Holly Howarth
Contact: hollyhowarth098@gmail.com
University/School: Nottingham Trent University
Location: Nottingham
About me
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About me _____
Hi, I’m Holly, a Fashion Knitwear graduate from Nottingham Trent University.
I am an innovative Fashion Knitwear student with a passion for colour, pattern and sustainability. My joyful, maximalist and playful design style allows people to embrace a feel-good approach to fashion, in turn encouraging the wearer to foster a deep emotional attachment to the clothes they wear and inspire them to love the garments for a long time.
Throughout my degree I have developed a playful design aesthetic which combines my love of colour and pattern. This inspired my final graduate collection ‘Silly and Sweet’ where I was able to work in a fun and playful way and take a maximalist approach to the collection. My collection was inspired by the innocence and nostalgia of childhood, a feeling often lost in adult life. I designed bold, fun and feel-good pieces which aim to spark a sense of joy and play for the wearer, transporting them to a more carefree pace of life. The collection blurs the lines between kids wear and adult wear.
Inspiration
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Inspiration _____
Carefree, happy memories of childhood. Like that Friday trip to the sweetshop after school!
‘Silly and Sweet’ tells a story of personal nostalgia. When I began looking for inspiration for the collection, I spent time going through old photo albums and watching childhood home videos. I couldn’t ignore the longing to return to simpler times. I looked closer at the pictures and drew inspiration from the clothes, patterns, and colours I wore. They felt comforting and nostalgic. I aimed to recreate this in women’s wear to help others reconnect with their ‘inner child’.
Pattern and colour have been a massive part of this collection. I kept the garment shapes simple, allowing the pattern and colour to shine through in the garments. From sweetie bag stripes, ginghams and collars of school summer dresses, scrunchies tied in hair when playing in the garden, frills and polka dots that featured so heavily in my childhood wardrobe, every element has been extracted from my childhood and makes the collection feel very personal and meaningful to me.
My work
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My work _____
Detail
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Detail _____
“People have always looked back to the golden olden days… We associate nostalgia with positive feelings and experiences, and we want to relive those feelings during times of upheaval”
