1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Sophie Hulme 263

082

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A young UK designer,

Sophie Hulme

graduated in 2007 from

Kingston University

with Student of the Year

and Best Collection

awards. After much

interest in her graduate

collection she set up her

own label two months

later. Hailing from

north London she now

works from a studio

in Islington. She uses

masculine in uences

and hard detailing to

give feminine pieces

a new toughness. The

result is a luxury look.

The unique approach

and style of the brand

quickly gained interest.

The Telegraph named

her as one of UK’s

brightest talents.

Sophie is currently

working on several

collaborative projects.

Her  rst exclusive

collection for Beams

Japan has recently hit

the stores along with a

diffusion line for ASOS.

She is also working

with Jane Shephardson

on the Whistles

rebranding.

Sophie Hulme

www.sophiehulme.com

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811 INSPIRATION. I always have a

concept that we work toward. This is

often very personal. I’m hugely in uenced

by my background and surroundings. I

also like to go  nd old things with their

own background and story to work from.

I’m a massive collector–teacups, robots,

glitter balls, bouncy balls, antique jewelry,

vintage umbrellas, antique pencils,

penguins…the list goes on!

812 R

EFERENCES. I don’t tend to

work with a speci c customer in mind. I

concentrate on each individual piece as

an object and try to make them special in

their own right.

813 M

ATERIALS. We go to Première

Vision to source most of our fabrics.

We have a real emphasis on quality so

that’s the most important thing to us

when choosing them. I’d never rule out

a type of fabric but we would never use

machine sequinning–all of ours are hand-

embroidered.

814 T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING

VS. EXPERIMENTATION. I think that a

mix of tradition and experimentation

is important–experimentation is far

more interesting when it comes from a

traditional, classic starting point. We

always try to make everything a key

piece–each should represent a strong idea.

We don’t make basics because, being a

small brand, we think everything should

have its own importance.

815

C

OLORS. The color is always an integral part of

the design. Some pieces can take brighter colors

while others need to be subtle. Great colors are

really hard to  nd for sampling when you’re a

small brand, so we’re always looking for something

interesting.

264 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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Sophie Hulme 265

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816 YOUR RIGHT ARM? I work really

closely with my assistant, Pete. We work

on everything together. It’s so nice to have

a sounding board for your thoughts.

817 I

NDIVIDUALITY VS. GROUP BELONGING.

I like the fact that my clothes are worn

by all different types of people–men and

women with all different styles. We don’t

like to prescribe how things should be

worn. I hope that this means they invoke

individuality. I like to see the different

contexts in which people wear them.

818 B

RAND VA L U E S . I hope it promises

quality and something different. We

always try to come up with new ways of

doing things. We do make sure to stick

to our aesthetic, which is very menswear

in uenced. I like to have this edge to

womenswear. I hope it sets us apart.

819 S

ALES. Selling something unique

makes for good sales, but it does need to

be accessible and wearable or the customer

will never buy it. This de nitely informs

my creativity. I like the challenge of

creating something new and interesting

that can still be worn and enjoyed by

everyone.

820 A

CKNOWLEDGEMENT. People

wanting to wear it. There’s nothing better

than seeing someone walk down the street

in one of your pieces.

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