Avshalom Gur: A Man Who Definitely Understands Women

INTERVIEW

Alexandra Suhner

London Editor

Avshalom GUR - Photo by Ian Gillett, 2006

Avshalom Gur is a man who definitely understands women. When we were students together, he worked as a visual merchandiser at Gap, and I went in there one day to buy jeans. He ushered me into a change room and didn't ask me about what I was looking for or what size I would be. Instead he came back with a selection of jeans that were the perfect size and cut that I was looking for.

So it was no surprise that after graduating he went on to work for Chloe, Roberto Cavalli, Donna Karan and Nicole Farhi. And was even less surprising that he decided to start his own collection, Avsh Alom Gur.

Israeli-born Gur is now considered one of London's most-watched young designers, and with three New Generation sponsorships under his belt, he is destined for success.

I met him in his studio, to discuss his latest collection and his team of collaborators.

Tell me about your background.

I am a British designer, working from London; I have worked for leading fashion houses such as Roberto Cavalli, Chloe, Donna Karan, and Nicole Farhi. I did the MA in Fashion design at Central Saint Martins, and about 2 years ago I launched my own business called Avsh Alom Gur.

What pushed you to leave working for other people to do your own collection?

Two reasons. One, I fulfilled my dreams too quickly, I got the job I wanted with the people I wanted and I was able to learn a lot. Second, it was the realisation that I have a problem. My problem was that every fashion house that I worked in, after working there for a while I had this fantasy of sacking everyone, rehiring all my friends, changing the direction of the company, and being involved in every aspect of the company.

It was a fantasy, and then I realised it was obviously not going to happen, since these were established companies and I am just a creative director or designer or research person there, so obviously I wont be able to change the logo and fire and rehire everyone because that company has more history than I have. So it was a question of time that made me realize that if I wanted to do all the things I have been thinking of doing, I need to start my own company from scratch. Doing my own company that has its own philosophy, starting from nothing, so there is nothing to lose. Also, when you are working with a big company, there are a lot of expectations and a lot of commitment and it is very, very difficult to just abandon the values. It may have financial implications, not necessarily welcome to the people who were in charge. So for me it was kind of natural to start my own business...