Hot Interview: gr.dano - Fashion Meets Graphic Design - Stylehive

About Designers Jill Giordano and Brian Scheyer:

Look out for gr.dano, a design company that merges two design principals: graphic design and fashion. With its unique style, clean lines and expert tailoring, this season€™s collection looks to be the strongest yet from designers Jill Giordano and Bryan Scheyer. They launched the gr.dano label in Spring 2003 from their Sausalito, California studio. Gr.dano has been featured in many publications, including Women€™s Wear Daily, named €œthe Very Best in SF€� in 7x7 Magazine, and received the €œMasterminds€� award in the SF Weekly €œBest of SF€� edition. In addition to running their own clothing line, Jill is an instructor at the Academy of Art University San Francisco in the fashion department (her alma mater) and Brian is an Art Director at an online advertising agency.

Stylehive: You create €œfeel unique in what you wear€� clothing. Can you tell us more about your design philosophy?

Jill & Brian: Our philosophy is to design original yet wearable clothing that makes a woman feel confident and sexy. When designing a collection, we want women to have a sense of familiarity with our aesthetic but also notice a distinctness of the design and its construction. We make sure to include the staples in every woman€™s wardrobe (little black dress, white blouse, classic suit, pea coat), while maintaining an original point of view which is functional and approachable.

SH: How would you describe San Francisco style?

Jill & Brian: San Francisco is full of free thinkers. This not only applies to politics, art and cuisine but also to fashion. Trends are not followed as closely as say Los Angeles or New York, but are taken and reinterpreted for the needs of the wearer. Weather also plays a large part in the style of San Franciscans as we all learn to layer due to the vast differences in climates through the districts of the City.

SH: How has your line grown and changed since its launch in the Spring of 2003?

Jill & Brian: When we first started, we tried out lots of different things to discover what direction we wanted the line to go. Many pieces were more experimental in construction and fabric choices. This allowed us to find the aesthetic we have today and to also determine what kind of woman would be interested in our clothing.

Blogs such as Stylehive have given us insight into what our customers think. We learn which are their favorite styles and what they are looking for. This helps us to create new and unique collections that women really love to wear.

SH: How have growing up in New York and Georgia influenced your line?

Jill & Brian: The West Coast definitely has a more relaxed attitude. This applies to fashion as well. Since both of us grew up on the East Coast, we€™ve tried to combine a dressier feel, without being fussy or too €�buttoned up€�. But it is the different disciplines of our studies at art school that have really made the biggest difference: Graphic Design vs. Fashion Design.

SH: Your clothes are viewed as the perfect marriage of daytime and night, indie and office-ready, masculine and feminine, graphic and design. Tell us about the duality of your pieces.

Jill & Brian: While both us have worked in both corporate and non-corporate environments, we realize the need for your wardrobe to function at all levels of your life. Our clients have busy lives and their work and play lives often overlap. We create classic pieces with modern twists that any woman can feel confident in no matter the situation or location.

SH: Your wool pea coat has been described as €œJackie O meets Kate Moss€�. It has been posted on countless blogs and was even featured in Women€™s Wear Daily. What€™s it like to make an €œit€� item?

Jill & Brian: We put a huge amount of passion and attention into each piece. So we have been thrilled that our Wool Wraparound pea coat has gotten so much attention. The first time we showed it we had women signing up for pre-orders. It was also our first garment to be posted on Stylehive. Since then, we have decided to incorporate a €œred coat€� in every collection. Either a new design or a variation of the pea coat.

SH: What should we look for in the future of your company?

Jill & Brian: Since our inception, we have grown very organically. Due to the recent press and wholesale orders, we are planning on moving to the next step. This means we should be able to expand our collections each season allowing us to be more readily available through more boutiques and online stores. We are very excited about where gr.dano is headed and look forward to hearing from everyone on the Hive about how we are doing.

Gr.dano's Site in the Hive: site/grdano.com

Gr.dano's Website: grdano.com