A CUT ABOVE As the fashionistas recover from New York and London, Anna Millar celebrates the Scottish designers making their mark
W hen Carrie Bradshaw is donning your wares in Sex and the City, it’s fair to assume you’re on your way. For Holly Fulton the rise and rise of her fashion fortunes seemed inevitable. A darling of the Scottish fashion scene, last year saw the former ECA student pick up the gong for Young Designer of the Year at the Scottish Style Awards and the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award for Accessories at the British Fashion Awards. Just last month, she lit up the catwalks of London; the enlightened vision of her Spring/Summer collection satisfying all of our hopes. Inspired, in particular, by Eduardo Paolozzi’s screenprint Wittgenstein in New York, Fulton’s new designs have captured both the bold colour and striking shapes of art deco architecture and the irreverent joy of pop art. Her sharp, sophisticated looks, comprising the signature use of Perspex, Swarovski crystal
and metal trinkets, have continued to garner praise. ‘I’ve always been attracted to strong pieces in terms of design,’ Fulton says of her work. ‘I have a huge love of art deco and Bauhaus styles, cubist fashion and the geometry within all these genres. The re- interpretation of these into contemporary materials gives me huge inspiration.’
She continues: ‘I love the extra dimension working with different materials has brought to my design, from crystallised elements to electrical cables. The scope for future exploration of materials continually pushes me and my work. Surface decoration allows me scope to move forward in fashion. Through this I would hope my aesthetic differs from that of other designers.’ She may be an original, but Fulton’s certainly not alone; the list of Scottish
‘I HAVE A HUGE LOVE OF CUBIST FASHION AND ART DECO AND BAUHAUS STYLES’
designers making their mark continues to grow all the time, with the likes of Deryck Walker, Christopher Kane, William Chambers, Bebaroque, Jonathan Saunders, Harris Tweed Hebrides, Graeme Armour, Louise Gray, Laura Lees, Scott Ramsay Kyle and Jamie Bruksi Tetsill all enjoying their moment in the spotlight. Old favourites have also emerged triumphant this year, with Pringle of Scotland determined to shrug of the shackles of its formerly stuffy history and showing an updated sense of style with this year’s catwalk collections. For Scottish fashion, standing still is not an option.
Above: Holly Fulton. Below L-R: William Chambers; Louise Gray; Deryck Walker; Laura Lees.
ONES TO WATCH : SODA KITSCH
Taking their inspiration from vintage wallpaper and schoolbags, design duo Soda Kitsch – aka Edinburgh’s Ashley Jessiman and Ian Dunlop – are making their mark accessorising with style. The List met up with them. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? We’re very much inspired by the designs and design sensibilities of the 1950s and 60s. Things were built to last but very timeless in their designs. Vintage stores, with their old dusty bag collections and vintage curtains, are a great source for print ideas. Old school satchels, equestrian leather work and the early works of some of the world’s biggest fashion houses have also been invaluable sources of inspiration. And finally, just living and working in Edinburgh is inspiring thanks to the amazing views, architecture and the creative buzz around the city.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR WORK? In a culture of throwaway fashion, we strive to bring back the quality craftsmanship of traditional leather bags and luggage, injecting them with our own unique style. Every stage of our designs is completed by us, nothing is outsourced, from concept to bag it’s all completed in our studio in Edinburgh. All our bags feature our own hand screen printed suede linings and we’re meticulous in our details. Our main goal with Soda Kitsch is to create bags that are stylish, functional and will last a lifetime. ■ Left: leather satchel. Made to order from supermarkethq.com Right: new season lighthouse design, available this March at Concrete Wardrobe, 50a Broughton Street, Edinburgh, www.concretewardrobe.co.uk
4–18 Mar 2010 THE LIST 15