Eva Franco’s taxidermy obsession started innocently enough: The Los Angeles-based clothing designer had just moved to a new neighborhood and her dwelling had the rustic charm of a cabin. The only thing missing, she felt, was a huge animal on the wall to complete the hunting lodge vibe. So one night, Franco logged on to eBay and scoured the cyber-mall of taxidermy. Two clicks later and a hundred dollars lighter, she was the proud owner an enormous deer bust with an impressive eight point rack. But when she went to pick him up from his Beverly Hills owner, the bust was so big that it didn’t fit over the fireplace. “So I took him to my office that has 30-foot-high ceilings and he became our sort of mascot,” says Franco, whose staff has since lovingly referred to the deer as “Frank.”
A walk-through of Franco’s studio is bound to turn up other eBay purchases. The 35-year-old designer has long shopped flea markets for vintage dresses and fabric as inspiration pieces for her own collections. But as her eponymous line became one of the city's fastest growing independent labels (Eva Franco is sold in over 400 boutiques around the world, including Anthropologie), she took to strolling the virtual stalls of eBay for old styles and prints. She’s also used eBay to build a growing collection of exotic, vintage taxidermy that has rendered her studio into a pastiche of the past.
“I would be traveling so much more if I could,” says the Hungarian-born designer. “But I love being able to shop for vintage pieces in [places as far away as] Australia from my laptop. It’s a whole world search that I would never be able to do otherwise.” As far as eBay shopping strategies go, “I’m a waiter. I will hold out for a really special piece,” she says. Her latest eBay obsession. Old churches: "Wouldn’t it be cool to buy one in Pennsylvania and convert it into a loft and studio?”
While her classic silhouettes strike a bit of a nostalgic note, Franco's fashion designs are juxtaposed with truly modern effects like laser cut-outs, bold, unexpected color and signature detailing, including studs, grommets, eyelet and bold stitching. Franco’s tenure as an apprentice to renowned Parisian designer Etienne Brunel informs her own well-constructed pieces and offers reassurance that they’ll last past the current trend. This sense of fashion durability, combined with the FIT graduate’s flattering fits and playful styling, has become her signature.
Last May, Franco opened her first retail venture, Eva Franco, in the quaint seaside town of Irvington, Virginia. “I really enjoyed having a space that expresses my full creative vision,” she says. Her spring 2010 line reflects this new nautical influence, with navy as the primary alternative to basic black. “I’m also loving this new shade of spearmint green that I’ve interspersed throughout my collection,” she says. It’s flattering and has a fresh quality that I think women will love
from left: Frank, the deer bust; “The baby ostrich was an eBay Australia purchase. I really appreciate the art of taxidermy and how the animals are styled. The beauty is the actual setting, and the pose,” Franco says; “I bought this white barn owl off eBay UK."
A spearmint green scarf Franco purchased on eBay and the designs that inspired it.
Franco's Current eBay Wish List
from left: Jackalope Head (starting bid $25.99); Alaskan Pine Grouse Bird Taxidermy Pair (buy it now price, $199); Pair of Merlins (buy it now price, approximately $1,000)
Amy Flurry is a freelance writer and style editor whose work has been featured in Lucky, Refinery 29, InStyle, Conde Nast Traveler, O @ Home, Four Seasons magazine, House Beautiful, Country Living, and The Atlantan.
