DO YOU HAVE TO BE IN A SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT TO DESIGN A SPECIFIC CREATION?

Not particularly, when I design my sketchbooks can be very disorganised because I can be on the bus and I'll whip it out and start drawing. I like to just have a moment and get on with it. I never really sit down and sketch what I want to do, I just do it.

YOU HAVE SAID BEFORE THAT THE WOMEN YOU DESIGN FOR ARE WOMEN ON THE GO, WOMEN FASHIONABLY FIVE MINUTES LATE. DO YOU STILL DESIGN FOR THE SAME TYPE OF WOMEN OR HAS THAT CHANGED?

The collection that I'm working on now is still very much about women on the go. I grew up in the city, I grew up in Tottenham so I've always been around quite tough women, I've never known a woman to be quite weak.

IN YOUR LAST COLLECTION THERE WAS CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY MIXED TOGETHER, IT WASN'T NECESSARILY ANDROGYNOUS, IT WAS MORE OF A COMBINATION OF BOTH – IS THIS SOMETHING YOU WISH TO INCORPORATE IN YOUR NEXT COLLECTION? MAKE IT YOUR STAMP IF YOU WILL...

Like I said, I have this thing about strong women; masculinity to me comes from the idea of a woman doing things that a man should typically do, and do them better. I like that a lot and I think masculinity is always going to be an undertone for me. I'm obsessed with the classically cut shirt, I like taking that and manipulating it into something I get to wear for years to come. But I think for my next collection I want to touch on other things, because like I said before, I like fashion to have a narrative, to tell a story and answer questions so I'll always have a different subject matter.

What are your main sources of inspiration? You said you come here sometimes to just look at beautiful clothes and be around them, is that something you gain your inspiration from? (The interview was held at Rose Bakery in Dover Street Market)

I get inspired by life, by people. I always wanted to be one of those designers who pick up a book or a period and think “Oh, let me do my S/S on this” but I can't. I'm inspired by people now and the future. I don't think it's right for me to try and interpret something that has already happened.

Saying that, every designer is always more or less inspired by other designers -  which designers inspire you the most?

Oh gosh, I don't know! There are so many designers whom I love! I love Yohji (Yamamoto), Yohji to me is God. The way he interprets fabric is like it has a life on it's own. I just read a book by him called My Dear Bomb and it was literally like reading The Bible. And Comme des Garçons. I fell in love with one of their newer labels called Ganruy, which is just a take on street wear. I love these designers but I would never try and copy them, because I don't think what they have done can be undone or redone. I don't think I'd have to right to temper with that.

So although they inspire you, you wouldn't try and incorporate certain elements of their work into your own designs?

No I like to respect them from a distance, I think to keep it sacred.

Fashion is such a fast-moving environment, constantly evolving, where no-one really stays within one box now. Lagerfeld, for instance, is not only an incredibly important designer, but he's also a film-maker and a director. Is it something you'd like to include in your work in the future?

I love to write, but for me I think I'd like to at some stage maybe do some films, but to accompany the design work that I'm doing. Watching all the fashion videos that have come out in the recent years it's almost like a new runway show. I love how the film can make you feel in touch with clothes more and I would like to one day. We'll see...

If you were to make a film what would it be like?

I'm obsessed with Japanese cartoons, I'm a big comic book nerd, always have been. Depending on the collection I'd probably try and tackle some sort of a Japanese pop culture. One of my favourite movies is Battle Royale so maybe an ode to that, perhaps? I tell you what, probably a dream of mine would be to make costumes for a Japanese horror film. It would just be incredible!

Well, the world is your oyster! Jean Paul Gaultier did lots of costumes for various films...

If I ever get to the point where I'm compared to Jean Paul Gaultier, then I'm going to do it! Right now? Not quite there yet!

What are you working on now?

I'm working on A/W, it reads from the same book as the last collection but as I said I'm asking a different question. I think you'll get it when you see it.

Have you changed anything dramatically for this collection? Do you feel like you evolved as a designer in a way that you look at your past collection and you think “This was a mistake, I am never repeating that again”?

It's not as safe. It'd definitely not as safe. But it's still wearable. I always said I don't want to make clothes that a woman is afraid to wear. I don't think fashion should intimidate people, so I'm still going along the same road but with more risk taking.

So what do you aspire to achieve in the future?

I always said it, and I still think this, my favourite thing is when a woman has worn my designs and she'd come back to me and say “I had the best time and I felt really good.” That for me is the best feeling in the world, you can't buy that feeling when someone enjoys something you put effort into.

I ultimately want to make people happy. Fashion intrigues me in the way that we are what we wear, and I think it's important for me to make people feel like my clothes are an extension of their personality and maybe that's why I also use such tame colours. I don't ever want my designs to be louder than the person wearing them.

Is there anyone in the whole wide world you'd like to dress?

Can I be really stereotypical? I'm half-Jamaican and over time I have developed this unhealthy obsession with Rihanna. It's the whole Caribbean thing. That bitch is beautiful! She is... oh my god... incredible! I feel like she would take my clothes and slap me afterwards. She's amazing, I love her so much. She's a badass. 

The theme of the strong woman is definitely visible in your work, and you say you like this whole idea of women taking on a man's job and doing it better, but how would you describe the woman you design for?

I have to be, I don't know, maybe corny but the core of this woman I design for is my mother. My mother had me when she was 17, we've been homeless like a bunch of times but somehow along the way she got a degree, got a really good job and a big house. It's like “when did that happen?” She gave me the best start in life and we were both children.

In a way there's a lot of designers who are designers due to having a definite fashion background. Do you think it makes you a better designer not having that?

I'm not inspired by fashion, I'm inspired by people and the things I have seen and experienced. Definitely I enjoy not having a fashion background, my mum started off as a teacher and my dad is a sports man, so I couldn't be more far off from the stereotypical fashion background. But I like it. It gives me a different view point and I like that. It comes from an unexpected place. I mean it's harder. I came into the fashion world with a bunch of sketchbooks and a head full of ideas but it didn't make me want it any less. I think if you want to be something, just do it. Just do it. No-one is telling you no.

You say the way you work is really messy, you can get inspired on the bus. Is that how you'd describe your working process? For example Yohji just drapes fabric on a person and cuts into it, how do you work?

Where Yohji is very good at bringing fabric forward, I start with a sketch. I started off as a child drawing manga and superheroes and in a way that developed me. I then kind of got into doing costumes. So my process was always from thought to paper.

What advice would you give to young, upcoming designers?

Read a lot of books. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. Just because you're not good at something doesn't mean you're not a good designer. I just don't ever want people younger than me, or people training to be in the industry to feel intimidated by it, because if you want it you just have to grab it. I'm still trying to get it. The world is your oyster, that's it.

What have been your highest points in fashion so far?

Francesca Burns, one of the most beautiful, interesting women ever telling me that my work is good, that for me was like “oh shit, did that just happen!?” Vogue is seen as a Mecca for designers, so to have someone from that world give me a compliment is a big deal. I was very, very blessed.

What do you love about fashion the most?

I love how it can make people feel. I like it when you see a girl or a guy and they're walking down the street and they have that look on their face “I'm fucking hot” and you're like “You know what? You do your thing, you're enjoying yourself.” That's cool, I like it.

What do you hate about fashion the most?

I hate the pretence, peoples inability to be real. At the end of the day we are people and if you wanna laugh, just because it makes you look uncool it doesn't mean that you shouldn't.

You talk a lot about your background and the strong women and your mum. That leads me to my next question – who are your idols?

Oh no, they're really bad! I think I'm a teenage girl...

You're going to say Britney, aren't you?

Britney! Britney is the queen. She's the hottest pop star on the planet. She shaved off her hair, you can't be anymore raw than that! So I'd love me some Britney. I like Rihanna. As we've covered she's a bad bitch. But then I like Korean pop bands, Dong Bang Chi Ki are the most intense Korean pop band on the planet. Incredible! A lot of my idols come from music, less from fashion. Maybe I should've been a pop star that can't sing? I like people who have sass and attitude.

And your mum...

And my mum! For sure! 

If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

Collaborate is a big word. I'd like to say I'd work for or work under Yohji. I'd like to be maybe just told off by him? So he could tell me what he thinks I should be doing. I would like to shadow a lot of people. Maybe Comme des Garçons? But I would like to collaborate with Alexander Wang. I love his work, and I think he'd get me. I think him and I could have a really good conversation. So if I could collaborate with someone it'd be him.

A lot of sleepless nights... And gin. I like gin.

So what can we expect from you in the future?

I like the idea of people watching me develop and respecting it. I really want to make a collection that will make people feel really good.

We're looking forward to it! Thank you for talking to us.

Thank you!

Interviewed by Monika Zgoda