Beside the Seaside

My collection, ‘Beside the Seaside’, is inspired by my family stories and personal memories of living on the Isle of Wight. Family photos from the mid-70s picturing life on the Isle of Wight inspired my designs using the garments of the era and the novelty of wearing your ‘Sunday best’ for the beach. The seaside boom was a period of time when Brits were drawn to their local coastline for a modest summer holiday. I was inspired by the attractions of the seaside. I have always been drawn to seaside architecture, including the helter-skelter ride and the intricate details of piers along the British coastlines. This can be seen in the spiral cut of my denim jeans, where I used 100% recycled denim, and in the hand embroidery on my knitwear and shirt designs. Another feature of my collection is the distorting of traditional silhouettes. By twisting garments, I created an effect inspired by the unpredictable weather of the British summer. Memories of being overloaded and carrying too much stuff to the beach inspired me to devise a solution: the smock. The smock embodies a backpack able to contain all your beach essentials. I designed shorts with pockets on the outside, playing with the idea of changing in a confined beach hut, creating an image of a garment inside out. Nostalgia underlies this collection; it powerfully evokes memories of my childhood.