We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Valentina Lin ("VL").

VALENTINA LIN was founded by Valentina Salim in 2015. Highly creative and hardworking fashion design student, graduated with Advanced Diploma from Raffles Design Institute Jakarta, Indonesia, and currently studying for Bachelor in Billy Blue College of Design Sydney, Australia

Valentina Lin Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Valentina Lin.

Designer Interview of Valentina Lin:

DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

VL : Yes I always wanted to be a fashion designer. I love drawing and designing clothes since I was young. I like to express myself through art. When I happy, I will make something bright with pastel color. When I feel sad, I will make something dark and sorrow. All with abstract background.

DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

VL : VALENTINA LIN is the name of my brand. Founded on November 21st 2015; on my 18th birthday. We provide both men and women clothing. My workshop is only in my house, in a small room with portable sewing machine and a bag full of fabrics. I always feel inspired when I’m in my room.

DI: What is "design" for you?

VL : Designing is a way to express yourself. There’s no limit on creativity, do your best.

DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?

VL : I love to make something abstract and something dark, through painting and designing clothes.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

VL : I feel inspired when I’m listening to music. When I wanted to design something clean and simple, I’ll listen to classic. When I wanted to design something fun, I’ll listen to Jazz. When I wanted to design something abstract and dark, I’ll listen to Rock.

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

VL : I’m focusing on everything. I’m a perfectionist, so everything must be perfect.

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

VL : I must feel inspired and in a good mood. If I'm in a bad mood, I'll screw everything up.

DI: What makes a design successful?

VL : You must be creative. You want people to recognize you. You want people to remember you. So, make something memorable.

DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

VL : I’ll consider to hear the good one first, because I want to focus on the bad one. The bad one would make me a better person when the good one just gonna make me happy.

DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

VL : Exhibited 1 look at Fairmont Hotel Jakarta on September 21st 2015. It is for the graduation show. I will hold my next exhibition when the next collection is finished.

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

VL : I’m usually drawing something abstract on my sketchbook before designing clothes. My abstract drawings gave me ideas and looking at them made me inspired.

DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?

VL : My characteristic is dark. Not just dark color, but it represent the darkness itself. My style is abstract. I always love drawing since I was young and when I want to draw something simple, it just turns into abstract. The way to express myself is through the shapes and colors, because di base is always abstract.

DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

VL : I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia. Born and raised. My designs aren’t quite accepted in Indonesia, because Indonesian’s characteristic is simplicity and something that would sell. My characteristics are not simple, so it’s quite difficult to grow.

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

VL : This collection was made by 5 kinds of fabric, such as Semi-Wool for the outer, Cotton for the shirt, Lining fabric, and Leather and Prada Lace for the detail. The main point for this collection is the Leather detail, by stitching the seam allowances outside to create the Shedding Snake effect. The combination of the colour black and white creates a strong look. The both colours means Dark and Light or Good and Evil.

DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

VL : Copic markers, oil paints, sewing machine, my laptop, and my sketchbook.

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

VL : For young designers, don’t limit yourself. Be creative, there’s no limit in creativity. Work harder than you are now. Never give up on your dreams, because you are what you dream.

DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

VL : The positive thing of being a designer is that you can express yourself through your creation. You’ll get better everyday, because you learn through experience everyday. The best feeling is when your creation is positively recognized and admired by everyone. The negative thing of being a designer is that you didn’t really have much time to relax. Inspiration doesn’t come often and you have to work on it. And also if you can’t manage your time effectively, you’ll get sick.

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

VL : Never limit yourself. Be creative and dare to be different.

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

VL : The process of making the garment doesn’t really matter if you’re not good at it. You can ask someone to do it for you. The most important skills a designer should have are how to direct the workers and designing the clothes. You can’t ask someone to design for you.

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

VL : I won’t sleep until my work is done. That’s what I do when I still a student and I got sick easily. Now, I’ve managed my working hours, that is from 12pm until 8pm everyday.

DI: What was your most important job experience?

VL : I was working (Internship) from January – March 2016 with an Indonesian designer called Lie Xiang. She is a very nice person and she taught me everything she has learned through work experience. She taught me how to manage a boutique, how to manage the workers, and the most important thing is how to manage time. Now I can manage my working hours and everything is fine and I don’t get sick often again.

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

VL : My future plan is to become a successful fashion designer in Indonesia. Not just Indonesia, I also want to be recognized by people around the world. I want to express myself through my designs so people know who I am.

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

VL : All by myself.

DI: How can people contact you?

VL : valentinasalim21@gmail.com (Personal) valentinalin.official@gmail.com (Business)