I’ve always had a subconscious interest in fashion, even when I was really young, but it wasn’t until lockdown in 2020 that I started to believe it was something I could really pursue as a career.
The fashion industry had always intimidated me, and without the option at my school to study Textiles or Fashion at GCSE or A Level, I had written it off as something I would never be able to achieve.
Then when COVID-19 hit, partly out of boredom, I decided to get my mum’s old sewing machine out. I would be lying if I said it came naturally to me – in fact I found sewing extremely tedious and difficult, but that was what made it so rewarding. The feeling I got when I managed to figure something out was unmatched to anything I had felt before. I fell in love with the challenge and the process, not just the end result. I realised that behind the glamour and status, fashion is all about problem-solving – that’s what makes it so fun.
I am involved in every step of the creative journey from the conceptual research, to the manufacturing, to the final product. For me, the initial research is the most important part of the creative process, in order to have a solid foundation for exploration. My initial ideas come from draping fabric and existing garments, then photographing and collaging these together to inspire silhouettes. Then I sketch these ideas out to create my designs. I get market research from trend-forecasting websites and designer archives to curate a collection that aligns with a relevant consumer. I am often inspired by projects with a personal narrative; my concepts are communicated both through my silhouettes and prints.
Before university, everything I knew about garment construction was self-taught through trial and error – and the occasional YouTube tutorial. I didn’t know anything about pattern cutting and I had never used an industrial sewing machine before. I felt like I had fallen into the deep end, going straight from an art A Level to a Fashion degree course. I was anxious about being behind my course mates when I started – I found the first term particularly challenging and debated whether I was even good enough to study fashion and if I would ever be able to catch up with my peers.
However, something I am extremely grateful for at AUB is that they teach you the basics of every area and allow you to experiment and learn so many different skills in order to find your strengths. From digital fashion technology to traditional textiles, to creative pattern cutting and to knitwear – you get a taste of all of it. All these opportunities meant that going into my final major project in third year, I was confident in the skills I have developed and had a clear vision of that I wanted to accomplish.
My final major project was called Home Route: a five-look capsule collection inspired by my grandparents' unique hobbies: my grandad’s passion for husky racing and my grandma’s love for patchwork quilting. The aim was to blend these juxtaposing ideas together with contrasting fabrications and hardware, taking inspiration from extreme winter sportswear and cosy quilted textiles. The overall vision was for the collection to emulate the nostalgic feeling of coming home after a long day out on harsh, mountainous terrain.
For my final collection photo shoot, I collaborated with commercial photographers Lola Tyler and Ethan Parker. It was really fun working alongside other creatives to see my vision come to life in photos and seeing all the hard work I’ve done over the past year come together.
I was extremely proud to be selected, alongside my course mate Jazmine Mitchener, to have one of my looks represented in the Graduate Fashion Week Talent of Tomorrow campaign, which is a collaborative photo shoot to promote Graduate Fashion Week (GFW). I also was extremely honoured to be one of 11 students from my course to showcase their collections on the runway at GFW. It was such a surreal feeling to see my collection come alive on the catwalk and the whole week was an amazing experience.
It was an incredible feeling to have been shortlisted for two GFW awards: the Sportswear award and the Trend Forecasting award sponsored by Next. Winning the award with Next made the whole week feel like a dream!
Alongside this, I was given the opportunity to have an interview with Next, and I recently was offered a trainee position on their menswear design team, which I was really excited to accept. My dream role in the future would be a Head Designer, or a Creative Director for a menswear brand.
