“trends don’t really interest me very much. I do the things that I find interesting.”
TECH TALK
courtesy
Squarespace’s chief creative officer David Lee fills us in on why he decided to collaborate with Malkovich.
Have you learned anything about your clientele? Not yet. Someone wrote to me the other day—a professional hockey player in Montreal that I had met—and he said, “You know what pisses me off about you?” And I said, “I have no idea, probably lots of stuff.” He said, “I love your clothes, but I can’t buy them anywhere.” He found out he can have them delivered in Maine, and he drives there to go pick them up. I’m hoping to get set up [globally] quickly and simply. If you had the time to explore another creative outlet, what would it be? I’ve been meeting with architects to solve various issues at our house, and I like furniture, tiles, and all those kind of things. I wish I had more time to draw or paint, but I don’t know that I’ll ever have that kind of time. Right after the fabric fair, I start rehearsals for a new opera/theater hybrid. I work a lot in classical music, which I’ve done for years. I’ve done various things, from writing and adapting things to directing or acting in them. I go on with my little life, doing my little things, but it’s a pretty busy life, all in all. ß
How did you team up with John? I first met John when we collaborated on playinglynch.com. We got into a casual chat about his desire to launch a menswear collection under his own name. At first, I was surprised, until I realized that John’s journey was the same kind of career transition we’ve seen in so many of our Squarespace customers. His background in costume design, theater, and acting all came together in a cohesive, unique vision for his collection. For him, this business wasn’t just a side project—it was the next stage of his career. This presented the opportunity for us to co-design a beautiful e-commerce template to bring John’s vision to life and launch his collection, and is now something anyone could use as a starting point for their own online store. How does that work? We turned the design into a collaborative template called Jaunt, which is now available to all Squarespace customers as a starting point for their own passion. What’s surprised you most about John’s vision? I had the opportunity of going through his early sketches, fabrics, and textiles. It was amazing to see how he draws insights from his travels and his time on set as he lives vicariously through other characters. He uses all this inspiration to inform his vision for the fashion line. If you’re getting a piece from his collection, you’re getting a small story from his life.
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M