Meet GFF Talent Natasha Simpson, a Fashion Design student at the University of South Wales. Natasha was inspired by her family connection to the Man Engine, the UK’s largest mechanical puppet that portrays a Cornish miner. Her womenswear collection is a capsule designed with function and longevity in mind. “Longevity is key with my collection and ensuring that the garments I create will be of quality and allow for an emotional connection to be formed between wearer and garment, allowing the garment to be used consistently and for a long period of time juxtaposing the themes in the fast fashion industry,” she says. To learn more about Natasha’s work, read on.
What is the most valuable thing you have learnt at university?
University has taught me how to become a sustainable designer. During a module in first year, entitled Garment Engineering, I found an interest in sustainability and how we as designers can have a positive impact on the planet. The module taught us a variety of sustainable pattern cutting techniques such as Zero Waste, TR cutting and Subtraction Cutting, the latter of which I am using in my final collection.
As a designer that favours pattern cutting and construction I found it fascinating that there were ways to create patterns that had organic seams, rather than the standard seams that are repeated on a large portion of commercial garments. With the knowledge taken from that first year module I have carried the idea of sustainability through to my final collection.
In addition to sustainability, I have learnt how to question everything which in turn has made me an active problem solver. By questioning everything, I am able to find and solve flaws in my designs quickly and efficiently. The skill of problem solving within design is key learning in my BA and has allowed me to develop my final collection to be as practical and useful for the wearer as possible. Both problem solving and sustainability go hand in hand, whilst trying to be a sustainable designer it is vital to have the learning and teaching of problem solving.
When trying to find fastening for garments it is essential that my skills of problem solving are put to use, to enable me to find sustainable fastenings. Whilst problem solving and sustainability are the most valuable things to come out of my university learning, I have also learnt valuable skills such as how to create industry standard technical drawings as well as a multitude of various fashion design skills, such as, pattern cutting, technical drawing and presenting my ideas in front of a panel.
What was the starting point of inspiration for your final project?
The starting point for my final project was a consumer survey I produced in the Summer of 2020. Whilst thinking of ideas for my final collection I decided to go to my consumers and ask what they would want in a capsule wardrobe. My survey had 40 responses and through an in depth analysis of the results I identified the key 10 garments that females aged 25-35 wanted in their capsule wardrobes. Once I had the base garments as a starting point I decided to find my aesthetic inspiration. I had a fond memory of an event in Cornwall on a family holiday of seeing The Man Engine on his first tour in 2016.
I knew I wanted to have The Man Engine as my aesthetic inspiration as I felt so much passion for the subject matter of mining, my grandad had worked for the coal industry for 41 years. His certificate hangs on our staircase at home and as I did not meet my grandad I have always had a curiosity for the certificate and the man I never met. The Man Engine is the UK’s largest mechanical puppet that portrays a Cornish miner. The miner was commissioned in 2015 by the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. I had witnessed The Man Engine in action twice before starting my graduate collection; once in 2016 on his first tour around Cornwall and once in 2018 at Elsecar, South Yorkshire when he was participating in the 2018 Resurrection Tour.
On both occasions witnessing The Man Engine was a momentous and emotional event. The passion of the crowds and the stories told of the miners who went from Cornwall to mine all over the world were touching to say the least. When standing in the shadow of The Man Engine you really feel the enormous impact the Cornish Mining Industry had on the rest of the world. From the aesthetic starting point of The Man Engine I researched local mines in South Derbyshire as well as walked the South West Coastal Path in Cornwall where mining structures litter the landscape, standing at one with nature.
What form will your final project take?
The collection will take the form of 8 designed outfits in a lineup and 2 constructed outfits (due to the covid pandemic) fully finished. My collection is womenswear focused and features a range of garments designed for Autumn/Winter with some garments able to be worn all year round. The aesthetic inspiration comes from The Man Engine in terms of colours and graphics in the collection however the focus of the garments is to be a capsule staple wardrobe that women will purchase as their high-street purchases turn into disrepair.
The proposed idea for the collection is that it will become the woman's core wardrobe (excluding lingerie) and allows for luxury items at a higher price point to be purchased from mono product brands and worn with the core of my collection. The fashion industry is a business but why can’t those businesses work together for the same consumers? Longevity is key with my collection and ensuring that the garments I create will be of quality and allow for an emotional connection to be formed between wearer and garment, allowing the garment to be used consistently and for a long period of time juxtaposing the themes in the fast fashion industry.
The two physically complete outfits from my collection will also feature in my final look book, with editorial images that both reflect and portray my starting concept. The collection will also be realised virtually through a software called Clo 3d which I have been learning throughout my final year at University. These garments will feature in a virtual catwalk and this will enable me to portray my final collection in an innovative way. Clo 3d is used within industry and therefore having learnt this skill in University and being able to present my work through this software in a video provides me with yet another format to showcase my work.
What materials have you used and how did you source them?
As a focus of my collection is sustainability I wanted to highlight this within my collection materials. If I cannot purchase sustainably I wish to highlight British manufacturing by buying from British brands. I have a selection of tencel twills in my collection that form the bulk of the material choice in a variety of colours. Another source of material for me is an internship I completed at a fast fashion supplier. Everyday samples would come back from the supplier with sometimes meters of fabrics left which the company wouldn’t have space to store so would typically throw them away. That’s always a bonus to being an intern in the fast fashion industry you tend to get given all the fabric scraps that the company would usually throw away.
This deadstock, as I refer to it, has been extremely useful for developing true colour palettes for my collection. Another material supplier I plan to use for my collection accessories is Pinatex, I have chosen Pinatex for the accessories as a small meterage will suffice for accessories therefore it allows me to keep the cost down as a student. I am also trying to use trims such as buttons and zips that are sustainable or UK based. I am using buttons from UK manufacturer Courtney&Co.
The specific buttons I will use are made from Codelite which is made from Casein, derived from milk. Casein buttons started to be manufactured in the UK in 1910 and continued being manufactured until the 1970’s. Courtney&Co, are trying to revive button making in the UK and the Codelite buttons I have purchased are biodegradable and therefore sustainable. Another source of buttons for my collection is deadstock. I have managed to source Corozo buttons as deadstock which will feature alongside the Courtney&Co buttons in my collection.
How has it evolved from your initial ideas and what have you learnt along the way?
The journey from initial ideas to my lineup has been a hectic one. Not only am I trying to create a functional, sustainable womenswear collection that features pockets in most of the garments and suits the desired consumer, I am also trying to weave in the aesthetic inspiration of The Man Engine and the UK mining landscape. It’s definitely a busy collection behind the lineup. A lot of research has come from consumer surveys and seeking out what women desire in clothing, combined with articles in magazines like Cosmopolitan US stating in 2020 women don’t need handbags or if they do, smaller ones then her pockets.
Along the way I have learnt to constantly have the consumer at the forefront of my mind and to envision my consumer in detail. I have learnt to ask questions such as what phone does she have? Does she like to read? Does she commute to work? Is she a freelancer? What will she carry in her pockets? These are all vital questions that allow me to create a collection that is suitable for my target market. The journey of initial idea to final lineup and currently into toiles has been pretty smooth in terms of not getting distracted by other ideas.
In September I set out a very clear idea of what I wanted to explore for my final collection by following that idea and not ‘wandering from the path’, I have allowed myself to create the best possible solution to my brief. Through this process I have learnt self control and organisation, if I see something that sparks my interest instead of running away with it I note it down and tell myself that I will come back to that idea but for now the focus must be on this collection as there are already so many strains within the project.
What are the messages and themes behind your project that you want people to take away? Do explore any topics like diversity, sustainability or politics in your work?
I want people to look at my collection and on the face see a functioning womenswear collection, but then to step into my research and fall down the rabbit whole of passion, knowledge and sustainability. I want viewers to recognise we need to start designing fashion that functions and fashion that has a meaning. In 2020/21 our entire lives have been online and on the surface; we have rarely delved into the layers of images on social media or the meaning behind concepts. The past year has been an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and consumption of media. It’s time to start realising and exploring layers again, to find an idea behind a finished product, to acknowledge the work that people have done.
I also want people to realise what the UK has to offer, there are so many industries that started and died in the UK and it’s the passion that creatives have that will restart those industries that we nostalgically remember. A great example of this is button making with Courtney&Co or jean making with denim brand Hiut Denim. My collection images will also feature myself as a model. This is the hand we have been dealt by the covid pandemic and restrictions on model fittings but by modelling my collection it’s also a portrayal of hard work, commitment and face behind the collection.
From using myself to model I want people to realise that solutions are all around us even in the face of a global pandemic and no matter what we have to do, we can do it and there is always a road ahead. I also wish that people looked at all of the collections produced this year and realise that upon looking at these collections they are met with graduates who have gained so much resilience within the last year and have been able to still put their best foot forward, but this isn’t a wish for just my collection it is a wish for all the graduates of 2021.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
As a Fashion Revolution student ambassador for my University, one of the aspects of the industry I want to change is transparency. A garment that informs the wearer of the journey it’s been on is a garment that stays longer in the wardrobe due to emotional connection. A fast fashion garment that is only made for money? That’s the garment that probably gets worn once. Sustainability, Ethical Manufacturing, Transparency and Over Consumption are all issues that come to my mind that need to be solved. Typically, these four topics can be solved simultaneously.
We just need a generation of consumers and designers that can see the harm of the fashion industry. I hope that when I graduate I can stay informed on topics such as sustainability and constantly aim for a fashion industry that doesn’t exploit the planet we live on. I would like to see the future of fashion be filled with sustainable, transparent, mono style brands who only make one type of garment and can work as a collective to provide clothes for a collective consumer. I hope that I can be just one of the questioning voices in the industry to question everything from, where is this product made to why aren’t we informing customers about this?
Sustainability isn’t an issue for one person, or one company or even one country. It needs a global effort but unfortunately sustainability is starting to become a trend word for fast fashion companies who in turn, aren’t sustainable by their very nature. Sustainability is a cause that I am passionate about as can be seen throughout my final collection but I also want designers to start designing for real people and that is also a key message in my final collection. I hope that when I become a designer in industry I don’t lose sight of either sustainability or designer for the consumer.
What is your plan once you finish your BA?
Once I finish my BA at the University of South Wales, I want to place myself within the fashion industry with the long term goal of becoming a fashion design lecturer or technical assistant.