Pirouette 10 questions game:

Q&A between 2 players – 5 questions & 5 answers each. Both players are interviewer and interviewee kicking off with players Florence Rolando (F) and Katie Kendrick (K). Let’s start !

GO !

Katie asks Florence answers…

K. Pirouette your favourite post and why?
F. Oh, a hard one…I have 8 years of Pirouette archive to check in my brain! I am very attached to the mom&child interviews that I did quite at the beginning of Pirouette.
Like for instance the one I did in Morocco in 2010 with Julie&Noor. First interview read here . I love it very much for all the memories of that trip in Marrakech, but also for the fact that I was able to do the same interview 7 years later. It’s quite fascinating to see how children grow, develop, evolve, in what direction they are going. Seven years later follow up interview read here.

K. Best & worst in the world of kids fashion/design?
F. Best is the people : most of the time they are young parents who take a step back from a hectic life once they become mother or father. They put their skills and experience at the service of products that have been thought with the children’s future in mind: sustainability, respect for the planet… Worst is that I’ve seen many very nice brands disappear. The formula to keep a children’s label alive is not obvious to find.

K. A moment you don’t mind sharing that changed your life?
F. Maybe climbing up the Three Towers in Torres de Paine, Patagonia, and in the silence and wilderness seeing clearly what freedom is. It helped me realising how much society and an urban environment generate a belief system that is limiting, how important it is to embrace detachment to regain a free spirit.

K. Stop and start again. You did it. Many people want to do it. Your advice?
F.

  1. “Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear”, so work on your fears, try to understand where they are coming from, replace them with trust and courage and go!
  2. Make sure you integrate the fact that the distance between dream and reality is called action.
  3. Choose courage, not comfort.

K. The world, what’s important to you & how would you like to leave it?
F. What’s the world, this wonderful minuscule corner of the cosmos?
It’s both amazing and scary, depending on what glasses you wear. I’d like to leave it peacefully when I am ready, and if possible laughing!

 SWAP !

Florence asks Katie answers…

F. The genie comes out of the bottle, what are the 3 things do you ask him?
K. I’ve seen the films and read the books, I’m not sure if I would trust a Genie, but here goes (fingers crossed ;-))

  1. Tolerance – Everyone talks about Love. I wish people could be more tolerant of one another’s differences and in some cases similarities. Let’s get tolerant Genie.
  2. Ill health in Children – So this is a big ask and it’s a personal one but if I really did have only one wish in life it would be this. My family has had it’s fair share with child family members enduring very difficult times. Some still ongoing – my brave and beautiful niece Beau lives life with a brain tumor with all my heart I would like to take it all away for you.
  3. Irrational fear of flying – OK this is a selfish one but I would love to get rid of my fear of flying irrational or not. To be honest I’ve never let it stop me getting on a plane (a personal pat on the back). For a couple of years I used to fly nearly every other weekend to Paris to see my then boyfriend (now husband). But try as I might to relax anxiety just seems to take over resulting in me babbling constantly to whoever is unfortunate enough to be sat next to me. For all passengers sakes please press delete my fear of flying Genie.

F. When you visit trade shows, you have to be selective – what’s the secret element that makes you walk into a booth, look at the collection and talk to the owner?
K. It’s such a mix – something stands out at the stand, a strong image, an incredible piece, a wonderfully presented collection or sometimes it’s as simple as a smile, but it’s the enthusiasm and engagement by the designer or the individuals representing the label that makes you stay and want to find out more.

F.One mistake in life you recently decided you would never do again?
K. Using hair chalk – on a recent trip to London to visit family our youngest, Hattie (Hatster) fell in love with and purchased a hair chalk set. I then misguidedly agreed to her playing coiffure on me making my hair pink. After 5 washes it’s still not completely out leaving me with a slightly orange hue.. I preferred the pink!

F. The dream business interview, family profile or mother&child interview that you would love to do for Pirouette ?
K. I really love listening to an interview programme called Desert Island Disks on BBC radio 4- two recent interviews really captured my attention and my heart strings. So I’m going to be greedy and take two: ‘A Formidable Family’ with Fashion Designer Stella McCartney and ‘A Parent and Child’ with Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. Here are my reasons:

Stella McCartney: What an upbringing with your father being one of the Beatles but with all the trappings of fame and money her parents decided to live a large portion of her early life modestly hidden away in Scotland. Fast forward to nowadays and Stella is an incredibly successful fashion designer with celebrity friends and again all the trappings of fame and fortune but she also chooses to live an incredibly private life with her own children. How did those early years of life on Mull influence how Stella brings up her own children? How do you create a balance between the incredible opportunities of life that being born into the McCartney clan can bring you with the core values that the family appear to retain? Do her children show an interest in design like both their parents or do they shy away from the creative side preferring science or maths? Sooo many question – I would love a Formidable Family McCartney. Listen to  Stella McCartney Castaway

Sheryl Sandberg: Incredibly successful business woman, Facebook COO/leading light and super wealthy but also honest and wonderfully human. She suffered with self doubt during college and early career and lost her beloved husband Dave in 2015 leaving her with two children to bring up. Sheryl’s vow to their children was that it was Ok for them to grieve but encourage them to take back Joy. Sheryl moved me in her interview, so often high powered women are portrayed as Meryl Streep – Devil wears Prada type figures, however Sheryl’s dispelled this stereotype in her castaway interview by sharing with us her life amongst laughter, tears and song. How does having such a successful female role model as a parent affect both children? Did they take back joy and what is joy to them? Sheryl has a son and a daughter are her expectations the same for both? Does she feel that her late husband still has an influence on their children’s life through her own interpretation of Dave as a person, Does Sheryl feel she shares his values on their children unknowingly? I would really love to conduct ‘A parent and child interview’ with Sheryl and her children. Listen to Sheryl Sandberg Castaway.

F. What is the next thing you plan to do that your future self will thank you for?
K. Make time for myself to learn again. It’s a problem we all have as adults and parents but as much as your children need to learn we also need to keep learning throughout life to keep our bodies and minds active. Also to keep interested and interesting. Sometimes life takes over but sometimes we need to stop it from doing so. I’d like to redress the balance but not sure what subject yet though….suggestions welcome.

The End / Fin 

 

 

Design kids fashion