FASHION
JEFFREY DODD TAKES US TO THE WILD, WILD SOUTHWEST
MARCH 3, 2020
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WORDS
by KRISTOPHER FRASER
PHOTOS
COURTESY of JEFFREY DODD
The desert can be a very reassuring place for some. It’s a reminder that there are things unchanged by modern culture and that there’s something left of Earth’s origins. Sometime, modern inspiration can be found in the unchanged though. Just ask Jeffrey Dodd, whose fall/winter 2020 collection was inspired by the desert and his travels to the Southwest, creating luxury with a nomadic feel.
His inspiration started out with a road trip through the American Southwest. He went to Santa Fe with his design team and visited the Hopi Reservation, where they got a tour from a member of the Hopi Tribe who introduced them to the Blue Canyon. There they were introduced to these bizarre terracotta rock formations that appeared similar to graffiti. This, along with a desire to bring craft and art to clothing, became the basis for fall/winter 2020.
Many of the pieces feature woven tweed fabric, where once the garment was stitched up the grosgrain would then be taken out to create fringe. The design team worked with Brooklyn-based textile artist Molly Hanes, who weaves on a loom. She is known for using discarded fibers, threads, and weavings and using a giant large set letter press to create prints.
If there is one thing Dodd prides himself on, it’s the technicality of his fabrics. “For me it’s about texture and depth,” Dodd said. “I like mixing fabrics. I’ll mix mink with hand knit fabrics and put it on a paper weight lamb skin.”
His fabrics featured every process from an enzyme wash to color removal. He even laminated wool to give it the look of leather. Like any good fashion designer he is also inspired by art. When he met Hanes, he was immediately drawn to her because he felt her art relates to this aesthetic. Aside from the American Southwest, he’s also been inspired by Italian disco-tech. For this season he wanted to glamourize the woman walking down the street in Santa Fe.
Jeffrey Dodd fall/winter 2020
“My fascination with the American Southwest began because I spent my summers there,” Dodd said. “My grandparents lived in Arizona, and since my parents were both school teachers we could just spend a month during the summer traveling around that area. I grew up in Iowa, so the landscape of the American Southwest was so different from where I grew up. It was one of those places where I could just let my guard down and be at ease. It reminds me of my childhood and escaping.”
He translated this nomadic, southwestern aesthetic for luxury customers all through his experimentation with textiles. Dodd says he never wants to be the literal designer who would put a cactus on a T-shirt, but, rather, he communicates his message and theme through use of color, texture, textiles, and the overall mood. “This was the first season I felt I had truly nailed it with the southwestern aesthetic I’d been going after for so long,” he said. “When we were doing fittings and one of the models was walking back and forth, I was just picturing how it looked like she was in Santa Fe.”
Dodd says his collection has evolved a lot from last year, but the underlining message is still there. “She is this woman who is uniquely modern, but she also wants clothes that she can wear that don’t wear her,” he said.
In addition to ready-to-wear, Dodd is also expanding his collection to include handbags, which is a category he’s very invested in building. After spending his first several seasons being very cautious about the product he produced, he finally feels like he can do more of what he wants. Going into his next season for spring, he plans on getting more experimental with textiles and fabrics.
“For a while I was doing what I think other people wanted and it reminded me of being back at art school,” Dodd said. “Now that I get to experiment, it makes my collections have more depth. In the past things have been a little too precious, but things have gotten a little less overtly thought out. I’ve come out of my shell more each season.”
Each season he starts off his design process with an 8 by 4-foot mood board that he starts pinning images on. He narrows it down to tell a story, and it always has to be about what he truly loves. As he reminded us, “I’m not a ballgown designer, you’re never going to get that out of me, I’m here to do what I truly love.”
Next on building the success of his fashion brand, his sales team is taking the collection to Paris Market Week. He also plans on developing more handbags, after debuting several clutch bag styles at his recent show. He’s also working on doing more custom for celebrities, and his private client business is also growing. In the next four months, he’s planning on rebuilding his brand’s website to launch e-commerce, which he says is the biggest thing for him right now.
The desert’s thirst for fashion has been quenched thanks to Jeffrey Dodd. Let’s see where this trip through the Southwest takes us next.
Jeffrey Dodd fall/winter 2020
