Designer Spotlight: Caren Templet

From timeless ready to wear pieces to the meticulous craftsmanship in her couture lines, Caren Templet has captivated her clients with her attention to detail in each piece she creates. She is a British designer who has her flagship store based in Sacramento. Her designs specialize in high end women’s ready to wear, custom, wedding, and couture. Her clients go to her for a special occasion gown to a tailored piece for their next business meeting Caren has been featured in the popular wedding blog Style Me Pretty, Sacramento Magazine, Sacramento Midtown, KCRA, just to name a few. She has shared her expertise and opinion about style selections for the Royal Wedding and Kate Middleton’s style choices during her visit to California.

The quality of her clothing is a top priority, so all of her products are made in the United States with French or Italian fabrics and are customized to fit her client’s needs. She personally designs everything in the store, from her luxurious hand-painted couture dresses down to her signature belt buckle. She chose to start her first store after living for two years in San Francisco, where she received a degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Sacramento appealed to her because she feels she could focus on her clothing without getting “caught up in the drama” of a place like New York or Los Angeles.

Pieces from her Spring/Summer 2011 collection “Feminine Attributes” held at the Antiquite Maison Prive in Sacramento for selected clients, members of the press, friends and family. The beautiful color palette for her collection included pastel peaches, bold kelly greens which were mixed in with taffeta gowns and tulle ballerina skirts and sequined tunic dresses pleated. Wide-legged capri pants, cropped jackets in champagne jacquard and sophisticated pantsuits pant suits were highlights and on her client’s order wish list. Looking forward for her next collection will most likely debut at the Lincoln Center for New York Fashion Week in September 2012. Full Video of Spring/Summer 2011 collection “Feminine Attributes” can be seen on YouTube. For more information visit CarenTemplet or follow Caren Templet on Facebook.

MODE Bay Area was able to sit down with Caren Templet and ask her some fun and intuitive questions…

Throughout my life I have always been creative by nature. As a child I was introduced to sewing by my mother who made our clothes and then I took on sewing my own garments. I am trained as an interior designer, florist and held another job but I discovered my true passion to be a designer later on in life. Four years ago in 2007 I launched my own label and on June 6th 2009 opened my first flagship store.

The most difficult aspect for me was finding the right people to produce and work congruently with the same standards I uphold and expect for myself. It is especially difficult if the people that you are working with do not understand your vision. So it has been a learning process for me and for those that I work it to come together at the same standard and goal. Second is that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to maintain the business, so time constraint is always a problem.

I would be writing about fashion at a magazine or writing a book where I can express my point of view about everything I know about fashion.

First would be to learn and take in as much as you can while stay open minded to new ideas and concepts. There is never an ending point in learning fashion design it is always a constant learning process. Fabrics are very important make sure that you have a full understanding of fabrications. If you would like to build your brand take classes on business and merchandising it will help you analyze your market and in branding your line. Last always stay true to yourself and look forward.

Galiano, Chanel & Lanvin

When models bring shoes that don’t fit it ruins their walk and the overall look of the outfit that they are wearing.

For my eighteenth birthday I made a polka dot skirt, but forgot to include the slit in the back of the skirt. The skirt was already tight enough and without the slit I couldn’t sit down properly or walk comfortably the whole night. My friends laughed at my attempts to sit down or change positions but thankfully my outfit looked good and joining in with their jokes made the night better.

Short tunic dresses with a pair of pants jewelry and a ring. I am in love with rings!

I would like my brand to be worldwide in 10 years and later on expand my designs to men and children’s wear, in short I would like to dress the whole family.