Sneaky trick there dad! I grew up with the mindset that what you do determines who you are and who you are is only determined by you. I’m an only child from Seattle who has been absorbing life like a sponge since I could pick up a crayon and imagine to life a drawing. This absorption developed into my thirst for independence where I started working at 16 in retail and eventually moving out from under my parents. I moved to San Diego where I attended FIDM; since then 4 years in San Francisco and now New York. I’ve never wanted anything more than to live life the only way I know how and that is to just live. Julia and I are doing exactly that, living in and creating what we are deeply passionate about, Laboratory. We always joke and say that our careers will be our husbands and our clothes will be our children.”
Julia James:
“At 15, I remember sitting on the Spanish Steps in Italy watching two different worlds come together. Poverty and the very rich. Having grown up in Southern California I was used to one way of life. Seeing this made me want to be a part of a bigger, more influential picture. I had no goals at the time and suddenly found myself thinking I could make a difference through fashion. I feel that I chose fashion because I was an angsty teen who didn’t respond well to structured systems. The fashion world was one where I could make my own rules and people would respond. After high school I spent my time managing a retail store & being a personal stylist. I felt that my role was influential to those around me, but I could do more and I was hungry for growth. Then Laboratory came about and now we are here. Moving to the big city without family, a job, etc. was probably the dumbest idea I have ever had, but the payoff and struggle has been so worth it I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Reach Chanel and Julia by emailing [email protected]