I have just finished my degree in fashion design and technology at Manchester metropolitan university. My work seeks to challenge gender constructs seen within clothes, empowering wearers to express their individual identity. Contemporary silhouettes in bold, colourful prints are oversized and trimmed with delicate finishes and fabric manipulations to create a playful aesthetic. The use of repurposed and deadstock fabrics are key to my design practice and lead to unexpected combinations that play on scale and proportion
Within my design practice I aim to break down barriers between gender and clothes, and challenge traditional stereotypes. I believe that clothes play an essential role in the curation of self-identity and aim to create garments that allow freedom of expression. The sustainable development of the fashion industry is at the heart of my practice, and I address this through the use of repurposed and deadstock fabrics to reduce the impact of textile waste. I also seek to source locally produced materials, trims, and packaging to reduce my carbon footprint.
My ambition is to collaborate with like-minded design practitioners and artists to create collections that celebrate artisan practices, localised production, and slow approaches to fashion.
John queer is a collection inspired by coming out in rural towns in England and the challenges that come with this and the lack of a communities and safe space in these areas. This issue is close to home for me as I grew up in a small town where I didn’t feel like I could come out for years, and didn’t really find my community until I moved to Manchester. My collection takes traditional farm wear and makes it fun and flamboyant. Along with this, sustainability is a massive part of my design process. All of my fabrics are collected from either charity shops from back home in Cornwall, are second hand or are deadstock. I gave some of these fabrics new life by printing my designs onto them. Gender fluid is a key design aspect for me, I want to break down the barriers between genders and clothing to allow more people to feel comfortable in what they choose wear.
