially people thought we were crazy, because jersey can be unforgiving, but the way we did our draping of it was a big success. Of course that was wonderful, but then when we wanted to move away from jersey several years ago, that was tricky. We had buyers who really weren't interested in seeing anything else from us, even though as designers we were ready to evolve. What we did was we made sure to include a good chunk of jersey in the new collections while also introducing other things. We transitioned jersey out over time so that our buyers and our customers had a chance to evolve with us.
Low risk, low reward
Without risk there is no creativity. We have tried so many things over the past decade – sometimes it works out and sometimes it's just a learning experience or maybe it's just about getting something out of your system. We did a diffusion line called Primer – lower price point, a bit of a younger feel. Everyone was doing that at the time and we just wanted to give it a try. We also did a men's line, Ezra Constantine, which we have since discontinued. Do we regret doing those things? No way. I think working on those lines made us realize how much we wanted to focus on the core line and really making us feel more energized and revitalized about that.
The pitch-perfect partnership
We don't have major fights, but of course we're two different people with different views and taste. That's one of the reasons why our partnership works. One of the things we'll do when we don't have the same opinion on something is one of us will pitch the other. We'll say, "Okay, convince me." When you have to make a case out loud for why you like what you like or how it will work, that's very helpful in terms of arriving at an informed decision. By the time the discussion is over, we are always on the same page. It's like the answer is there, we just have to get to it by having a conversation.
Famous fans are great – devoted customers are better
Jennifer Hudson wore Greta Constantine on the cover of Fashion magazine, which was really exciting. We've had a lot of celebrities wear our clothing and of course that's something we love to see. What we love the most though is seeing a celebrity like Coco Rocha who chooses to wear Greta Constantine quite regularly. She is a fan and has become a friend and when she wears our clothing it's not just a one-time publicity deal organized through Twitter. With social media, it is a lot easier for designers to reach out to celebrities, but an authentic partnership isn't something a publicist can organize.
This interview has been edited and condensed by Courtney Shea.