Jeremy Scott

JD: That's what it sounded like.

JS: Maybe I did. It's true. It's kind of true. Yeah.

JD: You did all the fundamentals of art and then you felt like that.

JS: Yeah pretty much. Pratt Institute is where I went and its you know... its an art school rather then less say if I went to FIT which is a fashion school. I've always been on an artist bend compared to just a purely industrial because that's not what was interesting to me. It is very dead that kind of just only about fashion. I think that I'm always trying to find inspiration in everything and bringing something new...

JD: Is that just part of your moral philosophy just trying to bring stuff?

JS: Yeah well always as a child I was watching all these programs on Africa and I was always inspired by the tribes. All these different amazing ways people would make [goods] or the fact that they would take the gum wrappers that they'd find and then make it into jewelry. But then they would mix it with Adidas Sportswear and things that were sent to them on a boat... you would have a beaded sarong and then a loin clothe, and then partly some Adidas like tank-top in this weird juxtaposition.

I was calling it African Sportswear in my head. I always wanted to do that and I had never touched upon it in my own collection so I used this opportunity to kind of go into my own inspiration of Africa, which then also links to what I'm doing with Adidas.

I also think about early 90's hip-hop and the whole 'Ladies First‚' thing from Queen Latifah, Dwayne Wayne, 'Different World‚' references to Africa at the same time so I kind of hit it in different directions. Artists like June Pike who I love and she did all this work with TV's and there's times where there's masks and African masks and TV sets and so it kind of touched upon the television color bar and this idea of technology versus primal.

With all those references then something new comes out of it where maybe someone looks at it and doesn't even think of those things and that's fine. I just want people to think 'Wow. That's cool‚' and either that they're excited about it and they're going wear it or they think it looks cool or they think they look sexy in it.

JD: You've worked with a lot of musicians. Were you kind of hesitant when they first approached you to wear your clothes?

JS: No Bjork was the first person to approach me and I was thrilled! The first concert I ever went to was a Sugarcubes concert when I was 16 so it was very much a huge honor for me to have one of the people that I loved so much as a teenager call me on the phone you know like, 'Oh really!? This is you? Okay!'

I guess I've had a ten year friendship with her. Did you ever hear this story she wearing the white wing shoes I gave her and she was living in New York? She was walking down the street and this homeless guy was like 'You must of drank a lot of Red Bull (emphasis) cause you got wings!' But she didn't know the commercial so she had no idea. So she's telling me this and... I was just laughing about the whole thing.

But she was the first person and you know she has turned out to be one of my closest friends. And like a true friend I can always count on and obviously someone that I am still inspired to dress and still love that she pushes boundaries. You know,now I'm dressing her daughter even. Who's now [becoming] her own fashion maven.