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Friday 31 August 2012

EXCLUSIVE| Phoebe English Pre-LFW Interview




To celebrate there being just two weeks until London Fashion Week and Vauxhall Fashion Scout's SS13 showcase, we've got an exclusive interview with last season's Merit Award winner Phoebe English. Phoebe talks to the VFS blog team exclusively to discuss her recent fashion films and future SS13 showcase. 

You've recently worked with SHOWstudio through your two day live stream; how did the opportunity to work with the site, and Nick Knight come about?
SHOWstudio kindly contacted us in regards to making a costume for the dancer Leah Debrincat, i think they were drawn to my work as it has negated themes of frenetics and movement in the past.

What is it about representing your aesthetic through film that attracts you to the format- do you see it as another [separate] creative outlet, or a medium supporting your clothes?
I see the films as a completely separate component from the collection. The thought process and development of these pieces differs greatly from working on the clothes. It is often not until the period of time after a collection is finished do i have the time and energy to fully understand what informed that body of work, I use this latent realisation to inform the thematics which I explore in the films. The medium of film is still very new to me and I feel i have only just begun to comprehend it and realise its potential.

Do you see your representation of AW12 through film as one that corresponds with the 'Phoebe English Girl' (customer) that you would expect to see in your clothes? 
The styling we use in the film is specifically planned as a method to explain the possibilities of how to actually wear our pieces. Despite the heavy overtones of fantasy within the film the actual breakdown of the clothes into new ideas of styling them is exactly how Rose and I would like the ideal 'Phoebe English' girl to take control of her wardrobe and be imaginative enough to reinterpret our product into her own ideas of dressing. 

You will be showcasing your SS13 collection once again with Vauxhall Fashion Scout in September- what can we expect from this collection? Will you be maintaining the colourful streak that shocked last season, or something different altogether? 
When i start thinking about a new body of work, i always think about in terms of where i have been before and where i would like to now go, my thought process is in equal parts and similtaneously; an evolution and revolution. You will have to watch and see!

How do you feel Vauxhall Fashion Scout and our Merit Award has impacted your career?
It has a pleasure to have been so supported and nurtured by such a wonderful and passionate team of people.

See Phoebe English's SS13 collection at Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Freemason's Hall on Sunday 16th September at 4.00pm. 

Images taken from Phoebe English's AW12 film
Text by Cass Gowing