{"id":14241,"date":"2017-09-15T11:57:23","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T15:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/?p=14241"},"modified":"2017-09-21T12:57:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T16:57:19","slug":"higher-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/en\/2017\/09\/15\/higher-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Higher Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Besides being a talented designer whose eye for the avant-garde has earned him A-list clients such as Jennifer Aniston, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Coco Rocha, Alberta-born Sid Neigum is just plain smart. The 29-year-old had been studying science in university when he decided to shift his focus to cutting and sewing. The label has, in the mere six years since its inception, established a signature sculptural aesthetic that draws on the cerebral \u2014 the golden ratio, a mathematical ideal geometry found in history\u2019s most eye-pleasing examples of art, design, even nature. And this fall, as his surprisingly different \u2014 and more feminine \u2014 collection enters Net-a-Porter and more luxury retailers worldwide, this millennial\u2019s greatest attribute is clear: the ability to listen and learn.<\/p>\n

Neigum was born in the small oil town of Drayton Valley (population, 6,000-ish), just outside of Edmonton. While other kids were sticks up in hockey, Neigum spent his youth playing in punk and metal bands, developing a keen fascination for musician dressing (his uniform is still all-black jeans and T-shirts, of his own design). His grandmother was a seamstress and her influence rubbed off. \u201cWithout making a pattern, she would just grab the measuring tape and whip up a dress for my sister,\u201d Neigum remembers. \u201cI always found it interesting that she could create something from nothing in an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took Neigum\u2019s parents several years to accept the fact that he wanted to follow in her footsteps rather than pursue a career as a doctor, a goal he aspired to after working at a hospital.<\/p>\n

He first attended MC College in Edmonton before venturing on to New York\u2019s Fashion Institute of Technology. His next position was serving as an intern with designer Yigal Azrouel. \u201cI was at the bottom of the food chain,\u201d Neigum remarks. \u201cBut while I was fetching coffee, I could see how the structure of the business was working, like how many seamstresses and designers they had.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"It\u2019s easy for Neigum\u2019s creations to become a conversation starter, shown here with his twist on the classic ensemble of white shirt with black pant.<\/a><\/div>\n

He gleaned all he could from being on the inside, and today Neigum makes almost all of his samples and smaller units of production in his Toronto studio, then outsources anything over 50 or 100 units to contractors, in much the same way he\u2019d learned from his mentors.<\/p>\n

Despite his being a quick study, the first runway show at Toronto Fashion Week in 2011 went over badly. The collection was na\u00efve, Neigum recalls, and a big part of the focus was on androgyny, a concept he\u2019s since abandoned because \u201cmost department stores don\u2019t have unisex sections,\u201d he notes. An unflattering review by Sarah Nicole Prickett at the Toronto Standard declared that it was \u201csmart of Neigum to combine historical Japanese influences \u2014 although I\u2019m not sure how well he understood them \u2014 with the contemporary ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

But rather than interpret the criticism as insult, Neigum heeded it as advice. \u201cI really took it to heart, like, okay, good point.\u201d He spent the next while honing in on his vision. The result was collection after womenswear collection using the golden ratio as the golden rule. Architects like Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas could be found on the young designer\u2019s mood boards. (As an example, one might detect a trace of Frank Gehry\u2019s Deconstructionist Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall in Neigum\u2019s 2015 white three-dimensional scarf-cum-halter top.) In 2012 Neigum received Toronto Fashion Incubator\u2019s New Labels Award. More accolades followed. In 2015 the line was picked up by The Room at The Bay and, shortly thereafter, by Simons.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The avant-garde designer Sid Neigum backstage in Toronto. Portrait by Luis Mora<\/a><\/div>\n

The turning point toward broader recognition happened last year when Neigum was granted the DHL Exported Program in London, which meant that he would be able to show at London Fashion Week for two seasons at no cost. It was there that Maya Singer of Vogue.com took notice, calling Neigum \u201cone to watch\u201d in a positive review of his FW\u201916 collection. Soon Neigum found himself meeting with buyers all over the world. They loved his clothing, but they demanded changes.\u201c<\/p>\n

A lot of the feedback was from the Middle East, because I\u2019m so used to designing for the climate that I\u2019m in,\u201d explains Neigum, who struggled to justify the heavier fabrics he had been using to articulate his constructions, when buyers were sitting in 45-degree weather. \u201cI think a lot of Canadian designers\u2019 spring collections are too heavy, and even their fall collections probably, because our weather is so much colder than average.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Dramatic shirring on a black top complements the sculptural silhouette of a jewel-tone skirt<\/a><\/div>\n

Neigum started researching temperatures for various cities that corresponded to in-store dates and adjusted the fabrics for his fall 2017 collection accordingly. Comprised of lighter-weight velvets and silky pleats, the sensibility is noticeably softer \u2014 and more wearable. Since the presentation, he\u2019s booked four retailers in the Middle East, Joyce in Hong Kong, Boutique 1 in London and, most significant, Net-a-Porter, raising his overall production by 1,208 percent virtually overnight.<\/p>\n

At first glance, one might worry Neigum is abandoning his hard-won vision, but like all of his clothes, one need only look more closely to realize that the DNA is still there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"A tunic with flared sleeves benefits from Neigum\u2019s twist-and-tie technique.<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cPeople were, like, \u2018It\u2019s so different than past collections.\u2019 I had to remind them that it\u2019s the same pattern as this [other] collection, but with a totally different fabric and a manipulation detail like a knot,\u201d Neigum explains. \u201cThe same geometry and patterns used with super-fluid fabric changes things so much.\u201d Neigum rather enjoyed slashing apart all of his old patterns, then adding a twist or a tie in order to put them back together again to create something new.<\/p>\n

Now that women from New York to Paris to Hong Kong will be able to order one of his pieces at the click of a button, what will Neigum learn how to do next? Well, he already has a side hustle, customizing the interiors of high-performance cars like Porsches and McLarens with Pfaff. He\u2019d like to get back to playing music if he can spare the time, particularly on the 150-year-old wooden piano that sits in the downtown condo he shares with his girlfriend, Chlo\u00e9 Gordon, one of the designers for fellow Canadian fashion label Beaufille. \u201cIt sounds cheesy and lame, but I hope to be doing the same thing, just what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the contrary, the most evolved among us think just like this.<\/p>\n

\n

By Carlene Higgins – *This article originally appeared in INSIGHT: The Art of Living | Fall 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Besides being a talented designer whose eye for the avant-garde has earned him A-list clients such as Jennifer Aniston, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Coco Rocha, Alberta-born Sid Neigum is just plain smart. The 29-year-old had been studying science in university when he decided to shift his focus to cutting and sewing. The label has, in the mere six years since its inception, established a signature sculptural aesthetic that draws on the cerebral \u2014 the golden ratio, a mathematical ideal geometry found in history\u2019s most eye-pleasing examples of art, design, even nature. And this fall, as his surprisingly different \u2014 and more feminine \u2014 collection enters Net-a-Porter and more luxury retailers worldwide, this millennial\u2019s greatest attribute is clear: the ability to listen and learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":14293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[179,570,571,572,573,574],"class_list":["post-14241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight-magazine","tag-fashion","tag-fall-2017-collection","tag-insight-magazine-fall-2017","tag-fashion-design","tag-sid-neigum","tag-canadian-designer"],"yoast_head":"\nHIGHER LEARNING | INSIGHT: The Art of Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the cusp of global expansion, Canadian fashion designer Sid Neigum opens up about tough lessons, architectural inspiration 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