1970’s bathrooms and Peace Camps: meet Fashion student Bethan Currie

In the lead up to Graduate Fashion Week, we’re meeting some of the students who will be exhibiting work in Manchester School of Art’s Catwalk Show. In this installment, womenswear designer Bethan Currie talks about her inspirations, future ambitions and collection.

An introduction to Bethan’s design process

‘My design process often involves creating narratives from contrasting inspiration sources or taking inspiration from something with a story behind it. I am very drawn to colour, therefore I try to establish a basic colour palette as early on as possible and then refine this as I source fabrics and develop textiles techniques in relation to my concept.

I am drawn to intricate and time consuming techniques, such as the hand stitched faux fur and hand applied textured flowers in my final collection, but feel that this makes for a more satisfying outcome for me personally.

I balance out my complex textiles with silhouettes that seem simplistic from the outset but always relate to my connect through the use of generic garments and details.’

Coming to the Graduate Fashion Week catwalk

‘My collection combines the colours, metallic and fuzzy textures of 1970s bathrooms with anti-nuclear imagery from Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp in the 1980s.

I have used both digital and screen print alongside laser cutting and hand stitched faux fur to create a collection that is feminine and playful, yet bold and sophisticated.

I thoroughly enjoy translating my print ideas into other textile techniques and have done this with the faux fur and laser cutting in my final collection. I feel this gives my collection more intrigue than it would if it was purely print based. The incorporation of hand sewing based techniques is something that gives my design a personal touch.

Additionally, I feel that my design aesthetic walks the line between being humorous and sophisticated, or “sassy but classy” as I often call it.’

Industry experience 

 ‘I interned for luxury womenswear label Fyodor Golan for three months last year where I independently developed textiles techniques for their Resort 2017 collection, mainly working with denim and embroidery. This internship also gave me the opportunity to see how a fashion label designs, produces and works with PR.

I then went on to intern for Clio Peppiatt, where I gained an even greater insight into the industry and worked exclusively with faux fur, which has really helped to influence the direction of my final collection. I have completed internships at a more commercial level with brands such as Shop Direct and Christy, where I gained experience designing for a specific customer, putting mood boards together and working on Adobe Illustrator.’

Further ambitions   

 ‘My dream job would be to work on the textiles development team for a luxury womenswear label, so I am currently looking for jobs that fit this ambition of mine. However, I also like the idea of going down a more textiles specific career path, so am planning to work on my print development skills alongside applying for jobs.’

Bethan will be showcasing her graduate collection at the Manchester School of Art Fashion Show at Graduate Fashion Week on 5 June at Truman Brewery.