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<\/a><\/p>\nHaving worked with the likes of Richard Nicoll and Fashion East\u2019s Lulu Kennedy, Kevin Geddes is now getting ready to launch his second standalone womenswear collection. His first collection for Spring\/Summer 2014 was inspired by \u201cbig brand packaging and British drinking culture\u201d and made a loud and confident entrance into the industry which was very well received by the fash\u2019 pack.<\/p>\n
But in the flesh Geddes is anything but brash. When we caught up with him he explained that he prefers to take a backseat from the limelight, particularly as he feels that he\u2019s still honing his craft. Which is great news for us, because that means that his slouchy, sports-inspired clothes still have that cool, under-the-radar edge that makes them all the more desirable.<\/p>\n
So read on to get the insider scoop on this up-and-coming designer\u2019s journey towards creating his own brand, and also see some exclusive pics of his upcoming Spring\/Summer 2015 collection.<\/p>\n
Could you take us through your journey up to the launch of your first standalone collection?<\/b><\/p>\n
I had a bit of a strange one actually, because I went to Central St. Martin\u2019s but I dropped out after a year. So then I went back to Birmingham \u2013 my home town \u2013 and got this sewing job for a bridal company. That was how I learned to sew! So I did that for around four years, and then decided to go and finish university. So when I went to university the second time around I knew how to make clothes and I also knew exactly what I wanted from it. The second time I actually went to Coventry University, which might seem a bit odd. But it was really close to Birmingham, and they\u2019d just opened a new course with lots of technology. I was really interested in using the new technology which I knew a lot of other universities didn\u2019t really have yet. Stuff like sonic welding machines, big laser cutters… I\u2019d never used them, but I wanted to learn how. I knew how to make clothes \u2013 I\u2019d been designing on and off just by myself \u2013 so I wasn\u2019t really struggling with that side of it. But it was more that I wanted to know about how I could improve…<\/p>\n
Since then you\u2019ve worked with the likes of Richard Nicoll and Lulu Kennedy. What was that like?<\/b><\/p>\n
I was pattern cutting for Lulu for a couple of seasons. Lulu\u2019s lovely. I\u2019d met her at Richard\u2019s, so I it was nice because we kind of had a friendly relationship already, and it was just really nice working with her for a couple of seasons and seeing her build her collections. Then I\u2019d been working with Richard for about three and a half years, and it\u2019s always tricky because sometimes you need to make a move, I think, to keep it interesting. I\u2019d always wanted to do my own thing, so that was really the point where I just thought that I\u2019d either have to do it now or I\u2019d never do it. So I decided to give it a shot! It\u2019s something that I\u2019d been working on for quite a while; taking my time and not rushing. I\u2019m more interested in building a business than just being a flash in the pan sort of thing. Ultimately I love making clothes. That\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n
So once you got some experience with established designers, that really pushed you to think that you could set up your own label?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yeah, exactly. I was building up the confidence and also the knowledge of how it works: the behind the scenes stuff. There\u2019s all this production and it\u2019s just so much to take on board that I wanted to have that set in my head before I went into it on my own. For example, when I was at Coventry I won a big competition with my-wardrobe.com where they produced a collection I created, and that actually highlighted to me how much I didn\u2019t<\/i> know. I\u2019d never had to deal with the production side of designing before that, and so it scared me a little bit. It was great to win the competition, and they did do all of the production work for me, but it was also terrifying!<\/p>\n
How did winning that competition come about then?<\/b><\/p>\n
I was actually made to enter some sort of competition through the university as a project! I think it was aimed at third year students, and I was a second year student at the time, but I thought the my-wardrobe.com design incubator competition sounded interesting and that it would give me the freedom to explore what I wanted to do. So I created a mini capsule collection that was really sales-focused, and then I ended up getting into the final and winning! I\u2019d still got a year to go before I finished my degree after that though, and I didn\u2019t feel like I\u2019d built up enough of my own work to keep it going. It was a weird situation because I think they would have preferred me to just launch from that and then I would have had the support from them, I guess. That would have been really great, but I didn\u2019t feel ready, so…<\/p>\n
So when it came to the production of your capsule collection, that\u2019s what made you want to get more experience in the industry?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yeah. I\u2019d been working with other people as well, but I hadn\u2019t really thought that using one fabric might be cheaper and more economical than another and stuff. So that side of it was really quite intense for me. Especially on top of everything else I was doing, like holding down a job and trying to finish my work for university. I mean, now I\u2019m able to juggle everything, but it took some getting used to.<\/p>\n
How do you feel about the relationship between commercialism and creativity?<\/b><\/p>\n
I think that the work I\u2019m doing is really commercial, but I am interested in building up a brand rather than just designing what I want. So I don\u2019t have a problem with commercialism at all. At the end of the day I make clothes and I want people to wear my clothes. That is the one thing that\u2019s really important to me. So I look at it from the viewpoint that I\u2019d rather make clothes that people will wear. You know, functioning garments for everyday wear.<\/p>\n
Tell us about your first standalone collection for Spring\/Summer 2014…<\/b><\/p>\n
It was the first one I launched, but I actually did a smaller one before that. I created a little capsule collection for winter to get feedback from people within the industry before I launched in the summer. I started from scratch for that, so I didn\u2019t have any block.<\/p>\n
So how did your first collection develop from that then?<\/b><\/p>\n
So I basically used the smaller collection to build a block and then I developed it from there. I wasn\u2019t really comfortable with it looking back. I mean, I like it, but I would have loved it to be something else. I think I listened to more people than I wanted to. I took too much on board from other people about how they thought I should do it, or what route I should go down. But now I\u2019ve learnt from that to stay true to myself and to do what I want to do.<\/p>\n
And what\u2019s next in the pipeline for you?<\/b><\/p>\n
The next collection! So I\u2019m going to get back into the studio, and I\u2019ve been planning it for a while, so I\u2019ve got a clearer picture in my head of what I want now. It\u2019s going to move on slightly from what I did with the last collection. At the moment I\u2019m obsessed with this one comic called Death Sentence, so I\u2019m going to reference that, and then there\u2019s this artist that I saw who draws on Post-it notes that I\u2019m really into as well. They\u2019re quite gothic, dark illustrations and I really like them.<\/p>\n
How would you like to show that?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to take my next collection to Paris and do a trade show, and just build from that.<\/p>\n
Do you think you\u2019ll continue to focus solely on womenswear?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m not averse to going into menswear, but I think at the moment I\u2019d like to do one thing and do it well.<\/p>\n
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