Phoebe English was one of six designers chosen by Cathy Edwards from the Central Saint Martins MA show for our Exclusive story, The Masters. A look from her...
Phoebe English was one of six standout designers chosen by Cathy Edwards from the Central Saint Martins MA show for our Exclusive story, The Masters. A look from her collection was styled by Edwards and photographed by Ben Toms, and here the designer reveals ideas behind her inaugural collection.
You won the L 'Oreal Professionnel Creative award, congratulations! Did you have an inkling you were going to win?
It was a very strong year of graduates so I feel very surprised and honored to have won the prize.
What inspired your collection?
It was inspired by a mixture of things, light, gravity and motion. I was trying to explore all of these through developing surfaces, which would communicate against one another to produce an exciting and active image, as well as something interesting to wear.
Was it difficult working with hair as the main focus of the collection?
Yes, the hair was very difficult to work with. I had to be very patient and work quite slowly, (as well as making sure all the windows were closed near by). But, I managed to develop ways of dealing with its temperamental nature and in the end we got on quite well.
Do you usually use black as the main colour focus in your work?
I have often worked with black as the main colour focus but through the use of mixed media. Using different materials it is the best way to get them to match and black is colour you can usually always find things in. As an entirely black collection I quite like how severe it looks, especially as the surfaces are so dynamic and often quite decorative. I hope that the black balances these things.
Who do you see wearing your designs?
Hopefully women with a personality, as I think the work is quite striking and you would probably need one of those to get away with wearing them. I really admire how Florence Welch, Daphne Guinness, Tilda Swinton and Catherine BaBa dress, they all wear clothes very well. I really think there is an art to wearing clothes well.
See all the designers chosen for our Exclusive, The Masters here.
