Lavinia Ilolahia & Talia Soloa - Designers, Layplan

Today on the podcast I speak to Lavinia Ilolahia and Talia Soloa – founders and designers of made-to-order womenswear label Layplan. They describe themselves as besties, business partners and brown girls on the journey of celebrating the nuance of the human form with garments that observe and celebrate loveliness and boldness. They’ve always designed for themselves first and by doing that, they design for real women with real bodies, real lives, and real stories. Layplan are coveted for their bold use of colour, sculptural silhouettes and interesting textures. Initially formed in 2013, the friends met while studying fashion at Massey University in Wellington and they’ve gained a loyal following on Instagram and their clothing is regularly worn by well-known New Zealand women as well as their friends and family who are vocal fans of the brand.I first became aware of the Layplan girls when they did instore popup in Auckland with Saben. I started following them on Instagram and found their brand and business approach so cool – and a little bit different to the standard fashion brands we usually see. I was so pleased when Lavinia and Talia said yes to be interviewed – these two are seriously cool and I’m a little bit in awe of them both, and the brand they are growing.  I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.A few notes on today’s episode:This is my first episode where I’ve interviewed two people at the same time! There might be the odd technical glitch so bear with me!Secondly – I recorded this interview at the tail end of having a cold! So apologies in advance for the odd sniff. I know I don’t really need to mention it but you know I like to keep it real. Ha. You can find layplan online at layplanstudio.com or check them out on insta @layplanFor more podcast information visit supercreativepodcast.com Hosted by Catie DawsonBought to you by Somewhere CreativeFind us on Instagram - @supercreativepodcastFor more podcast information visit supercreativepodcast.com Hosted by Catie DawsonBought to you by Somewhere CreativeFind us on Instagram - @supercreativepodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.