This year I toddled along to London's Graduate Fashion Week and as you can imagine this event is hot pickings for a stalker like with a passion for emerging talent!! This is also where I met Natalie, a recent graduate with a final collection that I utterly adored. I caught up with her to find out how she came to designing and her final show...
When did you know you
wanted to be a designer?
In school I
was talented at sewing and always pushed my self more in the production side of
fashion ensuring things were sewn and fitted correctly, playing around with
pattern cutting before I even knew how it worked. It wasn't until I went to university
that I really moved into design, I wanted to choose a course that would nurture
the need for precision in production as well as help in developing as a
designer. After trawling through many universities I found Fashion Atelier, still
a very young course I was originally sceptical that such a course could provide
the teaching that the university's website promised. Yet It really did, two of
the most influential tutors being Alan Norris a retired tailor from Hardy Amies
and Eva Blonska a retired couturier from Hardy Amies, the knowledge they have
to share is incredible and were always on hand to ensure that even the most
difficult to construct designs were made possible. Being taught such classic
forms of tailoring, enhanced my ability to design in ways that were classic and
yet still clever and fresh.
What inspires you?
My final collection
took inspiration from how the skin ages, the negative connotations behind
ageing are so vast and before ageing even happens to a person they are already
fearing it, yet ageing brings wisdom and memories and a life that has been
lived. I find such beauty behind age. There is a blog that I follow called
Advanced Style and its based in New York, a photographer captures stylish women
over 55 and the women are always so full of life and have passion behind the
clothes they are wearing, they haven't just walked into a shop and picked an
outfit from a mannequin they have crafted that outfit for years slowing
collecting each piece. They filmed a documentary last year which is a must see,
it is inspirational for life and fashion.
How did you come to
create your final collection and what techniques did you use?
My grandfather bought
me a book from an antique shop in my home town near Leeds. Its from 1940's
America and has different finishing techniques and sewing techniques, there is
an edge finishing called a picot edge finish where you pulled the threads from
the centre of the fabric, like internal fraying, then knotted them like a
tassled scarf. So I gave it a go but knotting the fine chiffon threads together
looked awful but pulling the threads out gave a really unique effect so before
I knew it I was sat for hours dismantling the weave of the fabric to create
internal fraying. It was something that I had never seen before and was much
cleaner and more controlled than standard fraying. That one small technique led
to the development of my entire collection.
Who are the designers you love at the moment?
In ready to wear I really love Emilia Wickstead at the moment, her use of tailoring with modern fabrics and interesting pattern cutting is what I aim to do in my own work, and Celine everything is always very considered and effortless. With it being couture fashion week at the moment I can't contain myself there's so many incredible pieces coming out, new techniques being developed in Ateliers. Couture is so technically experimental, the craft that goes into each piece is a work of art and so unique.
Five items you can't
live without?
I have a necklace that
was my grandmothers it has a long gold chain with a magnifying glass on the end
of it, she used to wear it everyday and now so do I.
I have a black Cos
jacket that I have barely taken off since I bought it, Cos is experimental with
the way they cut clothes, everything is so classic but with a fun twist,
perfect for work.
A couple years back I
bought a Kennet and Lindsel mannequin that I use constantly developing new
techniques with interesting fabrics that I find at work and in London.
I recently bought a
beautiful brass maths set from Tom Dixon and use the set square all the time at
work for pattern cutting and to be honest I use it everywhere, its always with
me!
Then of course my phone, having recently moved
to London I would be permanently lost without citymapper!
STALK THE STALKER ON
cool designs
ReplyDeleteSome seriously cool pieces. Natalie's one to watch. I want that cleverly frayed floaty long dress!!
ReplyDelete