In 1984 I watched a documentary on the fashion course at St Martins and I knew that’s where I wanted to go. I left school at 15 and spent 2 years at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design before being accepted for the 4 year Fashion Design sandwich course at St Martins. The third year of the course was spent working in the industry. I was chosen to go to New York and work for 3 months in a textile design studio creating prints for womenswear. So far so good….
Unfortunately my life took a drastic downward spiral in my final year and looking back I can’t believe I managed to endure the course and graduate. My mum became very ill with cancer and I was in the throes of anorexia. I went backwards and forwards from London to Dorset seeing my mum at weekends and struggled with minimal energy and enthusiasm to focus on creating my final collection in order to achieve a BAHons.
Mum insisted that I continue with college… it was so hard. On the day of my final collection (a fashion show where the final years students show their work) my dad rang to say that mum had died. I had to block it out in order to get through. I was really in a very bad way and existing with a powerful eating disorder was only making things worse.
As a result, when I look at the photos of my collection I feel disconnected as I can only remember sadness, tiredness and intense difficulty.
I used furnishing fabrics, hessian and calico for the garments and designed screenprints in a limited palette from my cutout designs. The inspiration was American Indian tribal motifs for the prints and workwear inspired clothes including aprons which I’ve always loved.
