Business, Design & Style

Forming a Creative Collaboration

Laura Kim & Fernando Garcia

Lesson time 08:11 min

Receive personal insights into the challenges that come with creative collaboration when launching a brand. Your instructors teach you how to resolve conflicts and maintain a thriving business relationship without compromising your vision.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Forming a Creative Collaboration Build Strong Partnerships Value Everyone’s Input Get Aligned

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] FERNANDO: Laura and I just have a sense of understanding what we both want to see overall for every collection. She knows that I want to have some sort of a dream point of view. And I know that she is going to ask me, is it wearable? Can this be sold? Is it going to make me feel good as a woman? [MUSIC PLAYING] WOMAN: Yay! - [MUSIC PLAYING] So beautiful. Oh my god. That's pretty. FERNANDO: The process of dressing Billie was quite magical. [MUSIC PLAYING] - We are about ready to go to the Met. FERNANDO: It was amazing to see how fearless she could be. [MUSIC PLAYING] LAUREN: Now, when you pick up your phone and FaceTime your friends about what you're going to wear, that means she loves it. And she was doing that the whole time. FERNANDO: That is always a great sign. [MUSIC PLAYING] - For Laura and myself, creative collaboration was happening since the day we met. [MUSIC PLAYING] Pushing each other to better the product that we were thinking of doing. That print, what do you think? Is that color too sad? Do you think it should be punched up? It's just never not been that way. And I think that what's great is that you just need to be comfortable to be around somebody who can challenge you. - When Fernando and I first met, he didn't study fashion. So there were a lot of things he couldn't do that I helped him to do. But he was very good at other things I wasn't trained to do. So we're very comfortable tossing our work back and forth, which is kind of hard for a lot of creative people. Because it's about control, too. FERNANDO: Mhm. - Like, your creative control. You want what you're creating to be perfect, and your vision. But I feel very comfortable. - And that's how we feel about each other. We never not want to better each other. [MUSIC PLAYING] - Top three things you have to focus on when you're collaborating with your business partner. First is trust. Having open conversation. Being open to listening to each other. [MUSIC PLAYING] And I think you also have to be, like, really appreciating the person you're collaborating with. You have to love what they do. You have to trust what they're going to deliver. FERNANDO: It definitely allows you to have more freedom when you feel the other person trusts your talent. If you don't have that complete level of trust, everything else kind of falls apart. Number 2, a point of view. - Yeah, that's very important. - I think that if you surround yourself with good people, that's great. But they're not going to do anything for you if your point of view is irrelevant in the marketplace. Number 3? - To have good financial team for stability financially. - I love that your head went there, and I'm like, fun. - I know. - I'm like, fun, party, celebrities. Like-- - I'm like, pay bills, pay bill...

About the Instructor

As founders of fashion line MONSE and creative directors at Oscar de la Renta, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia have transcended their industry with a partnership that’s more than the sum of its parts. Now they’re teaching you their secrets to creative collaboration. Learn to cultivate strong business relationships, navigate the creative process, and join forces with others to improve the workplace—and the work.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Laura Kim & Fernando Garcia

Fashion luminaries and Oscar de la Renta creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia teach you how to bring ideas to life through collaboration.

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