In conversation with .. 5!

We talk about diversity, but the industry
can be very misogynist, women are
usually overly sexualized as the
“housewife” or “whore” and definitely
as “straight”. I’ve seen huge changes
in this past decade, but there is still a
misconception that lesbians don’t have
style. Breaking those misconceptions,
let’s look at the past and talk about some
of the influences on your work.
Style-wise I look at non-binary icons like
boat racer Joe Carstairs had amazing style,
she showed that there were different ways
to show female masculinity. Obviously Jack
Halberstam’s book Female Masculinity
discussing all the different identities
was an eye-opener for me. Del LaGrace
Volcano’s book on drag and photography
overall was an influence, photographing
queer female sex scenes and just see
what female sex scenes look like in Sex
Works. When it came to finding different
types of styles (like in fashion), I couldn’t
find a lot. It was more that I could find
photographers and in their photography
find different styles. A lot of what I could
find was American based. Besides that, my
friends have been a huge influence, the
parties I go to in London, going out.
You could say that you design clothes to
wear to the club and leaving the club.
What role does club culture play for you
in your work?
I would definitely want to see them worn
to the club, but I would also say the clothes
can be worn in an everyday scenario. The
whole collection has an underlain erotic
feel to it that draws back to the club scene.
The club scene is definitely a big part of
who I am and what my life in London has
been like. During the lockdown, I realized
how much I missed all these queer spaces.
Going back to the club scene though, I still
find a huge lack of lesbian places, events
or parties. When I have been to all-female
queer nights, its such great energy, so
great being with all these people and then
you realize that there are lots of us out
there but we never meet because we are
separated in this huge city. The club is a
way of expressing yourself as well, you can
put on a character or look that perhaps you
aren’t in an everyday scenario. Also, I just
love dancing!
on board. They have been the most amazing people to collaborate with,
always so energetic, bubbly and happy!
You went viral with RiRi in your oversized coat in striking baby pink
while still a student in Helsinki. How do you feel about the colour
pink?
Weirdly enough, I don’t have a pink garment in my wardrobe, maybe a
pair of underwear. I love pink, I get drawn to pink for some reason, but I
would never wear it. For example with that jacket and the pastel pink, I
have in my collection now both of them were good mistakes. The Rihanna
jacket was supposed to be orange but it came out as pink because the
wadding inside of the jacket was neon orange and because of the white
fabric on top it became pink after washing.
What steps are you taking now to develop your business and in
terms of investors do you feel pressure to change your narrative, is it
important for you to have your own brand or would you like to work
for someone else?
I’ve moved into my own space now and starting to think about
production, but I don’t really have the backup funding. I definitely would
like to do my own thing and keep it as something on-going. I feel it is
important to show what I actually want to show because I am also a bit
scared that if I go into a big company, even though I would feel I have a
voice inside there, I would assume it would be more like a design junior,
so my voice there wouldn’t be that big. While with my aim of what I want
to do, having my own brand will help me put my voice out there, but I
would like to influence brands as well.
What’s the best advice that you received regarding the industry?
Probably that your first idea is the best idea.
Finally, what does Pride mean for you and did you do anything special
to celebrate this year?
Dance-pop duo Nimmo walked your
CSM graduate collection, how did that
happen?
Some of the people who walked are friends
of mine, but for Nimmo, I just contacted
them on Instagram. I told them what my
collection was about and if they would be
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