Dusen Dusen is a clothing line by Ellen Van Dusen.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. I am a women’s clothing designer based in Brooklyn, NY. Every season I come out with a line of bold, colorful prints and apply them to simple, wearable silhouettes.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? I am just about to start working on my Spring 2015 collection. Every season before I get started, I try to take in as much art and culture as I can so that I have some material to work with fresh in my mind. I like to take a lot of pictures, look at them when I get home and look for a common thread. That is how I figure out what I like. Sometimes it can be really obvious, but sometimes it’s more subtle, like quality of line or scale. I’ll officially get started in about a week or so. In the meantime I plan to check out the Whitney Biennial, a couple galleries in the Lower East Side and the botanical gardens if the weather agrees with me.
What are you currently watching on Netflix? This is not on Netflix, but it is available on the internet—I’m watching a show on Hulu called Burning Love, which is a parody of the Bachelor. The main guy is Ken Marino (from Party Down), and the host is Michael Ian Black. It is hilarious.
What is one of the bigger challenges you and/or other designers are struggling with these days and how do you see it developing? Production! It is really hard to get things made affordably on a small scale. It’s a constant struggle, and I am slowly figuring out a way to make it work. I learn more and more every season!
If you had one wish what would it be? That my dog could talk!
How did your interest in art or fashion begin? I got really into shopping at thrift stores where I was in middle school, and when things wouldn’t fit I would alter them. Eventually I realized that I could just make exactly what I wanted from scratch, and I ended up making a lot of ill-fitting clothes. It grew from there!
What artists or designers are you interested in right now? These days I have been looking at Jonas Wood, Trudy Benson, Peter Halley, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Yaacov Agam. I like Celine’s new line a lot, and have been coveting a bag from Chioyme which I hope to own very soon!
What is your snack/beverage of choice when working in your studio? I like to have a jar of pickles on hand at all times.
What are you really excited about right now? I am working on a furniture collab at the moment and am very, very excited about it.
What are you listening to right now? Frankie Cosmos, Arp, Thee Oh Sees, Eleanor Friedberger, Grass Widow
Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your work? Lena Dunham filmed an episode of Girls where she got too drunk and threw up at her co-worker’s apartment. She was wearing a dress I made! I thought it was perfect.