The source of my inspiration… someone keeps sending it down to me (laughs). No, no... it comes from everything around, but it’s hard to be so literal, it’s a number of references that collide, culminating into a new idea.
When I was studying for my masters... I’d come up here regularly, to trawl through the collections.
It’s so big and I do dream about just being shut inside… as a designer I feel a certain responsibility... furthering people’s imagination and also challenging their views of what fashion is.
Yes, I have made frequent reference to nature in my work. What... how that started?
I came across some beautiful images of birds in collections. It was their structural qualities... the feathers; it triggered a train of thought. It led to the creation of the whole collection.
Medieval influences? I guess so... I came up to an exhibition here and there were these incredibly elaborate manuscripts, beautiful things and in the margins, birds everywhere... quite abstract.
A fascination with them? Maybe... I did consider using birdsong in my shows; it’s all in the sound archives....
Anxious about starting my own company?
…very confident about my design capabilities… but I had no idea about business planning or how to actually sell my work... and with huge support from the Business & IP Centre… attending the workshops I quickly became quite savvy about protecting my designs. I met my Finance Director here actually.
I guess being in a space that is inspiring and has a vibe to it and has all of these things to discover is incredibly exciting. Real inspiration...
