Photo by Hadar Pitchon
Throw the axiom “less is more” out the window. With Matty Bovan, more is irresistibly more. As a rising young designer, his work is riotous and rogue, as an illustrator his images are renderings of whatever colliding color and shape inform the latter, his makeup work is audacious, and his recent foray into styling is another extension of his punk, mélange-style vision. Small wonder he has earned himself a fan club of the affluential sorts, called on for collaborations with the likes of Love Magazine, Marc Jacobs, Miller Harris and Miu Miu. We spoke with the multi-hyphenate on the conduct of creativity.
Firstly, as someone with so many dimensions–what are you working on primarily these days?
Right now I’m working on a collection, to be shown this year which is my main focus. I am also working on more collaborations, make up, illustration and styling alongside.
Illustrations by Matty Bovan for Models.com
Collaborations (primarily your illustrations, but not exclusively) seem to be a significant part of your work–what about you and your vision lends well to those type of efforts?
I feel lucky as people seem to react to my vision well, I think the main part of this is because it is very sincere and hopefully has some energy in it. Me being able to be creative is my biggest love and when I am at my most illustrious is when I’m working. I feel very lucky.
Marc Jacobs S/S 16 by David Sims | Stylist Katie Grand
Speaking on that, can you trace back to something that resulted in what you’re about today?
Defiantly having a creative mother who let me explore my creativity when I was young, we were always dying and painting things. I remember discovering designers like Westwood and comme and it really was something I looked at felt I could say “that’s how I feel! That’s how I wanna look!” That was important. I also started exploring artists and sculptures around the same time and all these still influence my today.
Are you ever second guessing yourself? For example, your time while on the design team at LV–what has been your takeaway thus far?
Of course, it would be unhealthy to not second guess myself, you have to keep questioning and keep pushing yourself, I feel the older I get the more I question myself. I think the older you get the more aware you become, you have to keep some spontaneous energy. Working for a big house is a great experience, you understand a lot more about this industry as a business and how it works behind the machine.
What’s encouraging to you about the course of fashion, culture and where they meet?
Well I love the feel of trying on my designs, the way I move in them, I love creating interesting textiles, I love getting obsessed with colours, I love how powerful an image can be. Fashion is linked with some many things, music, art, film, photography, it has to keep evolving and having a new generation pulling it to pieces and the new generations have to really try and say something with their work.
You can use only one color–what would it be?
Gold!
