POP.SEE.CUL

MEET POP.SEE.CUL DESIGNERS PIA HAKKO AND PELIN YASAR. THEIR PERSONAL, SARCASTIC, AND WITTY APPROACH TO design is just what we love. The Unlimited sat down with the two inspiring women to see what they are up to.

Tell us how pop.see.cul started and when and where?  

Pop.see.cul started in London three years ago while we were at college. We decided to start an art and design blog and use it as a visual diary for our work and inspirations. The brand itself authentically emerged two years ago when we decided to do a t-shirt collection that reflected the blog's mood and character. 

Who writes the brilliant copy for your line ?  Our moods seem to have a secret way of working simultaneously (which is great for bitter comments on days we feel blue, which then gets placed on shirts) and synchronicity keeps us on the same page.

What inspires you to create? Everything from little conversations we hear from strangers to philosophical quotes. Movies, music, TV shows, books, magazines. 

Where would you like to be in 5 years?  First and foremost, mentally happy and still as passionate as we are now—if not more— about our work. It would also be ideal if we were physically in between London, New York and Istanbul, with pop.see.cul shops in each city. As an ongoing way of expanding the company, we constantly add new products each season and aim for the brand to get bigger and bigger. 

If you had a pick a city that fits your brands the most which would it be and why ? London! Because it is Pop.see.cul’s birthplace and just like the brand, it’s exciting, sarcastic, clever and ageless. 

I love your FOREVER IS A PLACE line, something about the text you use makes my feels its very personal who do you design for?  Oh, anyone and everyone! Ex-boyfriends, current boyfriends, enemies (not that we have any!), friends that just get you, parents, strangers… For every collection we aim to create a story and a personality to go along with it. For our latest "Forever is a Place" collection, we got inspired by the emotional connection between cities and people. How cities affect us, how they make us feel at home.

Tell us a secret ? We’re both pretty good with harmless lies.

Whats on your playlist this spring ?

Singtank - Suspicious Minds

The Dead Weather - I Cut Like A Buffalo 

Soko - We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow 

Kraftwerk - The Model 

(You can check all our favorite music on our blog under “Music for the Week”)

http://popseecul.com

Designer Profile: Jessica Horwell

Hardware LDN Creator Jessica Horwell is Just as Badass as her Clothes

“It just wasn’t my thing, being told what to do, I wasn’t good at it when I was 3 let alone when I was 23. ”

I started it back in 2012, and I started it because I actually found like a load, in my friend’s shed a little house in the country side, I found these little eyelets and chains and bolts. And I just like picked them up and was playing with them, and then I started making like jewelry. Then I thought, I’m going to go to a hardware shop and bought loads more things and started making jewelry from everything I got from a hardware shop. That was where I got the name Hardware from. And then I just thought why not just make like a little clothing range, and see how it went. I did that and well I started to really love it. I have always had like a massive passion for clothes ever since like, you know, trying on my mum’s clothes. I have always been really into fashion. My mum always made my clothes from a young age, so I was like exposed to it from really young. And, I don’t know I have always been really into clothes myself and stuff, but never expected to be a designer.

Because, I don’t know I just never did, but once I did my first range of clothes I just really fell in love with it. Before that I did a bit of styling and I was assisting with like Rihanna and Tinie Tempah, Eliza Doolittle, but it wasn’t creative enough for me. Too much like, excuse my language, like bitch work. I don’t know I just preferred the more creative side and like just sort of creating basically. It was much more satisfying.

My last collection trailer trash was done in the UK but my new collection was done in LA. I’m based in the UK, like I am a born and bred London girl, but I sort of had this massive draw to LA. I went there and my mission was to find a factory, it’s not really that much cheaper than the UK, but when you go down to the fashion district there and see the fabrics and everything they have its really inspiring. So for me that just worked out really well. And also I would much rather go live in LA for like two months do my collection than live in London but have to go up to like Lancaster you know.

“For recognition you say someone like Rihanna and stuff, but I think if I could dress anybody I would probably go back to the 90s and dress Salt-n-Peppa”

I want to do more accessories, I’m bringing out my pair of sunglasses its one pair two different color contrasts. I really want to go back to doing some really cool jewelry. And I eventually want to do it in like solid gold and like real diamonds, real stones you know. Just keep pushing it and pushing it to even higher quality products than I am doing right now. Cause the quality and stuff is really important. And I want to do like different types of collections; collections that are more accessible and cheaper for people, and I also want to do those really high end pieces that only appeal to the sort of high end market. I want to keep it really diverse but also do want to do the expensive stuff. I just want to see it grow from like strength to strength, cause I have got like good recognition now things are still a struggle

...ok, It’s not a struggle but it is challenging when you’re getting big orders and you have to get the money to fund for the orders and stuff. But, I just want to see it basically get easier and also I just want to see it grow and grow and grow and I want to see it blow up in Asia. I want to see it really blow up in America and stuff. Also, London, and you know these places have got recognition for the brand right now but I want them to like really know about it. And I want to do like big events and stuff like that cause I am really into music and I also DJ so like, I really want to push the events side of things.