Lightness in the making Park: "Fur is such a hot item."

Carmen Marc Valvo's design director Il Park seeks the light when creating lush fur covers to underscore evening wear. A recent visit to Saga Furs Design Centre helped spark his creative energies.

After a dozen years at the New York fashion house, Il Park understands the Carmen Marc Valvo vision. "We're primarily evening gowns, so I'm working on the last thing a woman puts on for an evening, something to finish the look--a cover. She needs a cover to go out for an evening, something not too heavy. Specifically, I am working on lightness and want to create unique pieces. We get a lot of requests for covers, and they can double as garments that can be worn inside, too, so lightness is essential."

Park spent much of his time at the Top Designer Seminar considering technique swatches and fur types. He selected some prospects and envisioned how a finished piece would look.

"I'm discovering and experimenting with a lot of new things, and learning new techniques to incorporate fur into garments. I don't want the fur to look like fur, but rather part of a look, like embroidery as part of the look," he says. "For the woman, fur must be easy to wear. Fur can be daunting; the challenge is to use fur so it complements a look. Little fur pieces are perfect for this."

Seminar gives a hands-on opportunity

Park and others from Carmen Marc Valvo always visit annual Fur Vision presentations in New York. He values the opportunity, but fully appreciates the follow up a seminar at Saga Furs Design Centre offers.

"At Fur Vision you mainly see technique swatches. But here you can take part in  the process and realize how to achieve a look. I'm also gaining better knowledge of all the different types of pelts. In fact, it's an education just being here," he says, adding: "And, I'm going to learn how to sew fur."

Breaking through barriers

Around four years ago he got his first opportunity to work with fur. "It was a collection that needed fur, so I dabbled a bit," Park says. "I found it exciting to work with a new material and started doing so more and more as we got increasing demand for covers. I worked with furriers to learn how to achieve what I wanted as it was quite a change to use fur as compared with other materials."

Pushing the envelope is a must for any designer and Park does just that. He understands the versatility of fur and how its intrinsic beauty can be extended. "I'm trying to develop season-less fur you can wear any time of year," he says. "Techniques can give you the lightness you need, so I'm headed in that direction, too."

People want fur with a stamp of approval

Park sees how a new era for fur has emerged. "Fur is such a hot item; people want it. Fur has a broad range of appeal, from status symbol to trendy, but always fashionable," he says. "Now it's accepted by more people, both in sociological and economic terms."

He tells how a label means a lot to the designer and the consumer. "Saga Furs has a reputation around the world. It's known for the best quality, yes, but also ethical practices," Park opines. "Saga Furs means, you know where the fur comes from and as a designer it's good to know the background. Then you can work with peace of mind."