With a coaching background in figure skating, Samantha was a self-taught fashion designer who rose to fame by setting up XAMAS, the international brand of professional sports fashion that is best known to the world by its edgy fashionability and wearability. Her unconventional design of competition wear has taken the brand into worldwide sports scenes where many national teams of figure skating have donned her costumes on ice stages to go for world championships. Apart from integrating fashion elements into figure skating wear, XAMAS ventures into other professional sportswear, such as, winter sports, yoga and biking. The brand’s diverse range shows Samantha’s reinvention of sportswear with a modern twist.
Samantha also engages in custom tailoring for her clientele. In 2016, she went to the famous design school in Paris, École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, to explore the heritage, aesthetics and concept of Haute Couture and learn authentic moulage or French draping. Since then, she has gained a deeper understanding of the art of design and considered every piece of design an art piece. Inspired by the Impressionist master painter Claude Monet’s series of Water Lilies, Samantha debuted her Magical Garden Collection manifesting the art of traditional draping at Shanghai Fashion Week in the spring of 2017. The lady’s gowns underlines the feminine beauty of sensuous curves while the menswear carves out the charm of masculine lines. The entire collection celebrates spring with pastel delights, reflecting the touch of vitality. Embroidery, beading and floral handiwork are the continuation of Samantha’s signature style. The jackets feature sophisticated boiled wools. As it name suggests, boiled wools are boiled, agitated in water and shrinking knitted by her inhouse team. A total 150 manual hours are required to complete an ensemble. This is where the precious value of Haute Couture is.
Website: http://www.samanthagiraud.com/