This article is part of our Design Specials section on how looks, materials and even creators evolve.
LOS ANGELES — Reena Simil looks out from her balcony in the foothills of Silver Lake to her backyard. As she stepped outside, she passed shelves of large electric kilns, potter’s wheels, and figures with grimaces and grins that came to define her ceramic work. A child’s scooter lies near the back door of her house.
Simil, who is in her 40s, now works under the shade of a fig tree. It’s a very different environment than the fashion house and clothing company where the former designer spent most of her career.
Born in south London, Ms Simir may be best known as the clothing designer for Stella McCartney and Jil Sander.In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles as vice president of design for clothing company Equipment. She moved on, but retired in 2017 when she decided to become a mother.
Before she left the industry, a former colleague suggested she take a pottery class as a form of stress relief. rice field.
“I stopped when I couldn’t get behind the wheel,” she said. “I was too hungry.”
It was around that time that Simil began to think about her maternal lineage, specifically her grandmother, who delivered babies as a midwife in Cameroon. Similu began creating her vessel (“It’s a vessel and I’m pregnant and I’m carrying someone, so it’s all very unconscious, right?”), creating her face. Added ceramic eyes and mouth for She said something about them reminded her of artwork unique to her ancestral region, including traditional Cameroonian masks.
“A lot of African masks are messengers,” she said. She says that “messages are conveyed for certain reasons when you wear them or how they are displayed.” She said it felt like she was talking to her grandmother.
What started as a hobby has grown into an artistic exploration of motherhood and heritage.It has also become a new creative and professional outlet. Similu first considered selling her pottery through corporate retailers and specialty boutiques, but was then asked to exhibit her work in galleries.
“A lot of the retail expectations reminded me of that kind of general production that I used to do in the fashion industry,” she said. “If this goes retail, I’ll have it sent back as defective,” she said.
Without strict deadlines or creative constraints, Similu freely experimented with different clays, glaze processes and pottery techniques.of “Keepers” At a recent exhibition at Emma Gray’s headquarters in Los Angeles, a cluster of black, white, and yellow pots grimaced, glowed, and stuck their tongues out at the viewer. Also, like Vase released in 2020, her work takes the form of women. yaya situation.
Similu credits her long fashion career with driving her art in many creative directions. In that industry, she said. She’s starting fresh and trying to do a new collection where everything is dead. Maybe I still have that cycle built into me.
Her backyard studio is now adorned with ceramic animals, including mystical goat-like creatures and sock monkeys. This piece was inspired in part by David Alhadev approaching Mr. Simir about his design and exhibition in his gallery and retail space. future perfectFrom September 8th to October 15th, the collection will be on display at Future Perfect’s newest location in Hollywood, once owned by film producer Samuel Goldwyn.
Alhadev said in a phone interview that Simir’s experience in the fashion industry “can really bite you and spit you out.” He said that it might have helped him to trust him.
“That’s your success or failure, in my opinion,” he continued. “You can have it or spend your whole life trying to figure out what it is. And she has it.”