California Apparel News

With so many celebrities getting into the rag trade these days, how do they take on the challenge of designing a line? First off, have a designer/stylist Mom. Tina Knowles has been creating glamorous looks on stage for the Grammy-winning group Destiny’s Child and its members, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Beyonceacute;, since the beginning of their careers. She is now the co-creative director for the House of Dereacute;on, the clothing line inspired by her daughter and fashion icon, Beyonceacute;. The line, named after Knowles’ mother and professional seamstress, the late Agneacute;z Dereacute;on, is a young contemporary sportswear line that is already licensed to make denim, fur, shoes and handbags. Accessories and lingerie are in the works. A preview of the line was seen on stage with the 60 costumes worn by Rowland, Williams and Beyonceacute; as they performed their last international tour.

California Apparel News Fashion Editor N. Jayne Seward caught up with Knowles backstage in Los Angeles near the end of the “Destiny’s Child: Destiny Fulfilled” tour to find out more about the House of Dereacute;on.

What inspired you to launch the line?

It’s actually been a dream of mine for a long time. I started styling the girls, and I would always have people—the fans—come up to me and say “When are you going to have a clothing line?” People started approaching us about doing the line. But most of the people we talked to only wanted to put Beyonceacute;’s name on the line and my involvement to be just for publicity and not actually be a designer and design the line. I’m really a designer. I’ve been designing all my life. I made her a promise that the line would reflect her style and it would be something that she’d be proud of and that she would love to wear. It would not just be slapping her name on a product. That’s not what we wanted it to be.

How would you define your design philosophy?

I’m all about the fit. I’m just a fanatic when it comes to clothes that are tailored well and that fit and flatter the body. That’s what I’ve been fighting for the most. We sent the jeans back maybe six times. They were so sick of us because Beyonceacute; and myself kept trying them and trying to improve the fit so that they look good on everybody—not just someone in their 20s or somebody that’s thin, but also curvy girls and older women my age. Rather than having a fit session with a perfect figure fit model, we had about six regular people come in from different age groups with different bodies. The jeans looked good on everybody and that’s when we knew they were right.

Who is your target customer?

We hope to not pigeonhole ourselves with age groups because I shop at a lot of the same places that my daughters shop now and I’m 51 years old. We hope that our clothes will appeal to women from 15 to 50 years old. When you have nice classic blouses, beautiful sundresses and tailored jackets that you can go from work to evening—there’s something for everybody. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.

How would you describe the look of the line?

The look is all about fit and details. The House of Dereacute;on is based around my mother, who did a lot of hand smocking and hand beadwork. We want to create that sensibility of detail so every time you see a piece of House of Dereacute;on you will say, “Oh, wow, look at the detail on it.” How do you translate the look from the stage into the clothing line?

They are wearing the House of Dereacute;on, but it’s the House of Dereacute;on that we designed for the stage. A lot of the pieces will be put into production for Fall because a lot of them—like the bomber jacket with the fox collar—we’ve had a lot of requests for. One of the dresses that they have on are all rhinestones. So, we will do a version of that, but it doesn’t have as many stones. You will see a little sparkle, but it’s the style and the print of what we’re doing. Almost all of the things you see, like the Spanish-style silk skirts, we’ll do a version of those. You can do the same thing, but it has to be with less sparkle. I just believe in stage clothes looking like stage clothes and not like your street clothes because you’re trying to entertain at a concert. And the person in the 40th row cannot see you if you’re in a street dress or a suit. Of course, on stage you want everything to be sparkly and bigger than life, but you can kind of bring it down a few notches for the street.

What inspires the style each season?

It’s current fashion and it’s also her vision. For instance, with the tour, Beyonceacute; went over all the steps and all the songs that they were doing. She said on the first one, “I want some capes and I want it to be chiffon and I want it blowing in the wind.” She gives us the idea and we take it from there. For [the song] “Soldier,” she said, “I want us to look like soldiers, but not literally soldiers, but a tough streetwear-type thing.” So we did the leather and the crosses. She has a definite idea and always has since she was 12, since they started. She’s always got this vision and she’s always thinking about the next thing so she makes my job a lot easier.

Is Beyonceacute; involved in designing the line?

Absolutely. I think she could be a designer if she wanted to be. She doesn’t have time, but she does have a lot of input. And the jeans were her baby. So she was just adamant about them fitting a certain way and looking a certain way. What are the distinguishing difference with House of Dereacute;on jeans?

I think it’s the fit, and it’s also all about making the body look good. We incorporated a lot of the tricks that I used for the stage or for the girls in their costumes. One being, it was very difficult for Beyonceacute; to find a pair of jeans off the rack because she’s so curvy.

We’d get a pair of jeans and we’d most of the time have to alter the jeans. So with these jeans, we took that into consideration.

Tina Knowles’ denim design details and tricks learned from the stage:

bull; Darts for a great fit bull; Busted seams for easy alteration bull; Center back waistband seam for less gapping and a nice curvy look bull; Contouring coloring to make the legs look skinnier bull; A Creole inspired logo resembles a mother and child for the three generations of women in fashion—Agneacute;z, Tina and Beyonceacute;