Elise Beneteau is a graphic designer whose diverse skill set also includes painting, drawing and costuming. In order to create Major Tom, her first capsule collection with Lifetime, Elise worked with natural materials like cotton and linen to make subtly feminine menswear pieces with a bit of edge. Though approached thoughtfully, her work is not fully premeditated. Elise loves to toy with ideas and experiment when creating.

Where do your design ideas come from?

I spent a lot of time researching before designing this collection. It is important to know what is already available and also to explore ideas beyond fashion. Before designing the collection for spring, I was reading a lot about Alchemy, which explained in simplest terms, is about turning base metals like copper in to gold and/or completing a journey for eternal youth and great wisdom. This research applied to the collection; I was designing with the idea in mind that I was taking natural materials like cotton and linen and creating something beautiful out of them. I wanted the collection to be youthful but also sophisticated.

How does living in Vancouver influence your design aesthetic?

The casual lifestyle of Vancouver influences me. The kind of activities people do in Vancouver has definitely guided my design. I find that young professionals in this city are mindful of balancing their work and down time. People seem to carry a casual approach to their career. There is abundance of natural scenery surrounding the city, and people want to move with fluidity from work to play. I wanted to design a collection for spring that reflected these priorities.

What was your overall vision for Major Tom?

I want Major Tom to be a menswear inspired women’s line that is still feminine and casual with a bit of edge and experimentation.

How did your various artistic skills (aside from clothing design) play into the collection?

Making costumes or painting is a very playful process and there is so much to experiment with. There are no boundaries when you first start a new project, then it becomes about trial and error, and at some point I have to surrender to the life of the project itself. Graphic design as part of a business endeavor is much more controlled because usually there is little change between the initial idea and the final product. Designing the collection for spring, I let my imagination run wild in the beginning and then a practical approach took over: editing down the line, working out how the garments would actually come to be made. In the future, I would like to explore more of an obvious or concrete cross over, possibly with prints and construction.

What is your favourite piece from the Major Tom collection?

The shorts. Or the graphic tanks.

Major Tom mixes feminine and masculine. What was the thought process behind this?

It’s not like the 80’s when women wanted to look more like men. It’s about appropriating aspects of menswear to make a line that reflects all of the attitudes that make up a professional young woman.

How important is function vs. fashion?

I think it depends on whom or what you’re designing for. There are instances when I think function can take a back seat.

What do you think about trends?

I like trends in the sense they can become a stake in a time period – they can represent an era and be an expression of a cultural movement, lifestyle or taste.

What was the most challenging aspect of designing this collection?

The editing.

What did you learn from this particular design process?

I learned a lot about working with Lifetime and what guides the company’s approach. It is a great experience and opportunity to work with a company that is so immersed in the culture it is designing for.

Major Tom capsule collection