DL: Do you have a formal dance background or is your movement mostly based on feeling?

GR: It's all feeling. I mean I've definitely experimented with many forms when I was younger, from ballet to contemporary, but ballet was a little bit too stiff for me. Contemporary is more free and you can just move, it doesn't have to be so perfect. That's what I love about the expression that I wanna see and feel. 

I also do this dance called Gaga—it's really cool. It's this movement language developed by the dancer, Ohad Naharin, who kind of rebelled against ballet. It’s about bringing back emotion so you connect to pleasure. You're just standing in this room full of so many different people from older women to younger guys, who you may not think would be doing it, but the whole point is to feel free.

DL: What are some of your favorite sounds to move to?

GR: It just depends on the music. I have so many playlists that I love. It always depends on the people on set and whoever I’m working with. There’s certain ones I love to listen to like Philip Glass. Also ambient music when it's more artful and I'm just flowing.

DL: Who would you say has inspired you and your movement?

GR: I definitely love Pina Bausch and it's funny that this collection is inspired by her because she does dance theater so it's more expressive of human emotions, and I gravitate towards something with more substance.

DL: How does your creative process work in using the body as a language, subject and tool? 

GR: Well I think our body is more knowledgeable and informative than we know. It's more intuitive than our brain. Sometimes we can get so stuck mentally, but our body is actually the truest expression of how we're feeling. So what I mean by that is the tool I can express myself with, is my body, it’s a more universal language than, say, words, which can be a barrier. Language can be a barrier, but your body is the most truthful avenue to your soul, to your heart and to how you feel.

DL: The collection evolves some of DL10C’s original design codes. Do you have any personal codes you always go back to?

GR: I like to keep it simple but still unique in a way. I travel a lot for work so anything that’s easy to throw in my bag. I love nice cottons and wool in the fall and winter. For me it's all about the fabric 100%. I think my styling is definitely more utilitarian just because there's a lot to think about so if I could be stylish with a little less effort then that's how I like to live my life.

DL: Were there any pieces that stood out to you in particular?

GR: I'm really excited actually for that green dress we're gonna try on soon—the long green/brown one.

DL: What are some of your favorite personal or professional projects or work that inspire you?

GR: Someone that I'm really inspired by is Lucinda Childs. She's a choreographer, and she just showed her work at the New York City Center a couple weeks ago. It was a lot about abstract forms and really beautiful projections with a mix of minimalist and maximalist choreography.

And as for my personal work, a couple of years ago, I got super into design and home. The feeling of home, feeling at ease and sense of authenticity is really important to me. 

I made a table a couple of years ago and it had mahogany legs and a glass table top and it kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone. I don't really make tangible things with my hands, especially furniture, so I wanted to challenge myself. I went to the wood shop and I took this large piece of wood and I created this floating table centerpiece.

DL: Do you have any personal muses that inspire you or your work?

GR: I think right now for creativity, I'm really inspired by Vivian Saxson, the photographer. She started off as a model way back and has really transformed herself into being a major photographer in Paris. I went to go see her talk at the museum of photography and I'm really inspired by her trajectory and her self portrait books. I'm also really into doing self portraits nowadays. As an artist and model my image is used for brands, but in self portraits I can express who I truly am and so I'm working more on that these days.