HONEST BY'S NEW COLLABORATION COLLECTION WITH NICOLAS ANDREAS TARALIS IS NOW ONLINE .WE INTERVIEWED OUR NEW DESIGNER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS FIRST HONEST BY COLLECTION AND HIS OPINIONS ON FASHION, LUXURY AND SUSTAINABILITY.

Written by Bruno Pieters

BP: YOU ARE KNOWN FOR YOUR FLAWLESS TAILORING AND UNIQUE FABRIC CHOICES. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?
NAT:The first inspiration, the purity of the initial thought.

BP: THE QUALITY OF YOUR GARMENTS IS IMPECCABLE. DO YOU PRODUCE EVERYTHING IN EUROPE?
NAT:By chance or by constraint, I've only ever produced my collections in Europe. We are a small company, making niche products in very limited quantities and for a limited audience of people. In the end, producing close-to-home has been a story of necessity turning into virtue.

BP: IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU? AND WHY?
NAT:Europe has a tradition and historical savoir-faire, and it's right here around the corner...

BP: DUE TO THE INTERNET REVOLUTION MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE BECOMING AWARE THAT THEIR FAVORITE BRANDS ARE NOT PRODUCING THE WAY THEY USED TO. DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE IS A NEW APPRECIATION FOR DESIGNERS WHO STILL PRODUCE IN EUROPE?
NAT:To be frank, I don't think so. In the end, it's only a very small minority of people today who pay attention to where and how the products they consume are being made. Conversely, I think we attached more importance to these issues when we didn't have as many choices or resources as we do now. This seems to me, to be quite a large paradox.

BP: WHAT IS LUXURY TO YOU?
NAT:The time and the distance to appreciate life.

BP: WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF HAVING YOUR OWN LUXURY BRAND?
NAT:No one can ever tell you to leave your own company! Independence is a true luxury (but it can also be a vice).

BP: HOW 'GREEN' ARE YOU IN YOUR OWN DAILY LIFE?
NAT:To quote a famous friend: "it ain't easy bein' green".

BP: DO YOU USE ANY EUROPEAN OR SUSTAINABLE FABRICS IN YOUR COLLECTIONS? AND WHY?
NAT:In my company, we don't have any specific policy regarding using sustainable fabrics or processes (to my regret) so it has been an interesting experience with "Honest by" to work in a different way. It still is much too complicated to be ecologically responsible. To implement sustainable sourcing and processes, is an arduous task with too few choices... there is without doubt more to be learned, and much work to be done to improve. The day the market will strongly demand this; no doubt we will start to put more effort into this way of working & living.

BP: YOU HAVE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS FOR ALMOST A DECADE NOW. YOU ARE KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT FASHION? 
NAT:Has it been so long already?

Honest by's new collection premiered online on July 15th 2012.