Every season, American Vintage offers timeless pieces as well as more trend-oriented creations. Designer Camille Dorange sat down with us to talk about prints.
Photos: Pepe Lobez for American Vintage
Could you describe the process of creating AMV prints?
“Like everything at American Vintage, the process is organic. The first thing I do is go on a trip—often to London or Paris—to get inspiration and draw on the archives of collectors. Then I have a meeting with womenswear head designer Céline Jeandaine and American Vintage founder Michaël Azoulay to take stock. That’s when we choose the prints we want to rework for the next collection.”
And what does that reworking involve?
“I redesign all the prints digitally. Sometimes we only have little scraps of fabric, and we need to figure out how to put them together. We might also decide to change the colors or the scale of the pattern. But in our collections, we always try to strike the right balance of prints.“
What do you like most about your job?
“It’s a never-ending cycle, it’s very stimulating. I see it like a laboratory, a place where you can use your imagination and create. The prints we sell need to successfully express the soul of the collection. That is a long-term undertaking, but it’s very gratifying.“
What prints do you most enjoy working on?
“I have a soft spot for florals, which have a way of transporting you to a world that’s very poetic, very romantic. This season, we have designed two-toned florals, which are easy to mix with other prints but can also go with monochrome silhouettes.“
What are the noteworthy prints of the spring-summer 2024 season?
“There’s the Yvonne, a plaid we used for sturdy jackets. For the first time, we’re selling timeless pieces in the season’s prints, such as the light MASSACHUSETTS turtleneck and the BOBYPARK joggers, which both come in the Clotilde flower pattern. There’s also the Axelle print with its colored stripes. This season it’s available as a very comfortable textured fabric, for example. We designed these pieces as basics, essentials patterns you’d want to keep wearing season after season.”
AMV Journal is a space dedicated to encounters, discovery and travel. Every week, explore the musts, portraits and inspirations of American Vintage and its creation studio.