Introducing: Claudette

From interning with Obscure’s to her catwalk debut at Nightwalk in the next two weeks, Claudette is looking like one to watch. The HND Cardonland College student’s collection, entitled “Tempest” in inspired by the Glasgow underground streets – cherry picking her favourite parts of the architecture, fashion and style of Glasgow. Looking to the likes of Dolce & Gabbana (citing their clean cut silhouettes and range of prints as a major inspiration), Claudette has set out to create a strong glamorous 10 piece debut collection.Claudette uses faux leather and lots of sheer chiffon in her design (someone has been reading my memos) to create elegant edgy pieces and keeping with her love of working with contrasting fabrics. Her collection is named after mythical titans, and Claudette cites her favourite piece as the “Adonis” panelled gown. The piece helped kick start the project, and Claudette notes it was one of the more time consuming pieces. For fashion, Claudette feels that Scots are underrepresented in the fashion industry – the lack of jobs, educational facilities and general opportunities make it difficult for a new designer to break it anywhere, especially with so many talented designers working hard and competing to “make it.” I think this is pretty universal everywhere, and Scots are making our mark on the international fashion scene, but it does feel like a slow process and it’s great to see how it is developing. That said, got to make sure that fresh talent has the skill and the facilities to realise their creations, amiright Glasgow?
Her 10 piece collection features lots of asymmetry, keeping with a dark palette with flashes of neon yellow. For me it feels almost like Super Villain couture which I’m all for. It feels hyper-real and makes for a really interesting first collection from the new designer. I’m in love with any mix of fabrics and the bondage feel throughout this collection is right up my street and I’m really excited to see where she takes her designs in future.
You can deek Claudette’s debut collection at Nightwalk at the Arches on the 1st of May, until then you can creep the girl our for yourself via facebook.