Image courtesy of Aedan Macdonald
A true modern renaissance man designer Aedan Macdonald has a background in art, architecture, and even high-end carpentry. With his latest artistic endeavor, women's wear brand Holographic Universe, Macdonald draws inspiration from his eclectic past and his current life in Los Angeles to create pieces that will speak to a whole new generation of art-meets-fashion fans.
Style Wylde caught up with Macdonald just after the New York Spring 2015 Runway Show season ended to chat about Holographic Universe and life on the left coast.
SW: Reading your bio, it seems you’ve spent a fair amount of time living and working in other international fashion capitals, what made you settle on LA as your home base? Where is your favorite place to go in LA to be inspired?
AM: There isn't any other place I could imagine living at the moment. The city itself was built around the film and music industry, which in turn means I get to live in a city of dreamers pursuing their creative endeavors. For me this makes LA one of the most inspiring places in the world to live—and the weather definitely doesn't hurt either.
SW: Is there something about the scene, or social attitude in LA that makes it a great match for Holographic Universe?
AM: I think for me this relates back to why I moved here in the first place. On top of the fact that the city has and always will be filled with amazing creatives, there is also a shift of a lot of amazing talented artists moving to LA because of how expensive New York has gotten. All of these things combined have created something really special in LA at the moment.
SW: I understand Holographic Universe is a collaboration between yourself and Argentinian multi-media artist Pilar Zeta, and you even had your look book shot by electronic music producer Jimmy Edgar, do you think the vast and varied entertainment culture in LA makes this type of collaboration easier?
AM: This season I have collaborated with Pilar Zeta on the prints. I have worked with her in the past on a small capsule collection and those looks were shot by Jimmy Edgar. Being in LA definitely helps in that I am surrounded by some of the most talented people in the world. Because of this it makes it really easy to be able to find other like minded people to work and collaborate with.
SW: Do you have any plans to contribute with other artists in the future? Who would be a dream collaborator (music or art industry) to work with?
AM: Definitely, every season or two I will be collaborating with a new artist on prints for the line. The interaction of people in different immersive environments has always been intriguing to me so I would love to collaborate with James Turrell. His ability to influence people's perception of reality is inspiring and I have always thought it would be amazing to build a small collection playing on the lightscapes and environments that he creates.
SW: Let’s talk about the Spring 2015 collection. It’s a cheesy question, but I gotta ask, Who is the “Holographic Universe” girl? What does she do for a living? Where does she hang out in your art-meets fashion pieces?
AM: She is an individual, creative, sexy, youthful, she works hard but still manages to go out 5 nights a week, she works in a job where she is able to surround herself with other creatives. At night you can find her at a gallery opening, catching an independent film, or having drinks with her friends.
SW: Flipping through your look book, I am noticing a lot of architectural details and artful prints, do you find yourself drawing the bulk of your design inspiration from these two worlds- what else inspires you?
AM: Architecture and industrial design is where I take most of my inspiration from. I am currently obsessed with 80's and 90's Bang and Olufsen advertisements and find these slipping into my work in various ways. On this collection I started with the prints before anything else so that was a clear guiding light for colors and some of the shapes we used this season.
SW: And finally, what’s on the horizon for Holographic Universe AW 2015?
AM: You'll have to stay tuned to find out.
Starting in the Spring of 2015 Holographic Universe will be available online at NastyGal.com. For more information on the label be sure to visit the official Holographic Universe home page.