Personal Statement:

My degree studies in Fashion Design at the University of Leeds has enabled me to pursue my passion both academically and practically whilst also gaining valuable experience in the fashion industry. As part of the course I specialised in menswear and undertook two internships during my year in industry. The first internship was a seven month placement with the luxury fashion brand, Brachmann, located in Berlin. In this role I designed and prepared samples, constructed technical packs and helped to prepare for Paris Fashion Week 2018/2019. The second internship was with H&M headquarters in Stockholm and lasted for four months. My role there was a design intern and I gained invaluable experience in the organisational running of a global and commercial brand.

Project Works:

The inspiration for my projects has come from a variety of interests: my first project for the innovation module developed the idea of sustainability to produce a reversible multi-product collection. This collection was inspired by my time in Berlin where I researched the contrast between the pre and post-unification of Berlin, looking in depth at the music influences, specific imagery and trends from these two historical eras.

The second concept was taken from the imagery of container shipping: it focused on the colours and textures found in the photography of industrial container ships. I chose to incorporate heavy knits, literal graphics and oversized silhouettes to resemble the urban, gritty elements of the container shipping industry.

The third and fourth concepts were divided into two areas: the first reviewed the “This is England” film and TV show incorporating the punk subculture fashion influences which evolved from this era. The film was based in the 1980’s and incorporated this subculture and the musical influences which inspired my designs. The second concept was designed in direct contrast – “This was England” reviewed how England once was in the “roaring” 1920’s. I discovered that although this era was renowned for wealth and prosperity severe hardship was also prevalent, due in part to a large scale mining strike which caused poverty and adversity for many people. My designs were aimed at displaying an element of the 1920’s which is often forgotten.

My final concept was taken from the artist Dorian Legret, who uses contemporary digital media in contrast to authentic renaissance imagery to produce a bold mix of old and new. In my designs I used actual imagery from Legret’s artwork and also incorporated the colour palette from these images to form a daring and exciting sportswear collection for men.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require any further information: my contact details are above.