Isabelle Carson, I Like Your Style
What is “I like your style”? It’s the series in which we ask fashion lovers to share some of their favourite outfits and talk us through what inspires and influences the way they dress and shop. Then they nominate someone whose style they admire and so the style chain continues.
Who is Isabelle?
Hello!
I’m 23, and I live in Auckland in a super cute flat with a lovely garden - it’s my first time having my own proper garden and I am obsessed with planting various flowers and vegetables at the moment.
I studied Art History at Te Herenga Waka in Wellington, and loved it so much that I did an extra year in order to complete my honours. I wrote a (baby) thesis on Louise Bourgeois, Doris Salcedo, and Chiharu Shiota and their use of textiles/object/memory in art. It was a way for me to fuse my love of fashion with art history. I’d love to one day continue this research and do my MA.
I now work in fashion PR and love how it fuses so many aspects of the fashion industry.
I’m a serial collector of various things and have an incredibly obsessive personality. I would say fashion and clothes have been the most sustained obsession throughout my life.
If you could describe your style in only 6 words what would they be?
I really tried to answer this question in the traditional way using 6 adjectives, but I think the best way to describe my style is: a natural extension of my brain.
I know you have a growing Simone Rocha collection. What is it exactly about her designs that entices you?
I came across Simone Rocha in 2017 when I was 16 turning 17, and her clothes have always spoken to me in a way that felt immensely personal. I have always felt this way about Miuccia Prada also. Whilst they both design incredibly different clothes, the way they think about women and the experience of femininity is very similar I feel. I’m really interested in this dichotomy between light and dark, wearing things that are perhaps slightly ugly, and dressing in a way that is influenced by the world around me rather than wearing clothes inspired by clothes, if that makes sense. I am also far more interested in texture, over colour. Simone makes clothes that are a little bit dark but still playful, and they are intelligent and powerful. I feel like myself when I wear them.
Are there any other designers you collect? If so, why?
I have built up a rather substantial Kate Sylvester collection as I worked there for multiple years, but also regularly trawl second-hand sites for pieces from old seasons that I love. I’ve amassed a small Miu Miu bag collection (of 6!), which I plan to continue growing, but I haven’t paid more than $300 for any of them yet! I’d love to collect more Comme des Garçons, and make a foray into some more Prada too.
What’s the best second-hand store in Tāmaki Makaurau?
Honestly, I’m a big TradeMe shopper, or just any opshop I come across. I do love Tatty’s though. And Hard to Find books!!
Who are the most promising up-and-coming local designers in your opinion?
I love what Jacob Kalin is doing at the moment. Elsie Gore is a super cute Wellington-based designer, stocked in Bizarre Bazaar. Rhoda Nunn makes some really cute pieces too.
I don’t even think I can classify Emma Jing as up & coming anymore - and she’s now based in London - but she is absolutely one of my favourite young kiwi designers.
I think we have some amazing local jewellers coming up at the moment too: Annabella Schnabel, Chills, and Alice Langbrown (also based in London) are all doing beautiful things.
I attended a show at Āhua Fashion Week recently and thought there was some great talent and exciting things to come from that! I feel like there is some really great energy surrounding the local industry at the moment.
How do you think the Aotearoa landscape, surroundings and culture feeds into your own aesthetic, if at all? And if you don't feel it does, then what does?
I think the Aotearoa art scene as a whole is very unique because we’re so far away from the rest of the world. I’m so inspired by so many brands and designers that are really hard to get locally, as well as magazines and other publications that we don’t really have access to. It means we have to be resourceful and research things a little more. I also have not yet travelled much so I feel as though my world-view right now is very uniquely kiwi. We have to be innovative because it takes so long for things to reach us. All local designers are making clothes that I feel don’t really exist elsewhere, and I think the same can be said for music, art, and literature.
What’s your most iconic fashion moment to date?
Honestly nothing immediately springs to mind, but I loved the Simone Rocha dress I wore to my boyfriend’s 21st a couple of years ago.
For my year 13 ball I also wore a little two piece set that my boyfriend and I made together, which was pretty iconic at the time even though I wouldn’t wear it now.
Are there any fashion moments you look back on and laugh/regret?
No! There was definitely a time in my teens when I ditched my personal style a bit in an attempt to fit in a little more, but for the most part I think I have been pretty true to myself. There are certainly things I have worn that I would never wear now, but I think it’s important to experiment (in moderation) and figure out what you love and what you feel good in. I look back at my past fashion moments with fondness.
What are the best runway shows that happened during your lifetime?
SO many! Obviously every Simone Rocha show has happened in my lifetime, however FW17, FW18, SS19, FW20, and FW22 have impacted my style the most. Miu Miu SS10 is a complete classic, however FW07 is incredibly influential to my day-to-day style, as is FW23. Prada SS13 and FW13 were really life-changing - I feel like this is when I first discovered runway shows. Prada SS17 and SS19 were, and still are, similarly mind blowing collections. I would have to say their most recent, SS25, is one that I think will stick with me for a long time too. Alexander McQueen’s FW03, SS05, and FW06 shows were all phenomenal. I also think every ShuShu/Tong show has been really beautiful, both in terms of the clothing and the set design. So many Comme des Garçons shows have been really amazing too. SS02, SS05, and SS12 are real standouts for me, as is Junya Watanabe’s SS03 collection. I could go on…
Could you recommend any books or blogs on style and fashion that you like?
Omg SO many. In terms of books, I love to read both fashion and art books for inspiration. I have an expansive Louise Bourgeois book collection which has definitely informed the way I dress. I’m a huge fan of Charlie Porter, and his book What Artists Wear is one of my absolute favourites. I’m completely obsessed with Ingrid Sischy, and her book Nothing is Lost: Selected Essays is very important to me. She wrote an essay named “Some Clothes of One’s Own” in 1994 on Prada, which was featured in The New Yorker, and it is one of my favourite pieces of writing ever. In terms of research, the Thames & Hudson catwalk books are great but, so is Vogue Runway. Fashion at the Edge by Caroline Evans is great, as are all the catalogues from The Costume Institute’s yearly exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I also love the Chloe Sevigny book by Rizzoli (of course).
One of my favourite Kate Sylvester shows is Winter 2015, which was inspired by The Goldfinch and The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Both books are important to me.
Digitally, I love Mandy Lee (Oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok), and I’ve been following Kailee McKenzie for years. I love Sophia Dowling’s Substack, The Pleat, and also The Molehill by Viv Chen.
I’m a strong believer in the fact that being interested in an expansive scope of things, and reading a lot, and watching a wide range of media, is what makes someone well-dressed. I could honestly talk about books for hours on end!
Nominate someone you know for the next feature. Someone whose style you admire.
Estelle Schuler, Yawynne Yem, Ella Worrall, Tom Conway…. <3
Follow Isabelle on Instagram @isabelle.carson
Interview by Yana Kulishenko
