…interview with le•top baby designer: Elena Kotchetova
Design sketches by head le•top baby designer MaryKate
Whenever I tell people what I do for a living, they always reply, “Wow, that is so cool!” Well, I do work for a great company with an amazingly talented designer, Marykate Fleming, who leads the design team for le•top baby. Sometimes we take for granted being able to say wonderfully bizarre things like, “That blue is 5% too red”, and “I’m thinking of a more shabby-chic-not-so-heavy pink…” or, my signature phrase, “That looks like cake, let’s go with that!” But, after an hour of serious discussion that the turtle looks too “round” or the elephant isn’t “fat” enough, and how getting the elephant weight just right is crucial, I don’t need to be reminded that designing is a very “cool” job. Cool, indeed!
A few views of Elena's le•top baby favorites: Lullaby Landing, Fall 08 Collection (l) and Baby Train Spring 09 Collection (r)
And here we are, already into the start of a new season (Spring 2010!), and well into the beginning of what is going to be another gorgeous le top baby collection. I’ve met with Marykate to discuss thread colors and the shades of ribbons, as well as other design details. Very exciting! My favorite groups have always been the “Precious Blue” baby boy groups. “Precious Blue” is a color we pretty much invented, and we feature it in our collection every season. I love the clean, fresh and soft look of these groups. My favorites include “Lullaby Landing” from Fall 2008 and “Baby Train” from Spring 2009. Of course, everyone has her favorites. Believe me, there are lots of beautiful groups to chose from!
This week we are dreaming about London, my favorite place in the world…so far! My best friend and I were lucky enough to visit in 2005. We still talk about it and wonder when we are going back! London is a hip city, but steeped in history. Some of my favorite sights of London are: Picadilly Circus where I dream of singing My Fair Lady tunes as I pick up some fresh flowers from the market, the British Museum where they house the largest collection of mummies outside of Cairo, Egypt (and where you are “not to climb on the Lions!” — oops!), the Tower of London where past kings and queens were imprisoned and/or awaiting death and where the Beefeaters still stand guard, then there’s Westminster Abby, Big Ben, the House of Parliament, and last but not least, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, always an extraordinary event! There is so much to see and do in London (there never seems to be enough time), not to mention that it’s only a train ride away to France and the rest of Europe! This would be the perfect time to go (if you can stand the rain).
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