Stalked: Hattie Buzzard, Knitwear Designer.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a very talented and recent Fashion Textiles graduate from London College of Fashion, Hattie Buzzard. 

Hattie specialises in knitwear design and exploring processes of felting to sculpt and manipulating the surfaces of her knit - creating unique and unexpected fabrics. Intrigued by human to object relationships, her work is often based on ideas of encouraging a more lasting connection to our possessions.

I caught up with her to talk about what is next for this talented designer.

What do you do and what do you love about your job? 

I am currently working on developing  my own accessory range, comprising mostly of statement scarves / collars and clutch bags. Each piece is unique and hand crafted on my own knitting machine. The textures and surfaces within my work are created through the process of felting each piece once it has been knitted. My favourite thing about being creative is the feeling you get in that moment when you discover something amazing in a new technique or process.

 

What are your influences?

My work aims to explore personal curiosities into human to object relationships. I am intrigued by what qualities encourage us to connect to a possession, and consequently deem them exempt from obsolescence. I am fascinated by the qualities of colour - and how these can affect our emotions , feelings and experiences of our attire as well as our environment.

How did you get into fashion? And what has been the most challenging aspect of starting up your own brand? 

I trained in Knitwear design at London College of Fashion and graduated this year. Studying at LCF was a lifelong dream and enabled me to develop the skills and contacts to work towards creating my own brand. I would say the most challenging aspect is working outside of the college environment - not being surrounded by my peers and like minded inspirational and creative people on a daily basis. Also I really didn't appreciate all the specialist equipment you have immediate access to at college all the time!

Who are your favourite designers? 

Celine. Marni. For high street I love anything COS - they do the most dreamy knitwear and they are so innovative with unusual yet wearable textiles.

If you could live in an up and coming fashion city where would it be and why? 

I love living in London, it really is such an exciting and inspiring place to live - especially for fashion. I can't think of a better place to live for fashion, innovation and art. Anything goes in London!

How would you describe your approach to fashion? 

Fashion has always fascinated me because of the power that it has - how much what you wear can affect everything. I love how it can make you feel, I love the fun you can have with it. I'm fairly laid back and I tend to go for things that are comfy and easy to wear. Because of my height (5ft 2) I'm always on the lookout for decent petite clothing - often hard to come by! I have an obsession with coats, you can never have too many. And I live in flats, I can't be doing with painful feet!

What five items could you not live without? 

My childhood teddy bear 'Sunny Emma' - she formed part of my inspiration for my final collections.

My knitting machine - I can't ever imagine my life without knitting!

Alpro Soya chocolate milk - I am obsessed .

Muji notebook - I always have one in my bag for when ideas happen or I just need to write one of my 'to do' lists.

Frizz Ease 'Dream Curls' spray - you don't want to see my hair without it!

www.hattiebuzzard.com

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