‘I Am Drawn To Textures In Fashion’ – An Interview with Camilla Grimes

This year’s Graduate Fashion Week ‘Creative Catwalk Award’ went to Manchester School of Art graduate Camilla Grimes. Inspired by her love of cats, Camilla combined girly colours, oversized silhouettes and assorted textures and prints with a sport-luxe aesthetic, all with a few pictures of cats thrown in to add to the mix. The student received £1000 to put towards her inevitable future career in fashion.

What was the inspiration behind your final graduate collection?
My collection was first inspired by the Hmong tribe in Lao as I loved the colours and simplistic shapes of the clothing they wore. I wanted my collection to be an eclectic mix of colours, textures and prints on oversized silhouettes. I love cats, and wanted to throw them into my collection to give it a more fun and playful aesthetic. Embroidery and textile techniques are heavy in my collection, and some of the cat faces can take up to 8 hours.

What made you choose to study at Manchester School of Art?
I wanted to go to a university that let you have the freedom to use many different textile techniques. Manchester School of Art allowed me to have access to embroidery, screen print, digital print, knit and the laser cutter.

How did they prepare you for a career in fashion?
We were given the opportunity to do internships and placements, and doing these gave me insight into the fashion industry. Being able to work at a variety of high-end and more commercial fashion companies was helpful in deciding the career path I wanted to go down.

If you weren’t a fashion designer, what would you be instead?
If I wasn’t a fashion designer, I would love to be a textile designer, designing prints and embroidery patterns.

Describe the type of woman you design for.
The type of woman I’m designing for is someone who loves colour and texture. She mixes embellished evening wear with more sporty luxe daywear. She loves vibrant, bold colour and oversized silhouettes.

How would you describe your design aesthetic?
I’m drawn to textures in fashion, and I love embellishment and embroidery. I love feminine womenswear and soft, pastel colours with flashes of neon.

Which designers do you look up to?
I love designers who use textile techniques – Kenzo, Miu Mui, Christopher Kane and Ashish. All who use colour in a vibrant yet sophisticated way.

Did you complete any internships before graduating?
I did a variety of internships while doing my degree, including Next childrenswear design, Next buying, Burberry fabric development, Markus Lupfer and Holly Fulton.

What comes next for you and your career?
I would love to start my own label and create one-off hand-made pieces. Mad colours and prints for women who want to wear one mad piece, or for the women who wants to wear a full printed and colourful outfit.

Has anything exciting or unexpected come out of showing at GFW?
Seeing my work on blogs and in magazines is so exciting. The Guardian, WGSN and ELLE all featured my work online. Having contact with PR companies has also opened my eyes to the possibilities of starting my own brand.