From a young age, Ollie Schefer has fond memories of sketching and creating designs for his hometown football team. From there, he began to observe other designers and their work.
“I remember being transfixed by Yohji Yamamoto’s 2009 show which then led me down a rabbit hole of other designers like Jun Takahashi, Raf Simons and Takahiro Miyashita. Yohji Yamamoto remains my primary inspiration and the designer who made me fall in love with fashion to begin with,” Schefer explained.
Schefer is currently in his final year at the Ara Institute of Canterbury, working on a Bachelor of Design. He also designs under the eponymous label Oliver, although he does not yet operate as a business.
During his time at University, the most valuable thing he has learned is the hard skills and techniques necessary to bring his ideas to life.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding to gradually progress and get closer to a purer expression of my own feelings and ideas,” He said.
During the second year of his degree, Schefer interned with Zambesi, performing odd jobs and tasks around the workroom and seeking to absorb his surroundings. He also recently spent the Summer interning for Garuda SS in India, where he most often did design and pattern making tasks.
“These experiences were of immense value to me. I am incredibly grateful for how working with a team as well as the time working on my own projects out there, allowed me to explore and further my sense of personal design identity and philosophy to provide a new platform going forward.”
For his current garments, Schefer strived to manifest the spirit of Baisao, an 18th-century monk and poet who sought to challenge the formal traditions and conventions of the time.
Wrapping tightly and firmly around the midriff of the wearer, the Obi Corset is a grounding point and a reminder of self. Regardless of movement and layering, the wearer is constantly aware of the structured and form-embracing garment worn at the base of the look.
The pleated and flowing Akimbo Skirt allows for fluid, yet hidden movements, concealing the lower half of the wearer's body and working to create a lighter sense of motion. Its angular and purposeful shape maintains its form regardless of the wearer’s own shape. The silhouette is balanced by the structured Chakai Vest, which itself serves as an equaliser. The neutral and understated tones of the coffee-dyed fabric provide a calming sense and help tie the look together. This is also the look that won the young designer and open menswear award at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards in 2022.
Beyond Yohji Yamamoto, much of his inspiration comes from other kinds of creative media, such as the work of filmmakers, old woodcut printmakers and poets. Along with designers like Elsa Schiaparelli and Suhail Sahrawat, who he believes provide a sense of perspective while simultaneously being able to have fun.
Schefer does not currently sell his work; however, he is always open for inquiries through social media and hopes to one day open up a business of his own once he graduates.
