My Story Boards

First off, my Mum was the instigator. She was a great sewer and helped deliver my ideas and desires, which was so good of her. I love the dresses she made for my sister and me. Both the same fabric, same colour, but we have different shaped collars, nice touch concerning individuality .

Now, I'm doing more of it myself. My Mum gave me her old Singer sewing machine. I've discovered cool patterns and fabric shops. I came across interesting designers through the pattern companies. Kenzo, Betsey Johnson & Willi Smith to name a few. Oxford bags, I loved them, made them out of calico for God's sake! Can you see the beginnings of my love of the Japanese designers? By then, I'd traded in the Singer for a Bernina!

Now, I am right into the Japanese designers...Issey Miyake was first. I loved his work, his folds, his assymmetry, his pleats, his creating space within the garment. He is a very skilled designer. I loved Vogue Patterns for taking him on as one of their designer patterns. I think I purchased just about every one of them, until he let go of the reins. And those patterns I didn't manage to buy I tried to make myself...nothing's changed!

And now, all sorts of interesting designers and artists are exciting me. I love sculptural shapes, paritcularly those designed by CdG....it really started with her wonderful skirt collection of S/S 2003, but I was excited by her work before that. I have such admiration for the pattern makers who work for CdG. They are very skilled, as they interpret her highly conceptual ideas, which enables the, sometimes obscure, concept to be delivered as a garment. Martin Margiela, Maria Blaisse, Cosmic Wonder, Caroline Broadhead are also stimulating..... and I'm still into Bernina sewing machines.