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equipment will be appreciated.
Who in the fashion world do you aspire to be
like and why?
I do not think that I aspire to be like any individual
person. I always think it is very charming
when I meet somebody in the industry that is
not affected by fashion and is still really down
to earth and nice. I think it is really sad when
people lose touch with reality and forget how to
be human.
How does it feel to be on both sides of the
catwalk, as a designer and a model?
I have Louise Wilson to thank for this as I used
to do fittings for her MA students. She once told
me, ìYou should earn some money from this and
get an agency.î So I did. It’s been amazing for
me in terms of seeing so much within design. I
have also been able to travel so much, which is
always great.
Your collection is a series of strong yet wearable
pieces. What took you in this direction rather
than a more conceptual collection?
My collection is named the ‘Illusionary Spectre’
because I used the Optical Illusions by Bridget
Riley as my starting point. I then integrated
chains to resemble skeleton vertebraes and
spines, hopefully giving the collection a sense of
ghostly illusion. However, my collection is very
wearable because I always imagined if I were
a woman, how would my own personal style
translate? I adore dark silhouettes and metal
finishings. The collection can also look quite
different depending on the person wearing it- it
can either look very hard or quite sexy, and I
enjoy this duality.
Do you think in the current economic climate
that it’s more important to design for
sales rather than vision?
I find it quite enchanting when a designer can
fuse a vision and fashion but into items that
people actually want to buy and wear. Fashion
is a business after all. The last Dior Couture
show, to me, seemed far kinder as it was more
paired down, and more about the clothes and
the client buying them. We are not only in the
middle of an economic crisis but also an environmental
one. I love shows and this is why
I design, but I want to see shows where the
clothes actually translate directly to saleable
items. That is all part of the creativity.
You are about to begin two more years at St
Martins on the MA- what made you decide
to do this rather than go straight into the
working world?
I have been so lucky to experience Louise
Wilson’s teachings first hand during my time
modeling for her MA students’ fittings, and I
want to experience this criticism for myself.
This was my first collection, and I am so happy
with the outcome, but I can’t wait to see what I
will do underneath the MA. I am really looking
forward to studying the course. It’s also quite
daunting as I am unsure of whether I can afford
to study it, so I am currently looking for sponsors
or bursaries.
[Turn the page to see jamie’s work]
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