Multicultural Bibi Vogelia

 Bibi Vogelia

- Describe yourself as a designer and as a person. Do you see the differences between both descriptions?

- Uh, that is hard! When I had to choose a name for the label, I was very sure that I would not use only my name – Bibi is the half that is me and Ghost is the half that has nothing to do with me as a private person. It was clear to me that I did not want to become my brand. Bibi GHOST is my work, but I’m me and that is person that you can not put a sticker on. I have a little bit of everything inside me. I don’t like to be put in a box. I can be a fun and loose person, but I can also be a serious and “keep-the-deadline” type of person…

 - How do you think, what was the reason for these features to rise?

- Maybe these features appeared since I have been small, because I was aware of a lot of things - Chinese (because of my Chinese father) and also Danish (because of my mother) cultures.  Also I had some Jamaican culture in me (because my father was born and raised in Jamaica by his Chinese parents), but I looked more like my mother (she had big dark eyes and curly hair - from some Spanish roots) – so I was/are a big mix of cultures and instead of being a “victim” of that, I always tried to be proud of it and get the best out of different fields – culture, music, art, ways of thinking and so on. I have things from so many different styles/trends at home that I can go from black punk to romantic grown-up if I feel like it.

- Had this multicultural mix influenced your brand too?

- Yes, unfortunately that also seams to be the weakness that I’ve given to my brand – people prefer to put a brand in a box – then it’s easier to sell. So that’s also a part of the GHOST.  To be more specific – it is about who is the main customers.  But I don’t think that it is bad, nothing is ever black or white, there are a lot of grey areas in all levels – and that is a good thing. Thank god for the people who don’t try to be like everybody else!

- Is that hard to be recognizable and original designer nowadays?

- Yes and no. There are more designers that pop out of the masses and that of course also give more competition – but that is good. The only bad thing is that the press and a lot of other medias still tries to put those designers and brands in a box together so in the receivers eyes they may become a group and therefore less original.

- Is that hard to be recognizable and original designer nowadays?

- Yes and no. There are more designers that pop out of the masses and that of course also give more competition – but that is good. The only bad thing is that the press and a lot of other medias still tries to put those designers and brands in a box together so in the receivers eyes they may become a group and therefore less original.

- Do you have any difficulties being a designer?

- Hmmm, it’s not being a designer that is difficult. It’s more difficult part of being the boss of your own company. Although it is hard, fortunately I have some good people around me. At one moment I should be creative and at the next I need to look at numbers and grownup things – that’s really not my favorite thing. The most important rule for me is to remember to have fun and playfulness. That is the way to respect the child inside you.

- The process of creation. What happens after you have an idea?

- Sometimes I try it right away or chew on it for a while – either way I find out if it works or not.

- What do you think about when you start a new collection? Where do you seek for inspiration?

- Inspiration just pops up. Then I try to narrow a lot of different ideas down to the really good ones and then I start. Slowly the story of life comes - it just grows in its own tempo, sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it’s slow.

- If you can name it, what is the biggest achievement in your whole career?

- Uh, there is a lot! I’m very happy with everything I do in my life. And with Bibi GHOST it must be the first collection and show – everything was so naive, fun and open to the world.  We just did the show and had fun with it, nothing was well thought over – everything was just very impulsive – like a first thing should be.

- What would you be doing if you were not designing?

- Don’t know, it could be a lot of different things – again I don’t want to block myself by putting myself in a box…You never know what the world brings to you!

- What are your future plans, dreams and hopes?

- To keep on enjoying life, learning and staying open.

Also I am going to show my spring/summer collection during the Copenhagen Fashion Week and maybe not in a show, but in another way. Maybe in my new studio in down town Copenhagen…and everything just felt into places – I am going to do a small installation during the Malmő Festival in Sweden.

See more: www.bibighost.com