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We sat down with Lee Evans, founder of the fashion label Mrs Momma Bear, to discuss her newest launch: the Gilded Collection. From the inspirations behind the line to the movement-first approach woven into every piece, Evans shares how she’s rethinking modern evening wear.
The Gilded Collection feels like regal confidence meets everyday ease. What inspired you to create this collection?
I have been obsessed with gowns my whole life. Timeless gowns to be exact. The art of high dress making – haute couture to be exact. This obsession was my inspiration. I would pull one of my favorite gowns out of my closet, and imagine myself in the making of the gown and then reflect on the first time I wore it. What did it make me feel? What time or Hollywood event did this gown take me to when I wore it? Clothing is a spaceship to me. Our closets can take us anywhere we want to go for that day, and that had been lost to me in all areas of the everyday uniform and evening where. It’s always the core of what I am designing.
Your signature double-knit performance fabric is basically the quiet luxury hero of this collection. What makes this fabric so special, and how did it help shape the attitude of the line?
It definitely is the quiet superhero of the collection. I love that description. The biggest role it plays in this particular collection is movement. I am always looking at the things I wish I could do or the constraints of my favorite garments in my closet, and tackling evening wear brought one main area to mind– dancing. I love to dance! Every event that I attended wearing one of my favorite gowns would not allow me to move on the dance floor like I wanted to. The fabric, the length, the stretch – my only evening pieces that I could remotely dance the way I wanted at Texas Balls and Galas were my more boring pieces – plain wool jumpsuits and a little lace, and even then there was constraint. So the cut, the sexy necklines that no matter the movement will hold you in was my prime goal. Freedom in movement, no matter the silhouette of the look.
Mrs. Momma Bear has this magic formula of “designer polish meets yoga-pant comfort.” How does the Gilded Collection push that idea even further?
Taking that “yoga-pant comfort” and movement in a studio and taking it into the opera house of Venice or on an evening out at the club at Victoria Paris and never stop moving. It’s not only the comfort but the duplication of the limitless movements, whether in the yoga studio or a Sex and the City kind of night.
(Courtesy)
Every piece is stretchy, structured, and machine-washable. Why was it important for you to create high-end pieces that don’t require high-maintenance care?
The biggest reason – pure selfishness. LOL! I travel a lot, and I do not want to go anywhere without what I want to wear. It’s my thing. It’s always been my thing. My girlfriends remember some of my earliest trips with my Louis Vuittons piled high at curbside. Sometimes we just can’t bring all those Louis, but I did not want to compromise on my looks, and I couldn’t find anything in my closet that did that. I would pick a plain LBD and then throw in my wool tuxedo jacket to throw over my shoulders and that alone took up my carry-on plus I knew with one night of dancing, sweating honestly and the movement of the day I would get one wear out of it. Something had to change, and I created it in MMB because no one else had. Now I can carry a LBD, a suit, an evening gown, and two jumpsuits in a carry on plus at least two pairs of shoes and know that if I need to stay one more night just because no dry cleaning is needed.
What trends do you think will define the season, and how do you see your collection playing into them?
Red has been huge and has been my go-to color for both my last collection, The Garden Collection and The Gilded Collection. It’s hard to nail the right red that looks good on everyone, but this hue has been the color of the collections. A very tailored dandy look has been at the forefront of trends. There is nothing more sexy to me than tailored button-up looks. It always gives an illusion and raises a question of what’s under there…
Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re dreaming up for the brand? New colors, new fabrics, new categories, anything you’re excited to tease?
Prints! Everything I am producing right now is a print, and all I can say is stay tuned – I am obsessed.
What are some of your favorite fashion brands or style muses that inspire the way you create?
My biggest muses are time periods, royalty throughout the ages, cultures, and nature. Fashion and our closets transport us somewhere daily or give us the feeling that we are somewhere else in our daily lives. Making our imagination an everyday wearable.
Any fun holiday plans? Do you already know what you will be wearing from the collection?
Yes, I love the holidays! I always do a big Christmas Eve party, and this year I am hosting it in Texas. I am wearing Promise Me Nothing, but I haven’t decided between Rosso and Dark Laurel. For New Year’s Eve I will be in the City Of Love with my boyfriend, and all of The Gilded Collection has been packed! Styled with some of my new favorite pieces from Swarovski!
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