Fashion’s Future Stars: In Conversation with Sarah Mower
Earlier this month, Sarah Mower, Vogue’s chief critic and the British Fashion Council’s Ambassador for Emerging Talent, invited four of Britain’s brightest rising fashion stars to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to discuss the future of fashion. Representing this fearless, emerging generation of talent was Matty Bovan, Nicholas Daley, Samantha McCoach of Le Kilt, and Richard Malone. Although very distinct in their creative visions and stories, it was what united them which left a huge impression on the audience and offered a fresh approach to cultural production.
What surprised me most about these four unique designers was how each of them partake in multiple job roles in order to support themselves, as well as their future collections. Daley stated, that “to survive in the industry you have to be able to multitask” and constantly refresh your portfolio of skills. Next to designing for their own labels, each young designer lectures at various universities, all expressing the rewarding experience of working with students. Being taught by active designers, students are equally able to appreciate the realities of running a brand in an age of social media.
Matty Bovan, who teaches at Central Saint Martins and Leeds Beckett University, additionally collaborates with brands such as MAC cosmetics, illustrates for magazines including LOVE magazine and additionally models and styles for shoots. No wonder, Mower referred to him as the “Star… for all the many things that [he does]”!
Working multiple jobs and undergoing various collaborations have become a necessity, as well as a reaction to a challenging environment:
“I think we saw a lot of designers who we became friends with or interned for, that went under badly – you know, like serious money, serious problems – so we were like no, we can’t let that happen to us. This isn’t viable. This is scary stuff. I think our reaction came from that and working out a different way of doing things… Not necessarily a jack of all trades but its an interesting way of doing it,” explains Bovan.
Another interesting way of doing it is opting to work with local British manufactures and to remain transparent throughout the supply chain. For example, Malone stitches the weaver's name into each garment as he views production to be more aligned as a collaboration.
“People see things so quickly now, they want a better understanding of what they are looking at and what exactly goes into it… Now people are making more of a conscious effort to look back and understand exactly what it is what they are looking at or wearing or where the fabric comes from,” says McCoach.
Naturally, sustainability has become a prerequisite for young designers where recycled textiles, end of life fabrics, and zero waste Tensile, in the case of Malone, are the norm.
“The customer doesn’t need to buy something from me every single season, or even every year, but they might pass a piece down to their daughter, or come back in a couple of years’ time. It’s about not having any waste. We have even made our Mini Kilt, which comes directly from the offcuts of our Kilt Classic, and which I think is quite heartfelt. We made it because we would notice this growing box of scrap fabric – the way the kilt is constructed means there’s always an 18cm bit you can’t do anything about – so we made this mini kilt that went into Liberty, and sold out.”
It is this thoughtful, authentic approach taken by these designers which is a welcome contrast to the cookie-cutter logomania bonanza extravaganza which we are usually confronted with - whether on the high street or on Instagram. Bovan proposes “a different way of doing it” by refusing scalability and keeping things personal; it is about the craft, not clothes, stories, not marketing. Have we turned a new leaf? Or is this attitude simply the beauty of youth which accommodates utopian ideals? (I lean towards the former - I too am a wide-eyed youth!)
Looking around the Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, I see Bovan’s mother Ms. Plum Bovan sitting in the front row, smile on her face, visibly proud of her son for not only of his creative achievements but for the values that he and his colleagues stand for. As many worry about the unsustainable developments within the fashion system, currently full of turbulence and volatility, I was left with a sense of optimism by the lead taken by these four young designers, all of whom will surely play a considerable role in pushing for positive change in the years to come.
