Interview: Dear Freedom

Dear Freedom is a contemporary womenswear designer brand creating timeless pieces with a modern twist. High quality fabrics, functionality and attention to details are the forefront of their philosophy. The label is lead by two fresh talents, Rasa Barkauskiene and Kristina Bausiene; a team of two friends who got to know each other 8 years before the establishment of the brand.

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BY EDITOR

Tell us about how the two of you started working together.
​We had met one another in a different working environment outside of the fashion industry - finance. At that time, Kristina was a person wearing someone else’s shoes – working in business finance, but spending her free time painting, drawing fashion illustration and studying fashion design. Thus, organically she became a creative hand of Dear Freedom. 

​​While I haven’t gone so far, my main role is in the development of the brand from the business perspective. I am the strategic head of Dear Freedom. But actually, having the experience from a business related background helps us both a lot, because being a successful fashion brand is a lot about bringing aspirations to reality. 

And tell me a little (or a lot) about how the brand came to be.
The idea of Dear Freedom was born under the simple wish of doing something that would feel great for the heart and the soul. Kristina was searching for herself in art and fashion illustrations. Rasa was searching for something new and challenging with a focus on fashion. Then, one evening we met for a girls dinner and started talking about our desires for future. One of our friends has loudly expressed her admiration to a gift that was handcrafted by Kristina; it was a fashion illustration drawing. In this exact moment, the idea was born to transfer the paintings of Kristina onto clothes by digital means. And after that, we began a long process of brainstorming, mind mapping, strategic thinking and creative painting that followed, while Dear Freedom appeared visible for everyone.

Courtesy of Dear Freedom by Photographer Vaidas Jokubauskas from the SS18 collection , "Another Shape of Me"

What inspired the name of your brand?
Our brand name was born after a small day dream. We had a team building exercise in the very beginning of our meetings. We imagined a nice summer day, with the sun shining brightly with us on the beach. The beach is empty but it has two sun-beds to lie down, to feel the heat of the sun. We are wearing white t-shirts and there is something written on the t-shirt’s back. What it is – the question was? 

One of us imagined that “Love” was written, the other - “Freedom". In the moment, we had realized that the name of our brand was born to be “Dear Freedom”, as the letter title to someone that you love. 

But behind our brand name there is a woman who is feminine and independent, who loves herself and others, who doesn’t admire norms and rules, but who desires self-expression. There is a silent promise to yourself to engage in what you love, to make the choices that would make you feel confident and free.

Does Dear Freedom have a company mantra it lives by?
The unwritten mantra is “start small, dream big”. One more is “enjoy every moment of your day, if the joy is not there – go and have a coffee”.

The Editor's personal favorite choice from AW17:

Courtesy of Dear Freedom by Photographer Vaidas Jokubauskas from the AW17 collection

Who do you think connects most with Dear Freedom design esthetic?
The Dear Freedom woman is a versatile, independent, feminine, youthful, culturally aware and very social person. She is striving for achievement and success in her career-life and is a little bit fragile in her free time. Looking for self-actualization, searching for work and personal life balance; she loves her life. She is confident with her style and is looking for aspiring clothing. She values quality over quantity. She believes and supports sustainable fashion, healthy and ecological lifestyle, but she is not obsessive about it. She is a woman that takes care of her inner mindset; that has a free soul even though she is restricted by time. Sometimes she chooses to break the rules and wear unique choices with the purpose to feel free about achieving her own happiness.

The Editor's personal favorite choice from SS18:

Courtesy of Dear Freedom by Photographer Vaidas Jokubauskas from the SS18 collection , "Another Shape of Me"

Describe for me in a nutshell what it is like to work in the Dear Freedom design studio for a day.
Dear Freedom studio is located in the capital city of Vilnius, Lithuania. Even though we don’t have a window view with the church, the great historical and culturally inspiring atmosphere of the old town is really here. And we love working at the heart of Vilnius! At the Dear Freedom studio we have a small showroom for our customers with the pieces of the new collection – customers come here under appointment. The showroom is combined with the working area. To be very honest most of the time there is a creative mess in our studio – you can find fabric swatches, sketches, fabric rolls, books, magazines, boxes, hangers, mocked up clothes, paintings, postcards. Of course, when we expect the client to come we hide all the creative mess to the storage room. Haha!

The days in the Dear Freedom studio are actually very different – one day you may find us quietly working on a laptop in silence (answering emails, planning social media content, ordering fabrics, etc), the other day the music was on and Kristina had covered the whole studio in fabrics and sketches – the collection planning is in progress. Thus, it’s never boring in our studio, that is for sure.

Courtesy of Dear Freedom, by Photographer Vaidas Jokubauskas from the SS18 collection , "Another Shape of Me"

If you had to choose, because I know it’s rather hard, what piece from your SS18 collection do you think best represent who you are as a brand? And how so?
I believe it would be “Long striped coat”. It has a clean contemporary silhouette and the striped fabric brings the twist. It’s versatile and functional – could be styled in many different ways, thus it fosters creativity and individuality. And it’s definitely a statement piece for freedom in ones wardrobe.

What do you think sets Dear Freedom apart from others in the contemporary market?
Identifying a gap in the market for well-made wardrobe staples, we have created Dear Freedom as an “on trend” fashion forward solution for women looking for functional clothing with a timeless and contemporary aesthetic.

Courtesy of Dear Freedom by Photographer Vaidas Jokubauskas , from the SS18 collection , "Another Shape of Me"

What do you think you have learned most so far in your travels of being an owner of a fashion label?
Oh, that’s a difficult question – cause we’ve learned so many things from technical stuff to soft skills. But I would say that one of the most important things that I have learned is that people and the relations that you build with them is the core of success. A great team can bring you the most wonderful solution to the problem, clients can tell you more than any market research; simple words like “please” and “thank you” may do the miracle.

Is there any other information you would like to share with our readers that may inspire them?
​Recently we have joined an international initiative of #furfree trade and we are very proud of this decision. We consciously don’t use animal fur in our production. We believe that the “Beauty requires sacrifice” phrase is simply outdated thinking. Dear Freedom creates for a woman who are free inside and out. Our creative goal is to ensure that the environment we live in is also free from abuse. We prioritize responsible production as we strongly believe that inner beauty is as important as your looks.