Last month, we had the pleasure of spending a cloudy afternoon with the lovely Tallulah Fontaine. Illustrator, champion of independent designers and Canadian, Tallulah epitomizes the women Bianca designs for - strong, beautiful, creative and intelligent women who care about the stories behind their clothes and the communities they live in. We hope you enjoy the interview, Tallulah is a serious badass and sweetheart. Be sure to check out her website and follow her on IG. Photography by James Branaman

 < Tallulah wearing the Elaina top and Stanya pant >

SCM: Can you give us a little Tallulah history?  

I'm originally from a small town called Beaumont and moved to Edmonton, Alberta when I was about 10 or 11.

I have a German dad and a French Canadian mom who are still married and live in Montreal. They manufacture baking equipment and are really into ballroom dancing. I also have two older siblings who have big families of their own. 

My high school was called Victoria School of the Performing and Visual Arts in Edmonton. It was by this great record store called Freecloud. I didn't attend university or any other post-secondary programs.

< Tallulah wearing the Allegra top in cream linen >

SCM: We love your illustrations. What do you love about your practice? How did you find your process? It looks like you are one of the main characters in your illustration - are these stories about you?

Most of my personal work is about me but I also really like to draw my friends Maddy and Megan. I started working for Megan's band about 5 years ago and that's what pushed me to pursue illustration full time. I'm still figuring out my process but its a mix of watercolour drawings and digital colouring. That sort of developed because I was travelling so much and that's what I found to be the most portable and comfortable way for me to work. My favourite part is just playing with watercolour washes because I love the textures so much.

SCM: What inspires you? Who do you admire? 

That changes all the time! Right now I am really inspired by my roommate's work Niv Bavarsky, Cape Dorset books and all the flowers growing around Silver Lake.

< Tallulah wearing the Nico dress in cream linen >

SCM: Function? Style? Ethics? What do you look for in clothing?

I definitely look for all of those things when buying clothing. When I was a teenager a friend started working at a shop in Edmonton called Nokomis that only carried hand made garments by Canadian designers. From then on I've made an effort to shop local and know a little bit more about where my clothing comes from. The main thing I look for is natural fabrics like silk, cotton and linen. Which can be tricky cause there is so much polyester out there!

SCM: Can you talk about your life between Canada and Los Angeles, we love Canada!

Canada is great! I came to LA a couple of years ago for work and fell so in love with the city and its warm winters. 

Now I try to split my time between there and Montreal and Toronto. Bouncing back and forth can be difficult but I feel so fortunate that I get to experience both.

SCM: In a perfect world, what’s your dream for your life and for your community?

Still figuring that out myself but I would love continue creating and find a way for us to all live closer together.

SCM: Mountains or the city?

Mountains! I'm still an Alberta girl at heart.