Countdown To LFW: Rose Appleton
"Creativity is one of the most important things for me to be able to design interesting shapes and styles for my collection."
In the run up to London Fashion Week, we wanted to interview some of the UK’s finest up and coming designers!
Rose Appleton is a Womenswear designer specialising in eveningwear. She graduated from University of Southampton, Winchester School of Art with a BA in Fashion and Textile design. Her graduate collection, inspired by Inspired by afterlife, decay and the life of a flower, consisted of a self made print in each outfit to add a statement to each design. Rose combines a sophisticated style with modern and fresh silhouettes by using draping as her route for design.
How would you describe your design aesthetic in 3 words?
I would describe my aesthetic as creative, organised and ambitious. Creativity is one of the most important things for me to be able to design interesting shapes and styles for my collection. In doing this I definitely feel being organised supports you along the way, finding suitable fabrics, models, photoshoot locations and press etc all in all involves having good organisational skills in which I feel I have. Lastly, describing myself as ambitious is something I feel has been confirmed through studying fashion design at degree level. Creating a collection including print, fabric manipulation and corsetry definitely had it’s share of challenges but has made me want to make Rose Appleton a more successful label now more than ever.
What is your creative process when designing?
My creative process varies depending on who and what i’m designing for. I like to visit museums, shows and in particular unique looking architecture to look at shapes. The collection, ‘True Heaven’ I am showing at London Fashion Week is inspired by the way in which we move through to afterlife. In doing this my main inspiration was my father with whom died a few years ago, so discussing and designing on the topic of afterlife, The River Styx in Greek Mythology combined with the effect of decay I managed to produce a print to be used in my whole collection which i feel represents the portrayal of afterlife.
Who is your favourite designer and how do they inspire you?
I have a few favourite designers, them being Alice Temperley, Zac Posen and Zuhair Murad. I’m very focused on eveningwear so in particular Zac Posen and Zuhair Murad are incredible at eveningwear design. They inspire me with the fabrics they use, the element of print used especially with Alice Temperley’s designs and how their shapes are all very unique.
How do you avoid getting stuck creatively?
Before designing each collection I like to visit different places. That could be abroad or just visiting local places in london or around the UK. I think I have quite a creative personality so I like to experience new things and explore new places so I never really run out of creative ideas.
Who would be your dream client?
I wouldn’t say I have a dream client, I just like to design for a woman that wants to wear something that little bit different. If someone is confident and comfortable in one of my designs then I’m happy.
How do you stay up to date with all the trends in the industry and do you think it's necessary to keep up?
I definitely think it’s good to keep track of what’s going on within the industry. But, i don’t necessarily think as a designer you need to know the latest trends all the time as it changes on a constant basis. But sort of keep tabs on what’s going on so that you can possibly incorporate a trend within a design. However i’m not a huge follower of trends so I try and wear and design exactly what I want but have a look at trends to keep track of market demand.
Rose is one of the talented designers who will be showing a collection at The Prince’s Trust first fashion collective at London Fashion Week! You can check out Rose's brand, blog and social media handles right here!