East End Review

Category: FASHION

London Fashion Week: East End designers go back to the 80s

Eye-popping palette… Roberta Einer’s SS16 collection

East London designers brought a dash of daring and surprise to London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 16, with eighties nostalgia and experimental knitwear referenced on catwalks and in presentations.

Peter Jensen, based on Shacklewell Lane, referenced sixties and eighties Americana in his SS16 presentation, with pinafores and shirt collars, stitched name badges, polo shirts and jean jackets in primary colours. Monochrome prints on Jensen’s signature twin sets and sweaters were paired with visor-helmets for a futuristic twist.
Also playing with black and white was Phoebe English with her deconstructed collection in silks and taffeta. Shirts looked like they’d been unstitched and put back together; Japanese ties, ruched fabric straps and sashes of fabric were used as simple tech-free fastenings.

Leather stirrups, silk ruched Bardot tops and opaque white tights were brought to life at Claire Barrow’s presentation through her surreal illustrations and dystopian messages. Models wielded musical instruments against a dark backdrop of draped fabric and wore vintage drawn-on jeans, jumpsuits and oversized power suits, reminiscent of a moody eighties band practice. For her twisted vision of Dallas, Barrow used a lot of silk fabrics as her canvas, challenging the feminine ideal and playing with sensuality, heightened by the mixed-sex casting.

Roberta Einer SS16

Faustine Steinmetz was acknowledging her tools and craft for SS16, with garments looking like they’d been pulled off the huge handlooms, which she works on in her East London studio. Denim jackets disintegrated into loose threads at the bottom, curtains of thread made for casualwear motifs on sweaters. For her presentation the French designer had models coming out of the walls, missing limbs, which only enhanced the distorted proportions of the clothes and the surreal element of her collection.

Crash and repair were themes for Christopher Kane’s SS16 collection, and his use of deconstructed fabric and pulled threads reinforced these ideas, turning them into motifs on sweaters and fringing on skirts, this time in primary colours. The collection was unpredictable and varied in its offer, from abstracted wavy cloud silhouettes and rainbow fades, to geometric panelled dresses and block colour shifts interjected with sheer rubberised panels. The designer, whose headquarters are still based in Dalston despite his global success and flagship West London store, brought something new and something old to the collection with unfinished knitwear and his signature fluoro lace. Christopher Kane plastic tags around necks and in hair brought a DIY edge to the collection.

Newcomer Roberta Einer’s eye-popping palette and use of textiles garnered attention at her off-schedule presentation. The recent graduate produced feminine slips and flared skirts in aquamarine and candy pink, incorporating eighties Americana motifs and soviet artwork into her illustrations, which were made out of hand-dyed beads and sequins.
Feminine shapes, whether reimagined or challenged, were evident across the board at fashion week. A vein of eighties nostalgia – bold colours and geometric shapes – was also a reoccurring theme and many designers acknowledged the craftsmanship of their work and that of the industry, by playing with finishings, fastenings and thread.

October 6, 2015
East London designers to watch: Louise Alsop

AW14 designs by Louise Alsop

With an aesthetic combining minimalism and grunge, Louise Alsop draws on a love of hardcore music and zines, while reimagining graphics and logos for each season. A 2013 graduate of the prestigious University of Westminster design course, Alsop launched her own label for AW14, on-schedule, as part of Fashion East. Here, the London-based womenswear designer talks about the design process, education and branding.

What made you want to be a fashion designer?

I’ve always had a huge fascination with fashion, clothes, looking at catwalk shows on the internet and studying my favourite designers. But it hadn’t occurred to me that this was something I could pursue as a career. After studying art, design and textiles and completing school I started to look into fashion courses. Prior to that, I spent a lot of time drawing and making garments and taught myself to pattern cut at home. So I can’t pinpoint a time when I made the decision that fashion was the direction for me, it just seemed kind of gradual and very clear.

You graduated in 2013, from University of Westminster, which has also produced the likes of Liam Hodges, Claire Barrow and Ashley Williams. How did this experience shape your work?

Westminster has an amazing reputation for producing really strong graduates for sure, with the likes of Liam, Claire and Ashley all graduating before me. Westminster was great for allowing you to figure out where you sit within fashion. There was never one pathway for all. It has a strong list of alumni and the classes are small so you easily built relationships with really interesting and creative people, which made for such a good working environment. Westminster always pushed me to produce work that was to the best of my ability, while never pressuring me to decide what I wanted to do once I’d finished. It was about self-development.

For your final collection, you referenced hard rock and nuns. Tell us about that.

I’d been playing around with so many ideas for my graduate collection and when it actually came down to it and the final result, I just simplified everything. I didn’t want to make a final collection that was huge and brash, uncommercial and unwearable. I always loved making clothes and wearing them, so I felt really strongly about that. Because I kept the colour palette just black and white, the prints and fabrication needed to be special. Many of the references were from zines and posters and books I’d collected, and growing up listening to punk rock and hardcore I felt like it was important to reflect that within my work, which I still do to date.

How do you go about designing a collection now? What is the process?

There is always a lot of research to start with, which gets heavily edited to make sure each collection is strong. I love developing my own prints, so sometimes I start there and then work on shape and silhouette and how I can make them work together to create something new. I also love mixing unconventional fabrics together, so there’s also a lot of fabric development and hand work.

You have developed a unique aesthetic with a young rebellious edge to it. What inspires you?

None of my collections have a specific theme. They’re all just a culmination of lots of things I really love which come together.

You use a lot of layering techniques. What got you interested in this?

I really like being able to mix sheer and light fabrics with heavy and matte ones, so I think the layering came from this — seeing fabrics sitting together and complementing each other. I also like things to be really tactile and want people to want to touch my clothes.

Tell us about your use of branding and logos.

I’m obsessed with logos and fonts and graphics and I’m constantly playing around with them. I want this to always be strong and when people see my work, for it to be instantly identifiable. I spend a lot of time getting this right and working out new and interesting ways to do so. I’ll often create seasonal logos, which makes each collection special. It also makes them of a time.

What are you working on now and what is next for Louise Alsop the brand?

I’m currently working on my SS16 collection. I’m constantly working on new ideas and how I can make each new collection the best one yet. I’m hoping the brand continues to grow and in seasons to come I’m enjoying it as much as I do now.

louisealsop.com

Photograph copyright: Louise Alsop

June 23, 2015
Menswear label Cottweiler awarded NEWGEN support

Cottweiler’s AW 15 collection at London Collections: Men

Dalston menswear duo Cottweiler has been awarded NEWGEN MEN support, to showcase its SS16 collections on schedule at London Collections: Men in June.

The NEWGEN initiative supports young designers and brands at a crucial stage in their careers, nurturing their creativity while promoting their commercial potential.

Matthew Dainty and Ben Cottrell have attracted attention for their understated approach to sportswear, exploring innovative textures and logo-less fabrics in their reimagining of the tracksuit, sports jacket and sweatshirt. They have also created bespoke costumes for FKA twigs’ first tour, which included sheer mesh tracksuits studded with jewels.

Dainty said: “We are really looking forward to showing on schedule as part of the NEWGEN MEN scheme for London Collections: Men, in June. The support and guidance from the British Fashion Council will allow us to further our business and bring Cottweiler to a wider audience.”

Alongside Cottweiler this year are two other newcomers – PIETER and Bobby Abley (formerly of Fashion East support). Existing NEWGEN designers include the likes of East Londoner Nasir Mazhar and Central Saint Martins’ alumnus Craig Green.

For Spring Summer ’15, Cottweiler’s collection was awash with swimming pool blues and terracotta browns, with toweling and flannel put to good use in a reinterpretation of summer holidays.

For AW15, the pair returned to stark monochrome tones, injected with details in concrete grey and powder blue. Comfort, through breathable fabrics and high stretch materials, is an ongoing consideration, while the likes of Teflon-coated cotton and innovative techniques continue to push the label in new directions.

May 19, 2015
Top five tips for spring dressing

Raincoat by Christopher Raeburn

The arrival of spring puts us in an annual state of flux. From April showers to sunburnt summers, we are destined to be second-guessing the weather until October comes around again. So it is lucky that a practical combination of rain macs and walking sandals, durable fabrics and sensible silhouettes, defined the Spring Summer ‘15 collections, unveiled at Fashion Week back in September. Our guide draws on an unusual combination of practicality and sartorial goodness, with a firm nod to East London’s top fashion names.

1. Get yourself a raincoat

Christopher Raeburn’s Spring collection ASCENT featured feminine versions of waterproof classics, such as parkas in iridescent pink and coloured marbling. Describing the aesthetic
as “easy elegance and feminine functionality”, this East London
brand has created a niche for itself by fusing practicality with style. Simone Rocha, who works from a studio on Shacklewell Lane, featured delicate custard-coloured trenches for her collection, less practical and more refined. While Emilia Wickstead paired long a-line PVC coats with ladylike skirts. Spanish brand ECOALF creates waterproof outwear
from recycled plastic, available at sustainable retailers 69b Boutique, on Broadway Market.

Layering up: a model wearing items from 1205’s SS15 collection at London Fashion Week

2. Layers are your friends

Tackle unpredictable weather with layers. A host of emerging designers are creating interesting silhouettes through systems of layering. Louise Alsop’s second season with Fashion East – an incubator for British fashion talent – gained attention for its grungy monochrome aesthetic. The collection is a rebellious combination of slashed fabric, frayed oversize tees and dresses on top of skimpy sportswear crops and skirts. The brand 1205, headed up by ex-Savile Row designer Paula Gerbase, also adopts layers, producing striking silhouettes and practical details through loose fit shirts and mid-length skirts in cool starched white, with belted waists.

3. Try sensible sandals

At British heritage brand Margaret Howell, monochrome flat leather sandals were paired with contrasting socks (another take on layering), while Antipodium matched their feminine dresses with full-on Velcro walking sandals (as did Raeburn), and Eudon Choi also adopted flats. With or without socks, sensible sandals bring a contemporary and structured element to an outfit as well as being good for your feet.

4. Dig out your denim

Durable, and currently being fashioned into everything from crop-tops to parkas, denim is the fabric for spring. Thanks to the likes of East London stalwarts Marques’ Almeida and newbie Faustine Steinmetz, jeans are being re-imagined, as flares, in boot- cut, baggy and cropped. Denim also embraces the current penchant for the seventies. Lower Clapton Road’s Bad Denim offers an edit of the best jeans from international brands including NEUW and Paige.

5. Practical accessories

From J.W. Anderson’s shady wide- brimmed leather hats, to ADAISM’s paper-bag style clutches made from cork, suede and metallic leathers, spring’s accessories embrace unconventional materials and simple functional design. ADAISM’s tactile rolled up sacks are available from LN- CC on Shacklewell lane.

April 13, 2015
East London’s finest: Alexander McQueen – Savage Beauty at the V&A

Installation view of Voss from Savage Beauty. Photograph: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

It was the place to be in New York in 2011 and in case you haven’t heard, it’s the place to be now.

Round two of Savage Beauty, transplanted and expanded from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s legendary retrospective, arrived at the V&A this weekend in honour one of the East End’s greatest treasures, and its biggest fan, Alexander McQueen.

McQueen’s global reach can hardly be measured, going from his early-90s ‘bumster’ trousers to the late-noughties’ duck feather gowns and bejewelled head pieces — and back again, as McQueen-inspired bird prints appear on Zara dresses worn by Pippa Middleton, and polyester versions of his iconic skull scarf are worn by ‘edgy’ mums everywhere.

Installation view of Cabinet of Curiosities gallery. Photograph: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

One of the V&A’s most ambitious exhibitions ever, adjoining themed galleries compartmentalise McQueen’s wild imagination, charting the master tailor’s rise from exquisite early suiting that laid the structural foundations, literally, for his wildly ambitious later designs, using more and more material but still managing to flatter.

Scenes from Hieronymous Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights appears on a dress paired with ankle boots and a feather mohawk, and collections inspired by Darwin, primitivism and his fury over England’s relationship with Scotland show a man of many minds. But, as he made clear, the streets of East London inspired McQueen – a Stratford native – early and often.

“You take inspiration from the street, with the trousers so low. You don’t need to go to India. You can find it in places like Bethnal Green, or down Brick Lane. It’s everywhere,” he once said.

Butterfly headdress of hand-painted turkey feathers by Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen. Copyright: Anthea Sims

McQueen, who committed suicide in 2010, left a large chunk of his fortune to his dogs, and £100,000 of it to the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green.

The retrospective received a warm welcome of 70,000 pre-sold tickets, a number which appeared to bring tears to the eyes of V&A director Martin Roth as he addressed the press preview last Thursday.

Tahitian pearl and silver neckpiece by Shaun Leane for Alexander McQueen Copyright: Anthea Sims

Several of McQueen’s financial enablers, American Express and Swarovski, took to the podium in the spectacular double-height Cabinet of Curiosities room, to claim
their due credit.

Nadja Swarovski of the Austrian crystal house told of introducing McQueen to crystal mesh; American Express’ rep strained so far in her speech as to say that McQueen (somehow) had inspired the Amex Gold Card — an unpleasant reminder that despite being surrounded by hats made of butterflies, gilets made of mussel shells and looping video of models who drag each other down runways topless, walk through water or teeter, never falling, on 30 centimetre ‘Armadillo’ shoes — we are not in a
dream after all.

Jacket by Alexander McQueen from It’s A Jungle Out There, A/W 1997–8. Photograph: firstVIEW

McQueen’s relationship with women has been subject to much curiosity, with examiners of his legacy digging deep to understand his apparently complex bonds with women both real (his mother, his dear friend Isabella Blow, Sarah Burton) and imaginary (the mythical creatures he made of models in runway shows).

Did he hate women? Fetishise them? McQueen certainly sits on the edge of any question you may ask about him, making him endlessly fascinating to talk about. But Savage Beauty offers something better than talking — a rare opportunity to shut up and just look.

Savage Beauty is at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL until 2 August

vam.ac.uk

March 18, 2015
That inking feeling: inside London’s only vegan tattoo studio

Andy and Shannon Idizkowska

If you want to prove you’re no commitment phobe, or demonstrate how much you love your mum, then getting a tattoo is a surefire method. But for American artist and vegan Shannon Idzikowska, regular tattoos are problematic, not because of the pain or social stigma, but because the tattooing inks, razors and aftercare products are usually manufactured using animal products. In 2012, she and her partner set up Fifth Dimension Tattoo & Piercing, London’s only vegan tattooing and piercing studio, in Shoreditch.

Shannon, what exactly is a vegan tattoo?

It means the entire process of our tattooing is vegan. So you can have vegan inks, and many tattooists supply those on request but we do the whole process, so the stencil creams, the petroleum jelly, green soap, cleaning products and aftercare.

A quick Google image search for ‘vegan tattoo’ reveals lots of images of vegetables and animal rights. Is veganism often reflected in the designs?

It can be. I’d say about 50 per cent of our clients are vegan, but they choose to have whatever they want really. Actually we haven’t had a massive influx of these animal rights tattoos.

Astronaut by Sooz

What designs are trending in the vegan tattoo world?

Right now? Watercolour tattoos definitely. It’s a style that looks like watercolour painted on the skin. Some people have abstract splashes and some have animals or buildings. Whatever they want can be turned into a watercolour tattoo.

Butterfly by Sooz

What’s the most bizarre design someone’s had done?

One guy the other day got a cartoon cat from a comic he read when he was a child, but he got it on his ass. I have no idea why. He was just a normal guy but it was pretty funny. And he was kind of serious about it too, which was strange.

Who are your customers generally?

I would say from the low 20s to the late 30s. But the other day we had a huge guy from South Africa who was 65 years old, and he wanted a watercolour tattoo and said ‘I’ve got to have this experience before life passes me by’. You know you’re never too old to do something like that.

Can people just arrive at the studio and then just get a tattoo – what’s the process?

You’ll need a consultation first, which is a face-to-face chat. If you have any medical problems then we won’t tattoo you without consent forms.

Mother Teresa by Alex

Do you find that there’s still a social stigma surrounding tattooing?

Yes, I do think there’s a stigma. Many employers believe tattoos will somehow scare clients away and have policies in place to make employees cover up. Katie Piper’s show on Channel 4 [Bodyshockers: Nips, Tucks and Tattoos] perpetuates the belief that body modifications are somehow irresponsible and will be regretted once finished – which is mostly untrue, since tattooists take their careers very seriously. For example, they spend countless hours of unpaid time designing and consulting with people about their designs, and will not tattoo while their clients are under the influence as studio policy in the UK.

fifthdimensiontattoo.co.uk

March 18, 2015
Dressing up at London Collections: Men

London Collections: Men – London’s biannual menswear event – continues to go from strength to strength. Last month it showcased the AW15 collections and saw designers exploring femininity and masculinity, playing with perceptions of gender norms and revelling in make-believe.

Designer Kit Neale invited us on a foray into the dressing-up box, complete with hats and gems and vibrant faux furs. Taking circus costume as a reference point, the designer created playful proportions by pairing heavy footwear with cropped trousers and matching jackets in primary tones of orange, red and navy, topped off with coordinated pork-pie hats.

Recognised for his wild print, his vibrant palette and visual references to childhood, Neale turned to slogans and words – rather than motifs – for inspiration. Jackets were embellished with patches reading “Greatest Show on Earth”, slogan t-shirts screamed “No teddy bears were harmed in the making on this coat” and letter ‘K’ badges were attached to pockets.

Neale utilised his print background for the same ends, producing jackets, shirts and sweatshirts in alphabet print. There was a punk element to the collection, evidenced in classic Doc Marten shoes, tartan patches and frayed edges. But there was no escaping the sense of make-believe and dress-up, apparent in colourful faux fur teddy boy coats and giant gemstone earrings.

Wales Bonner’s collection, as part of Fashion East (an organisation that supports and funds emerging design talent), continued the theme of costume and dress-up with her 1970s inspired line of leather jackets, crushed velvet and cream suits, featuring high-waisted flares and diamond-encrusted cummerbunds.

Grace Wales Bonner, the Central St Martin’s graduate behind the brand, debuted her distinctive aesthetic, which draws on the 1970s, disco and Voguing, at her graduation show last year. This season she returned to these themes, exploring feminine and masculine aesthetics and blurring these constructs through the use of rangy silhouettes, diamanté chokers, handbags and wigs, all worn by male models.

Edward Crutchley, another of Fashion East’s designers, produced a pared-back collection, more ‘dress down’ in its flavour, but with enough innovative textures and sumptuous colours to make the garments feel really special. Quilted ochre kimono jackets, burgundy short-sleeved shirts and navy layered loose-fit trousers were suitably autumnal in tone. Silk bomber jackets featured exquisite Japanese embroidery of birds and fauna. Crutchley’s collection spelt purity and refinement.

Another designer sharpening his aesthetic was Royal College of Art graduate Liam Hodges, who brought his fourth on-schedule collection to LCM. His usual blend of British cultural references was apparent, but streamlined for the AW15 collection. The designer played with the traditions, aesthetic and practical needs of market tradesmen: models wore aprons and A-boards and the dregs of old newspapers became motifs on sweatshirts and a flat cap complemented each look. Weather-proof parkas in navy and black, ribbed drop-shoulder sweaters and coordinated tracksuits in vivid orange, white and black, were commercially viable interpretations of Hodges’ recognisable masculine silhouette.

After establishing itself as a fundamental part of the British fashion landscape, LCM and its participating designers were able to have fun with menswear for AW15, challenging gender norms and exploring the male identity.

londoncollections.co.uk (Designs by Kit Neale)

February 12, 2015
East London designers to watch: Faustine Steinmetz

Queen of jeans: Faustine Steinmetz

Parisian born, East London-based designer Faustine Steinmetz is turning heads with her deconstructed garments made from hand-woven denim and ethereal threads. Working with her team on hand looms in her studio, she puts the exquisite craft and skills gained from training in Parisian couture houses to new, less conventional uses. Named a One to Watch at AW14 by NEWGEN – the Topshop initiative supporting young designers – Steinmetz has quickly established herself as one of East London’s most exciting emerging talents.

Your last two collections have seen you re-imagine denim in some way. What draws you to this fabric?

Since a young age I’ve been drawn to denim. When I was younger I would drive my parents crazy by cutting up all my denim to make new pieces. It is amazing to work with because it is so recognisable and very meaningful. It is pretty much everybody’s staple.

All your garments are hand-woven on looms by your team here in London. Tell us a little bit about the process.

Each individual piece is made by one person so that they can put their name on it at the end and you know exactly who made that piece for you. We have a few different types of looms of various sizes so the process changes a bit from loom to loom.

After the yarn has been prepared you first have to set the loom, which on our smaller looms can take a few hours and on our bigger looms can take over a day depending on how difficult the yarn is to work with. Once the setup is finished the weaving process can begin, which isn’t terribly difficult, it’s just very time consuming and you need a lot of patience. A pair of jeans can take up to a week to complete depending on the type.

Where do you source your fabrics and yarns?

We try to source everything in the UK, but of course that isn’t always possible. Some things you just have to go abroad to get. We’ve been lucky enough to develop close relations with some small UK suppliers of yarn and we like to try and do business with them. To be honest, the most important to me is to make sure that the animals are not mistreated.

For AW14 you created a collection of hand-woven jeans and trench coats with hints of copper so they can be bended and melded to fit. Where did the idea for this collection come from?

I’ve always been a big fan of Issey Miyake Pleats Please and I wanted to work around pleating, but I wanted people to be able to create their own piece by pleating it themselves.

Your SS15 collection references the mega couture houses. Do you think the role of the couturier has changed and what is its future?

Yes, it has completely changed. I think it is not about beauty anymore it is about creating something which is very unique to you. The garments in the SS15 collection are beautiful and intricate but are also rough and imperfect – using knotted threads and frayed hems.

Is this a reaction to the finished and polished garments of couture?

Not really, it was more about the yarn in itself. I was very inspired this season by the process of making fabrics and the threads are exposing that.

What is next for Faustine Steinmetz?

We’re hoping to launch our e-store very soon. Other than that we’re just working really hard on our new collection and getting very excited about it!

www.faustinesteinmetz.com

January 27, 2015
Hackney style stars in ‘people’s history’ of British fashion

Style icon: Hoana Poland. Photograph: Nina Manandhar

Local author Nina Manandhar has featured East London heavily in a new book on British popular style, What We Wore.

The book is a collection of photos submitted by people from all over the UK, covering street style from 1950
to 2010.

Published by Prestel, the book includes portraits of Four Aces founder Newton Dunbar, Dalston entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid and founder of Strut boutique Hoana Poland.

Manandhar has previously featured portraits of shoppers on Ridley Road as part of her London photography book, Money On My Oyster. She herself has lived in Hackney for over seven years.

What We Wore includes a series featuring Winston Milton, born and bred in Hackney, who is a friend of the author.

She said: “Hackney has changed so much in the time since these photos were taken. There is a thriving community of creatives here, but it’s really important to me as an artist that the new communities mix with the ones that have been here for years and Winston is a really good example of someone who bridges that divide.”

Manandhar pointed out that the book also traces the lineage of club culture, which has been integral to Hackney’s history – featuring for example Natalie Coleman’s outfit for Labyrinth, established on the site of the old Four Aces club.

The author explained: “It’s great to see how different social spaces have been inhabited by different groups in Hackney’s history.

“Stories about style are an entry point to wider social history for me and the readers.”

What We Wore: A People’s History of British Style is published by Prestel Publishing. RRP: £22.50. ISBN:9783791348988

December 22, 2014
Emma Ware: sustainable jewellery for the 21st century

A piece by jewellery designer Emma Ware

Emma Ware is a sustainable force to be reckoned with. Hovering on the border between jewellery, art and fashion, she creates unique pieces from found objects. The end result is delicate yet tribal, moulding to the natural forms of the body. Ware abandoned a career in television to start her own business in 2009, gaining meaningful, creative independence. Gaining initial inspiration from the inner tube of a bicycle tyre, her brand has now grown substantially, acquiring a loyal fan base and international recognition.

What inspired you to become a jewellery designer?

Jewellery is something I’ve experimented with at various stages in my life. I just love being in control of the whole process, of making a wearable piece of art from start to finish, and then selling it.

How long have you had your studio space in East London?

I’ve had a studio in Hackney Wick for six years, and I sometimes live in Hackney as I’m on a boat and we move around.
Describe your aesthetic and favourite materials to work with. It’s really hard to describe subjectively, but I guess in a few words:
bold, quirky, tactile, sexy, contrasting. I’ve been working with rubber and chain, and now I’m using leather and precious metals. It seems I like materials with a weight and a presence that I can reform into a completely new object – something more than the sum of its parts.

And do you think that your time spent in East London has influenced your aesthetics?

Seeing how bold East Londoners can be with their style is inspiring and it’s always good to be able to picture my work on real people. The eclectic mix of cultures, music, and creativity sucks you up and encourages you to be a part of it.

Which collection has been your most memorable?

My rubber collections follow on from each other and have been my main focus. It’s these that have taken me into my fully-fledged career as a designer, which is pretty memorable.

Is there anything that you think sets East London designers apart from the rest?

I guess we’re all here for the same reason, for the freedom of creativity which is ‘normal’ here and everything that comes with it. There’s loads of amazing stuff going on all over London, but it does feel like East London is the place to be, the cutting edge of international design even…

Favourite spot in Hackney?

The canals, no question. They’re so beautiful.

What’s next for Emma Ware?

I’m excited to see where my designs will go. I’ve decided not to limit myself necessarily to jewellery and if things want to get bigger, I’ll let them. I’m imagining sculptures, mobiles and costumes.

www.emmaware.co.uk

November 19, 2014