UNIQLO | LifeWear magazine | Los Angeles: The New Authentic (2024)

Classic items in colors that pop.
Softer fabrics and roomier fits.
These four LA-based artists embody a new authentic style.

Born in 1971 in Canada, Geoff McFetridge has worked across a vast array of mediums, from poetry, animation, and graphics to sculpture, textile, and painting. He has exhibited in galleries worldwide including Gallery Target (Tokyo), Cooper Cole (Toronto) and V1 Gallery (Copenhagen) in 2023. He’s also collaborated with UT on Disney and Star Wars projects.

• @mcfetridge

Basics with a specialness

“I like normal clothes. Standards, the basics,”

Geoff says, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and cargo shorts. He likes to visit thrift stores and hunt for vintage finds, and appreciates how normal clothes often have roots in older styles, like military wear.

“I definitely have clothes from 20 years ago. They show up in my old pictures. If you look at these old videos, I’m wearing the exact same thing.” As Geoff says, this is a timeless style. In his view, comfort goes beyond materials.

“I have a friend whose style is far out. Sweatpants and sandals, sporty sunglasses and crazy shirts. That’s what he’s comfortable in. Comfort is about how clothes make you feel. I prefer normal stuff, no logos or prints, because I don’t want to draw attention to my clothes. Still, I like seeing the weird old tags. They have a kind of specialness that you can’t reach.”

Geoff’s frank perspective can be seen in the pared-down way that he expresses himself: not just in his clothes and possessions, but in his entire way of life.

“I like this idea that every experience has the same value. It helps you live in a way that’s more organic, rather than being fixated on high value, at the expense of other things in life.”

Geoff’s two-floor studio. A corner of the first floor houses a squad of touring bikes. He loves outdoor activities like skateboarding, trail running, skiing, and fishing. This red coach jacket and these geared shorts work with his personal style.

“I don’t like it when paint is on my clothes,” Geoff says, putting on an apron to go into the studio. He measures colors precisely and keeps color records for his work.

The wall in Victoria’s studio displays color tests for different clays and glazes. “Sometimes I say, ‘That’s it!’ but other times it comes out different than I’d imagined. What else is in the kiln has a big effect on the outcome. I use two different kilns for different finishes.”

Born in 1974 in Los Angeles. With a foundation in fashion and production design, Victoria has focused on ceramics since 2020. She looks after everything from production to shipping at her showroom and studio in suburban LA. Her elegant style attracts a steady stream of orders from hotels and restaurants. Collaborating with LA-based design team Commune early in her pottery career, she has cultivated many strong relationships.

• @victoriamorrispottery

Hair & Makeup by Anna Kato

Victoria moved into this studio 4 years ago. She designed the white oak shelving in the showroom.

The Iris Lamp takes its name from the flower. “I’m not a great namer, so I often borrow names from native plants like the willow, or places in California.”

2473 Lake Ave. Altadena, California *Open by appointment only

The “VM” monogram found on the door is also used on Victoria’s pottery. She first sketched it in elementary school. At the studio, she tends to wear denim or canvas. “In summer, I sometimes work the wheel in a long dress,” she says.

Amazing lights and colors
from a California
neighborhood

“Certain places, like Japan and Paris, have a truly unique quality of light. California, in the fall especially, has a beautiful light all its own. A warm feeling to it, unlike any other place.”

Victoria maintains a showroom and studio north of LA in Altadena, nestled in the mountains. One wall is packed with classic lamps and vessels. “Early on, I learned from Japanese ceramics, then got into mid-century design and the modern forms of Scandinavian pottery.” The pale, gentle glazes on minimal forms evoke the atmosphere of California.

“I love quiet, subtle colors because I find them calming. I lean towards blues and greens. Colors that happen in nature have all kinds of different depths. This variation is important to me. The same glaze comes out differently every time. Imperfections are what make a piece beautiful. I’m always happy to see that in a finished piece.”

Letting things happen naturally. This emerald green striped shirt goes well with Victoria’s healthy perspective.

Born in 1981 in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California, Devendra wrote his first songs at age twelve and released his first album The Charles C. Leary in 2002. His varied repertoire includes freak folk and psychedelic rock. In the middle of a world tour for his latest album Flying Wig, released September 2023, he welcomed us into his house.

• @devendrabanhart

Feeling color,
writing and sound.

Relaxing at home in a green sweatshirt by a bank of bookshelves, Devendra picks away at the guitar.

“Color affects us all. Just like architecture affects us. The colors of our clothing are part of how we convey our emotions. Take, for example, the soft pink of this door frame, it’s so faint that the light through the day changes the intensity of it. Bringing me back to childhood,” he says. Born in the US, Devendra spent most of his first 13 years in Venezuela, which he describes as “a gorgeous jungle world.” His house in LA is surrounded by nature.

“I live in a quiet world, surrounded by trees. While out forest bathing, I get to spend a lot of time with insects. The reason that I’ve written songs about spiders is that I’ve had a spider go down my eyelashes at least five times in the past 25 years. On tour, I unplug everything at the hotel, starting with the fridge. I’m sensitive to electricity and sound.”

Touring used to feel like a chore, but since the pandemic, Devendra has been able to see performing as restorative.

“Being on stage creates a special kind of community. I’ve come to understand how important that is. I hadn’t realized playing live was something that I relished and enjoyed, could grow from, and benefit from. It makes me want to perform in a new way. Really connecting with the energy of the audience.”

Devendra says he’ll wear his favorite clothes on stage, around the house, or in bed. For him, style is all about picking a color that suits your mood and a fit that works for you. This subtle purple Oxford shirt and denim utility jacket match his character.

Born in 1991 in California, Liesel is a freelance artist and designer with years of hands-on experience in interior and textile design. Recently, she has been developing a series of large scale paintings and works on paper. Liesel shares a studio space with Pascal Giraudon, a legendary French master printermaker who’s worked with Chagall and Miro. Pascal has been teaching her the artistry and process of etching and printmaking. Dressed in wide-legged cargo pants and a patch pocket jacket, she gave us a glimpse into her creative process.

• @lieselplambeck

Hair & Makeup by Anna Kato

Liesel does color studies for prints and paintings. Any given color contains a multitude of hues, suggesting different pairings. Liesel’s work ranges from palm-sized collages to bigger canvases and giant murals.

Liesel in a hooded cotton blend parka, pictured at the entrance to her studio with her canine companion, Bean. The space is also home to a collection of vintage textiles she calls her "archive and library.”

The imprint of personal
connection on design

“When I’m making things, I think a lot about how people will interact with what I’ve created,” says Liesel.

Since graduating from art school, she’s navigated the worlds of interior and fashion design while exploring the limits of design through her own work.

“I remember loving Marimekko in college. They use prints to put art on everything. Clothes, wallpaper, fabrics. Adapting art to daily life. I wanted to do something like that. I like things that are beautiful and made by artists but still have a practical use, so I was really drawn to applied arts.”

In 2017, Liesel decided to go freelance. Balancing work for clients, she was careful to make time for her own work, first in her garage and later in a small studio downtown. This led to an important connection.

“I met Pascal through a lithography project, and now we share a studio. He’s worked for so many big artists. There is such a beauty in the craft, passed down through the generations. I have a deep appreciation for what he does. I’m always learning from him, and I help him with computer things. We balance each other out very well.”

Liesel prefers simple, functional clothes. “Maybe it’s because I work with patterns and prints and colors all day long, but I like clean, classic items. When my nice clothes get too old, they become work clothes!” she adds with a laugh.

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