Glass sits down with the London-based designer and RCA graduate Kitty Joseph to talk tactile textiles, sumptuous sunsets and how to make it as a young creative.
Integrating nature and the cityscape in her designs, Kitty Joseph’s eponymous line echoes the skylines of London in fine crystal pleats, grid-like mesh and quilting and watercolour ombré stripes. Cleverly using 3D techniques, she plays with light and dark, adding unexpected depth and spectrum to her bright colours. This combined with clean-cut, accessible shapes, as in the quilted blue bomber from her SS16 collection, culminating in the perfect example of a staple statement.
A look from Kitty Joseph’s SS16 collection
How has your background in textiles contributed to your aesthetic as a fashion designer?
It has meant that I approach everything from a very different angle, which I suppose is refreshing in a way – that is the response I get from people. I spend such a huge amount of time each season looking at colour, putting together ideas for prints and really developing them before I come to ideas for silhouettes.
I think my work is kind of unusual in that way. I would say that being a fashion designer who is also a print designer I am not buying prints of someones else, the prints are more like a handwriting, the DNA of the brand. It is about the prints and textiles really singing, they tell you what to do, where to go.
A look from Kitty Joseph’s SS16 collection
Your last collection was inspired by London sunsets – could you tell us more about that and what inspires you as a designer?
I’m lucky enough to have a space up on a roof terrace in Bermondsey and I’ve got a really great view of the sky, the Shard, and at the end of the day I like to just escape up there with my sketchbook. I draw a lot with pastels, I’ve got this range of old Sennelier pastels, french pastels, and they come in the most beautiful colours. It’s a real treat to go to an art shop and just pick up some extra colours. I just play and draw and record the effect of light and colours changing in the sky – it is this ongoing obsession for me.
Observing colour and nature in that way is really important to me. Last season I stuck all my drawings up on the wall of London and Bermondsey and just took colours directly from the palette. The soft, pastel stripes they came from the drawings I did from these strange layers of cloud, with a subtle change of colour across the layers. The print developed from that simple idea, these bands of light.
What’s really interesting when you record the light in the city is that you have this combination of artificial light, pollution, the reflections of big buildings, the light of the sky, and all sorts of things that make this really unusual light and colour.
A look from Kitty Joseph’s SS16 collection
You are very popular in the Asian market, why do you think that is?
From my third season I had a following – it wasn’t necessarily planned, but I think it might be something to do with my bold approach to colour. In Hong Kong and mainland China, people are not afraid of colour and experiment more with it. My accessories as well are really popular, as a more playful, fun way of wearing the brand.
I’m sure it’s been quite a journey from your graduating collection till now. Would you have any advice to young designers breaking through?
I trained in textiles so I had to learn a lot of things, not only how to set up a business, but also how to design clothing as well as prints. I would say, being at college is a really important time to work out who you are and distill that down to create your personality as a designer. That’s really important – this industry is saturated with graduates starting out.
When you start a brand you do have to listen to your buyers to refine your product – you start by creating things and then you just have to see what sells and let that inform you while staying true to your vision. It’s essential that you enjoy what you do – you can see it in the work that you love it!
Collaborations are a great way to get into the industry, I did a collaboration with Absolut Vodka, it was a real colour project and a good way to bring revenue in, when starting a new brand. Consultancy and teaching are also good ways to expand your network and horizon, to keep growing your business.
Having mentors, friends and a support network is so important – getting advice from other people helped me avoid their mistakes. You are not going to know everything at the beginning, so try to surround yourself with good people help you along. London is competitive, but it is quite a unique place in the way that there is a community if people wanting to help each other.
A look from Kitty Joseph’s SS16 collection
by Elisabeth Krohn
Images courtesy of Kitty Joseph for SS16.