A cult favourite for effortlessly elegant party dresses, De La Vali mixes Ibizian influences with an air of luxury. Known as the ultimate party mood, the brand has been the go-to for occasionwear since its launch in 2017.
This season is no different, with one-shoulder styles, bright silks and feathered detail catching our eye. We joined co-founders and best friends, Jana Haveman and Laura Castro, on their space, inspirations and life in London...
Thank you for talking to Coggles today! Please tell us about how you came to start De La Vali?
It’s a special story, we have known each other since a very young age and always knew that we wanted to collaborate in some way. We have always been very much in sync in terms of our creative vision, we're inspired by the same music, films, ideas, passions and style so it seemed like a natural progression to embark on designing clothing together.
We found ourselves on a continuous quest to discover ‘one of a kind’ dream dresses with little success so after years of digging through vintage fairs and flea markets for these statement styles we decided to travel to Goa, India to create our first collection together.We then sold this on the beaches of Ibiza and were blown away by the instantly positive response, Ibiza is a small place with a real sense of community so it wasn’t long before we began to see women wearing our designs around the Island. Once we were at a party and saw about 20 girls in Vali dresses
It was at that point that we thought – this isn’t just a passion project, we need to push this to the next level... We then moved to London and began wholesaling the brand, we were instantly picked up by luxury retailer Browns where we are still proudly stocked today.Where does your love for vintage clothing come from?
We have early memories of raiding our mother’s closets and have always adored clothing that tells a story and encourages the notion of ‘playing dress up; Each collection always has a slightly playful narrative which we feel is often really apparent in vintage styling. We lived in Amsterdam together in the early days of embarking on the brand where the vintage scene is super strong and you have a treasure trove of stores on your doorstep – this inspired a lot of early designs, much like the streets of Portobello in London still do today…Our personal style is quite eclectic really, each collection kind of reflects this and has quite whimsical, bohemian pieces accompanied by sharp tailoring, statement leather or bold, colour pop minis always with a nod to influential eras past - each piece kind of represents a different part of our character as designers and people really...Where do you find inspiration?
Film, photography, music, style icons such as Keith Richards, Anita Pallenberg, Jane Birkin.Our SS22 collection in particular is inspired by the iconic works of photographer Slim Aarons and the high-society pool parties of the 1960s that he so vividly captured – the colour palette is bright and daring, with lots of sun-drenched solid chiffons and 60’s Inspired prints.Not all party wear needs to be uncomfortable, in fact, it rarely should be!
Some of our favourite styles are The Moss Dress and The Piscina - they're real stand-out head-turning gowns but they're also versatile/wearable. So we always bear this in mind - especially with our summer styles, we love that 'beach to beyond' spontaneity that the summer months offer so each dress should reflect that...
Can you share anything exciting coming up with us?
Well, some really big news is that we are opening our first bricks and mortar store in Ibiza Town, the fact that our flagship store will be located where it all started is beyond a dream come true.We have discovered an increasing customer demand to try our product on in real life, e-commerce is amazing and is truly an integral part of our business model but to try a dress in person – feel the fabric and see how it hangs on the body is so special. We are really working on curating a brand experience within the store, offering a piece of home and authentic Ibizan lifestyle alongside exclusive pieces and all of our most in-demand styles. Tell us about where you are shooting today?
We are shooting in Notting Hill where we both live when we’re based in London, we are lucky enough to live between Ibiza and London so we don’t currently have an official office, we often work from each other’s homes and have wider meetings each week with our London based team. The flexibility this offers is great but we do have plans to open a new office in London in the future, it’s amazing when we’re all together throwing creative ideas around so this is something we’re looking forward to getting back to one day.What’s your favourite thing about living in London?
Every aspect of the city has influences from all over the world, it’s so special in terms of how multicultural it is and how much it celebrates diversity. The impeccable styles and subcultures people are so stylish and daring in London.
It’s a city of a million and one opportunities and experiences on your doorstep, just when you think you’ve figured it out you’ll find another magical lil bar tucked away somewhere, it’s so charming and ever-evolving. Growing up on a small island we didn’t really have that.And lastly, what do you like to do away from work?
Be in nature. Our favourite thing to do is travel, we love travelling together and exploring the world. When in London we love to get inspired at beautiful art galleries or vintage fairs and we have a real passion for live music and gigs which London is amazing for. Also, Glastonbury, can’t wait for this year!And there’s an amazing art-house cinema in East London called ‘close up’ an ideal date spot. 
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