blue tranz: Local Designer of the Week: Amber Watkins

Sitting in Starbucks I awaited the arrival of a young Ottawa native and designer who has blown the public away with her beautiful swim/lounge wear lines. As I sipped my coffee, I saw a tall blond woman enter with a long coat and a beautiful fur stole wrapped around her neck. As she introduced herself, removing her coat, I took note at how fashionable she looked. I remember thinking “now this is a designer!” Not a single piece was out of place, she looked like a true fashionista.

At the tender age of 27, Amber Watkins has already designed three different lines: Le Midi, Nautical Swimwear and La Belle Epoque. Have I mentioned that the young designer has no formal training? Not bad! I decided to take a couple of minutes with the busy designer to ask a couple of questions about her life, her line and the future of her swim/lounge-wear.

What made you want to design?

My grandmother she is a seamstress by trade, so she as always sewing when I was a kid and I would visit and watch her. I loved how you can take different fabrics and make one beautiful piece. She made a lot of wedding dresses, and bridesmaid’s dresses. Her mother was a designer and she taught her some stuff. It was just being around it. It was just in the family, we were always crafty. As I got older, I didn’t like my program so I started to sew instead of doing my homework. I had my mom’s sewing machine with me and I would make outfits and sketching when I was on campus.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you go started.

I am a graduate from Carleton’s Criminology program. Two years ago I started working on Parliament Hill and a little over two years ago, I started to design for the public instead of creating my own clothes. It just happened that in December 2008, my friend was in charge of organizing a designing competition. I decided that I was going to try out to see how I stacked up against other designers. I didn’t end up going into the finals, so that first year it was fun, a lot of work and stressful and I didn’t really achieve anything. But with encouragement from friends and family, I continued to work on my designs and I came back the next year with a stronger collection and a clearer point of view. I ended up winning the designing competition and I was sent to fashion week in New York, not to show just to watch. I started to do a ton of events in 2010. Somebody asked me if I could do swimwear and I thought that I could try it. I loved swimwear, it is easier to do financially as it takes less fabric, so I started organizing my own events and I started getting interest from this own girl that had done her own events in Ottawa. She and I started to pair up and we put together events and shows, mostly in nightclubs and charity events. Now we are business partners. In a span of a year in a half I started from doing it on my own, just as a hobby, to the year when I am going to attempt to put in motion as a business.

What makes your swimwear unique?

I think what it is it’s not that sort of generic sporty, Roxy-type, swimwear. I feel like there is no swimwear on the market that is really for that mid-20s to mid-30s range. I know a lot of women that do not know where to find a swimsuit; they can’t find something that is flattering and different. I am focusing on unique items in small quantities so that people feel like they are getting something new and completely original. My swimwear focuses on accentuating femininity and catering to different body types.

Where can they be purchased?

I halted any production at the moment because I want to manufacture and put together a line. I want to show at Ottawa Fashion Week and Montreal Fashion Week. That’s my goal for this year. I had to stop shop because I have my other jobs, so it’s hard for me to focus on all of this, to sew and put together a solid business plan.

When should we be expecting your line?

End of this year for sure. My goal is to be in Spring/Summer 2012 Ottawa Fashion Week for this Fall 2011.

Do you think there is a fashion scene in Ottawa?

The problem is that the resources are hard to access. What is hard as a designer is that you have to go to Toronto or to the Quebec area to get a manufacturer. There are some fabric stores, but it’s not like in Toronto where you can shop for blocks. There is a fashion scene, but is there a fashion designer scene? Most people usually don’t stay because the problem is that there is a lack of accessibility of resources.

Do you have any words of wisdom?

There is a small pool in Ottawa, so if you want to make a name for yourself quickly then it’s a great place to be because there are so few designers. If you start doing events, like charity events, people will recognize your name. Furthermore, there is an understanding between photographers, models and designers. When everyone contributes to a shoot, everyone gets prints of the photos, it’s a great trade-off for people who are just starting out. And photographers, models and make-up artists can be easily found. In the end, there is a small pool in Ottawa but its definitely still quality.

Le Midi 2010