www.vitalydesign.com
'Vitaly was given its first breath of life in Central Bali, Indonesia. Legend has it that founder Shane Vitaly Foran, a Toronto, Canada native, had decided to put his corporate job on hold in order to combat a growing sense of apathy and burn-out. During six weeks of unplanned pilgrimage, Shane found Ubud, a small haven for artists and other wanderers. He spent three weeks there amongst the pale straw huts and towering bluffs in a state of introverted reflection. Entranced by the the town's natural beauty, Shane began dreaming of hand-crafted jewelry that would fit the many faces of everyday fashion.'
And from this dream Shane did not waiver. The Vitaly brand has flourished over the recent years and continues to expand its reaches by appealing to both men and women due to the unisex nature of the skillfully-made pieces. A clothing and apparel line has also become a new venture for Vitaly Design. The garments, mostly tees and tanks, are simple, stylish and of obvious exceptional quality.
www.vitalydesign.com
Vitaly Design is set to release its latest collection this month named Interchangeables. I'm beyond honoured that Shane Vitaly Foran, himself, joined me in answering a few questions about the line, his inspiration and about his hopes for the future of Vitaly:
City Shophisticate: Your brand has taken off in the past couple of years and has
an intriguing back story. Your pieces are beautiful and bold yet understated
and clean. Are all pieces inspired by
your time in Indonesia and the Indonesian culture?
Shane Vitaly Foran: My first collection,
the ‘Bali Collection’ which was about three and a half years back, was largely inspired by
my time in Bali, though admittedly that was more from a materials standpoint.
Being that I started designing in Bali and that’s where our manufacturing was
originally done, I looked to their craftsman’s work to see what they were
capable of and what materials they specialized in. Since then, however, my
collections are largely inspired by street wear, architecture and watches.
www.vitalydesign.com
City Sophisticate: What three words would you use to
describe Vitaly jewelry?
Vitaly Foran: Yikes… this is an incredibly difficult question. Perhaps… Clean,
Unisex and Lifestyle
City Sophisticate: How would you describe your clothing and apparel line?
Vitaly Foran: Vitaly’s clothing line is still in its very early stages. We were
always a little nervous about jumping into that world as we felt we were
stepping outside of what we do well. That said, while you’ll currently only
find tank tops and t-shirts, I suppose the descriptions of both our jewelry line and our clothing line would be similar.
City Sophisticate: Who do you design your clothes
and jewelry to suit most?
Vitaly Foran: Our motto is ‘Designed with our friends in mind’ That has always been my approach. I’m very fortunate in that I have a huge circle of friends and it’s made up of all kinds of interesting and unique people.
With that variety comes many different styles and therefore many different
inspirations. I really like to think that there’s at least one Vitaly piece for
everyone.
'Designed with our friends in mind'
City Sophisticate: Can we expect that in the future for Vitaly we will see more pieces
that are geared towards women?
Vitaly Foran: When I first started designing, I was designing for men, but women
seemed to really like it as well so I started introducing smaller sizes. While
I remained convinced for the first three years that Vitaly was largely a men’s
brand that some women were into, after looking at the numbers and after seeing
the responses to our pop-up shops, I’ve come to realize that it’s a very even
split and is even starting to lean more towards women. All that said, while I’m
apprehensive to explicitly say that I’m designing pieces that are ‘geared’
towards women, I guess you could probably say that! I’m a big
believer in slashing those kinds of gender lines, and so I do hope I’ll see
both sexes wearing the designs regardless. There are some pieces in our newest
collection, “Interchangeables”, which
we’re launching this month, for example, that may be considered more
‘feminine’.
www.vitalydesign.com
City Sophisticate: I know, seeing as there are so many remarkable pieces to choose from, that this may be tough to respond to, but what piece in your current
collection are you most proud of?
Vitaly Foran: I think I’ll probably always be most proud of our ‘Sua’ ring / pendant
combo. It’s become somewhat iconic for us, and it’s the piece that I constantly
see when I go for a walk downtown Toronto… It’s a pretty amazing feeling to
walk by multiple people you’ve never met all of whom are wearing something
you’ve designed – more often than not, that piece is a Sua.
www.vitalydesign.com
City Sophisticate: The founding story of Vitaly is
extremely inspirational. What words of wisdom would you give to anyone that is
considering chasing a dream in design and/or fashion?
Pictured above: Founder and designer at Vitaly Design, Shane Vitaly Foran
www.vitalydesign.com
Here's a bit of a sneak peek at the new 'Interchangeables' collection by Vitaly Design
Interchangeables
Diamonds
Polished
Cheetah
Eel
Matte
Zebra
The 'Interchangeables' collection is incredibly appealing to both men and women. I've definitely got my eye on the zebra and cheetah selections!
City Sophisticate would like thank the talented, and dare I say extremely handsome, Shane Vitaly Foran for sharing the above words of wisdom and giving us a bit of insight into the world of the genuine and creative genius behind Vitaly Design. Thank you to the entire Vitaly team for your input and additions. Much continued success to the Vitaly brand!
Visit http://www.vitalydesign.com/ for information about current collections.
Stay Fabulous!
Jessica Ashley
