Inspiring My Work

I would like to take this research forward by relating it to present day London. I have always been drawn to the outsiders and eccentrics so would like to capture this almost hedonistic idea of nonconformity and self-expression in my garments. Demonstrated so well in Sapeur, Punk and New Romantic clothing, I intend to interview Londoner’s about their personal means of rebellion and escape in order to reinterpret these aims for a modern audience. 

Colour, print and character are three things that often inspire me in fashion, which I hope to include through referencing the traditional dress of London’s immigrant population. To discover both the history and the current expression of these different cultures I will travel to specific locations around the capital, for example:

Bangladeshi immigrants in Brick Lane

Brick Lane - Bangladesh
China Town - China
Middlesex Street market - Africa

In order to mix these foreign influences with British fashion I plan to look into the history of British tailoring by visiting Saville Row. Pattern cutting is a particular strength in my work so I hope to learn some traditional techniques to use when designing my final garments. In order to keep my designs contemporary and relevant I will also combine elements of London street style to create what I hope will be a collection that truly represents the Capital and the influences, attitudes and cultures that have come to define it. 

Clothiong used for: Showing Cultural Heritage

Sapeurs combine two very different cultural heritages to create something entirely new and entirely representative of their own identity. I am fascinated to see how this idea can be reinterpreted for a British audience as the UK has a huge history of immigration and multiculturalism to draw upon. I have already begun to notice the influence of this - particularly around London Fashion Week – as an increasing amount of people mixed their own traditional dress with pieces of London street style.

Usually I hate the word ‘trend’ as it implies thoughtless, copycat fashion. Although the growing popularity of this style of dress means that by definition it is about to become one, what sets it apart for me is the authenticity and individuality behind the style. It’s very nature means it cannot be mass-produced: styling pieces of cultural heritage to sit alongside British fashion in order to visually represent one person’s unique family history.  

Clothing used for: Escapism

With such an inflexible political system the real benefit of the Sapeurs dress cannot come from changing government attitudes but the attitudes of those closest to them. Such a uplifting displays of flamboyance and fantasy provides welcome respite from the brutality so much of the population has endured. The Sapeurs recreate the exuberant atmosphere that used to be part of Congolese day-to-day life. Their message was one of hope: "we have been spared by the hostilities and we are lucky to be alive!"

Escapist dressing of the Sapeurs and New Romantics

A similar ideal of escapist dressing soon morphed developed on from the Punk movement in England, led by those who had been more interested in the sartorial aspect of dressing up than the anarchic statement of Punk fashion. Looking for new ways to stand out and set themselves apart from the rest of the dreary, futureless working public, they began to experiment with cross dressing, high glamour and camp attitudes. Unlike Punks, who dressed to highlight the problems inherent within the British class system, the fantastical clothing fo the New Romantics allowed them to escape it completely. Like the Sapeurs, their dressing up bore no relation to money or social mobility. Instead creativity became the new currency. 

 “It didn’t matter who you were, you couldn’t get in unless you were cool” – Door policy of the infamous Blitz club

The Blitz Club, London - the birthplace of the New Romantic movement

STEVE STRANGE It was about being creative, we wanted to start something that didn't have anything to do with punk.

RUSTY EGAN: “It was a horrible time of recession. Covent Garden was isolated and badly lit. But then you'd walk into the club and it was like ‘Ta-da!’”

RUSTY EGAN The song that became the anthem of the club was Heroes by Bowie. "Just for one day" you could dress up and be more than what Britain had to offer you.

I
I will be king
And you
You will be queen
Though nothing will
Drive them away
We can beat them
Just for one day
We can be Heroes
Just for one day

STEVE STRANGE “Nobody should knock escape and fantasy, dressing up like a Hollywood film star because they're getting away from it, escaping the nine to five.”

SIOBHAN FAHEY, BLITZ CLUBBER AND BANANARAMA MEMBER “We'd spend the whole week preparing our outfits for the club. We'd go and buy fabrics, customise our leather jackets, make cummerbunds, find old military things and throw them together in a mix of glam, military and strangeness. It was all DIY because we didn't really have any money.”

SIOBHAN FAHEY “It's funny, we're in a recession now and I feel like we've got back to the DIY mood of the Blitz time. I do think the affluence and crazy marketing of the 90s killed people's creativity. It was all like, "You've got to have this or you're nobody." Now we've come full circle and I love it.”

Original Blitz Kids Boy George and Marilyn