Madeleine Harman and Jessica Grubiša, Harman Grubiša
ON THEIR FEMALE MUSES
H: “To date, our winter 2016 ‘Dakota’ range has been our strongest illustration of female muses. It was really an ode to the woman who holds her own. The Dakota is an historic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with a legacy spanning 130 years. It has been home to a raft of notable leading ladies, including Lauren Bacall, and Roberta Flack. Jess and I were reading about it a lot at the time of designing the collection (we share books!) and in turn, Maya Angelou, Jean Harlow and Nina Simone became namesakes for key pieces that carried the spirit of our Dakota story; the heroine, a woman empowered.”
ON THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE THEM
H: “Nowadays, it’s our clients and people within the industry who are creative and kind, who do amazing things, and are true to themselves and what they believe in. I was also brought up by a strong, beautiful woman, who is without a doubt an inspiring force in my life.”
G: I’m inspired by any woman who is confident enough to be herself. And Miuccia Prada, always.”
ON THE HARMAN GRUBIŠA BRAND ETHOS
G: “The reason we got into fashion is to make women feel beautiful. Our ethos as a brand is to cater to that.”
H: “Agreed. That whole concept of preying on women’s insecurities to sell product is completely counter to everything we believe in.”
ON ‘FEMINIST FASHION’
H&G: “In our job we see a lot of women afraid to be themselves, or apologising for themselves, and that, to us, is the biggest downfall of the whole conversation. It’s not our role to tell women how to look, or how to feel. We both believe strongly in the equality of sexes, and we think women should be celebrated just as much as men.”
ON TRUMP, GENDER EQUALITY, AND THE WOMEN’S MARCH
H: “The Women’s March was a retaliation of women being persecuted. It was brave and it was necessary and so obscene that it even needed to happen.”
G: “‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, then you have chosen the side of the oppressor’ — Desmond Tutu.”
“The reason we got into fashion is to make women feel beautiful”