Noblivity Spotlights Belinda Liu
Label/Designer: Belinda Liu
How did you get started?
When I think about fashion design I do not think about a certain moment in time when “it” happened. It started naturally, when I was little. Every piece of material that came in my hands ended up in a sort of garment for my dolls or even for me. Doing it professionally was a rather daring business decision.
What inspires your designs?
Inspiration comes from everywhere but mostly, from what I’ve noticed, usually it emerges from a character, be it fictive or real. A female character with attitude.
How would you describe your design style, design signatures and who is your targeted customer?
I tend to be simple and classic but there are moments, and of course, collections in which you can find a little bit of sophisticated craziness and an apparent mess. As about the targeted customer, it has no national or racial limits and most of all no age. The ideal customer may want to play a role at a given occasion. And be in tune with its outfit.
What designer’s inspires you?
Designers do not inspire me. But there are some, I do admire for their work.
What obstacles did you have to overcome?
Many issues related to business management need to be dealt with on a daily basis. There are obstacles relating to production, trade, marketing and sales. Design comes hand in hand with running a fashion label and this is a continuous effort. Design is not a romantic occupation made by a princess in the castle tower.
How did you overcome them?
With any issue I firstly had to admit it existed and started to deal with it. Avoiding or hoping issues will simply pass will just make things worse.
What has been your greatest moment on your journey so far?
Greatest things for me may appear as simple things to others. For example, you got a material and you transformed it into something that is very close to a legerdemain. That’s a great moment. But the greatest moment and feeling of all is when people appreciate your work and of course, love your collections.
What has been the biggest change in your design so far?
LFW is a gig change.
If money were no object what would you do right now?
A dangerous trap in life is doing less when money is no object. I would want to continue to be active: the more interesting it gets when more is at stake.
What are the best and worst things about being a designer?
The best thing, for me is that I actually do what I love to do. The worst thing is that creation does not always fit together with business management. Setting my mind on the day to day management issues is actually a big challenge.
Describe your typical day?
In the morning I check all my emails to ensure all the ones that need to be dealt with on a daily basis get responded to. I tend to go out in the evenings with friends. After a hectic day I get up in the morning and I wished I had drunk less last night.
What’s you philosophy of life?
Clean up your act and put things in order when there’s a mess around you. Start destroying things with no delay if there is too much order.
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Less mistakes.
When will you know you have made it?
Hopefully never. There must always be something ahead to achieve.
