THE GARAGE

Exclusive Interview: Still Life or the Hats of New York

February 17, 2015 / 2 Comments

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Frenel Morris is the creative visionary behind STILL LIFE NYC.  He designs, creates, shoots and sells the hats from start to finish.  Still Life was founded in 2005. Frenel was born in Patterson, New Jersey and went to Wayne hills high-school. He was very creatively involved through his early to teenage years- art classes, music etc. so finally he moved to NYC to study art at Parsons. We met with him and asked him few questions:

Why hats?
I’ve always had a love for accessories, mainly hats. Hats just seemed more accessible.

How do you come up with colours and shapes?
The creative development behind the style/shape is based on what I am feeling for the season – what the mood is, the look, the overall vibe. That then plays organically into the colour and material.

Do you follow any trends?
No, I set them :) — (and he often is ahead of his own time).

Do you wear your hats and if yes, is it every day?
Yes, depends on what I am feeling or working on. I let my hats
inspire me daily.

Which one are you wearing today?
Denim cut ’n’ sew.

Who is your client and are you based in NY?
The office is based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  The factory is in midtown Manhattan with a store on the Lower East Side at 113 Division Street.  My client is anyone who likes hast from the everyday to the true connoisseur- male, female, young, old.

Are you thinking of expanding one day?
Absolutely! I on working on my global expansion in Paris and London next with Asia on the horizon.

Where do you design? Studio, home?
Creative development in Brooklyn, millinery in his midtown Manhattan factory.

What are your dreams as a designer?
Design the $1 million dollar hat!!  Of course as a designer, always keeping true to the brand heritage behind his story and see how that can trickle into other categories within fashion.

What is the future holding for you?
Expand and evolve while making people look fresh in hats…

 

Author: Madlena Kalinova Photos: Still Life

 

xoxo