the source of my inspiration? someone keeps beaming 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 in a new idea
when I was studying for my master's... 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
how that started?
I came across some beautiful images of birds in the collections...
it was their structural qualities... the feathers... it triggered a train of thought...
and led to the creation of the whole collection
medieval influences? I suppose so
I came up to an exhibition here...
and there were these incredibly elaborate manuscripts, beautiful things in the margins, birds everywhere... quite abstract
maybe I do have a fascination with them? I did even consider using birdsong in my shows, there’s loads of recordings in the sound archives...
and looking back, I have used black swan feathers in lots of my designs
I was 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 and IP Centre...
you know, attending the workshops, I quickly became quite savvy about protecting my designs...
and 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, it's incredibly exciting
real inspiration