Louise Clark

Grey Sheep

@louiseclarkdesign

Location

manchester / United Kingdom

University

manchester school of art (mmu)

Graduation year

2018

Contact

As a recent graduate from Manchester School of Art, I identify myself as a womenswear designer and enjoy manipulating fabrics, with textiles processes being a big part of my work. Throughout my final year I specialised in print which can be seen throughout my final collection. With a foundation course in art and design, combined with my BA fashion degree, I have a broad understanding of using different mediums which means I’m able to get my ideas across in a variety of different ways. Within my experience of working in different fashion environments, I have a clear understanding of the fast pace environment in which the industry moves in, as well as the hard work and commitment which is needed to progress. During Graduate Fashion Week, my collection was chosen from over 500 collections by a panel of industry experts as one of the best 25 collections from GFW. From here I went onto winning the 'Catwalk to Store' award which was sponsored by George at Asda.

Latest Collection

Abstract Romanticism

My final collection has the name ‘Abstract Romanticism’ and combined two very different themes. One research theme inspired my print and the other my silhouette. My previous trip to China where I completed my internship really inspired my prints as I fell in love with the Chinese Calligraphy and the expressive, abstract mark making which these line drawings captured. I then used this inspiration to create my own prints and experimented using flocking on sheer fabric which was a continuous running theme throughout my collection.

The silhouette came from looking at 19th Century Clothing, as I have always loved the high necks and large gathered sleeves. However, I always knew I wanted to re-create this silhouette in a more contemporary style by using brighter pops of colour and layering up my prints to create an impact on the catwalk. I combined two very different research themes as I wanted to create a very unique collection that had never been done before.