April Crichton
Senior designer at Sonia Rykiel
Some designers make success look easy. and April ('richton is one of them. She hegan her studies at lidinhurgh (‘ollege of Art. hut moyed to ('entral St Martins in London and as soon as she'd graduated in l‘)‘)(). (‘richton was introduced to Sonia Rykiel‘s team at her atelier in Paris. Spotting someone who naturally fitted in with her own aesthetic. Ry'kiel offered her the chance to join the studio. l‘rom there. ('richton estahlished her own foothold in the company. persuading Rykiel to launch a new line. Sonia. "for the type of person that I w as someone w ho liked the Ry'kiel style hut didn‘t always haye the money to indrrlge it'. That line is in its l21h season and. now 30. ('richton is no longer working full time in Rykiel‘s atelier. hut commuting three days each week to Paris from her home in (ilasgow where she liyes with her partner 'l’ohy Wchstet' (founder of (ilasgow’s leading priyate art gallery. the Modern Institute). and two young children. ('richton's straightforwardly stylish approach places her work firmly and comfortath in the fashion mainstream. and her latest collection pays particular homage to her home country. with its suhtle Use of [weeds and Shetland wool (left l.
Joey D
Designer of unique bags and outfits
'To he honest. I really can't pinpoint any single great fashion designer‘s influence on my work.‘ .loey I) told The List in 200-1. 'The people that have left their mark on me were the people in the factories who do the graft.‘ It's a sentiment that epitornises lidinhurgh-hased Joey D‘s approach to design. which locates itself somewhere hetween punk. hondage. glam and eco-warrior. llis oeuvre includes hags (ahoye) made out of old camouflage netting: suits made from recycled tweed and denim. and skins made from tartan. oyerlaid with scrihhly machine stitching. lf clothes are a reflection of the personality of the wearer. Joey‘s womenswear errs on the side of the tousled punk diy'a. while his outfits for men tune a slightly more camp feel. In fact. lilton John and KT Tunstall heing clients gives a fairly accurate personality profile of his designs. More rernodeller than pure designer. Joey neyertheless creates extraordinary clothes. Most importantly. he has pursued a yery particular idea for years. and the wheel of fashion has turned towards the point that Joey D's been at for ages.
Joey D exhibits as part of the Marketplace, Assembly Rooms, Wed 26 & Thu 27 Apr.
EDINBURGH FASHION FESTIVAL
Lucy Holt
Model at Edinburgh agency the Model Team
'.\'o-onc would know me from a har of soap.‘ says 22—year-old l.ucy llolt (pictured ahoyel. But will anyone recognise her in l2 months' time'.’ Yes. according to (‘olin Mc|)owe|l. creatiyc director of the lidinhurgh liashion l’estiyal. who picked llolt out for the festiyal‘s launch campaign hccause of the turn around her in the fashion world. This is partly hccause of llolt's recent appearance in an ad for (ialaxy Promises chocolates. and shoots in torque and (ilumom'. As a result. llolt has recently had to swap Perth for Paris and. alongside the modelling. she has also taken up acting. She‘s currently shooting for two films that will premiere at (‘annes next year. ‘Scotland is a great place to start.' she says. ‘hut if you want to make a career out of modelling you need to take it to other countries and dip in and out of other markets.‘ It all started surprisineg easily: ‘I got in touch with the Model Team. and within a week l was in Milan and then off to America alter that.~ A well-regarded shoot for fashion retailer American liagle. and another with Agent l’royocateur put llolt on the modelling map. ()ncc she‘s in Paris. fashion insiders reckon she will he inyited to take part in the kind of hiin profile catwalk shows that could catapult her to supermodel status. hut she‘s not making any grand claims for the future. 'She's one ofour hest models and we loye her to hits.‘ says Kimherley ('larke of the Model Team. 'But she‘s definitely not one of the pushy models. It actually frustrates me a little hit.‘
Niki Taylor Fashion designer for her own label, Olanic
It‘s not too surprising that (ilasgow hand Iil l’r‘esidente count ()lanic among their layourite fashion lahels. Alter all. Niki Taylor ranks performance as chief among her design inspirations and many of her outfits make their wearers look like rock diyas. Taylor was born in (ilasgow and studied at the Scottish ('ollege of Textiles in (ialashiels. There. she learnt the cutting skills that lend her collections a tailored look and they share with designers such as Alexander McQueen and Hussein ('halayan the sense that excellent tailoring is one of the main foundations of great fashion design. l.ik’e McQueen and (‘halayarL Taylor also has a sharp entrepreneurial streak that has seen her more on from freelance fashion work with Nike and Levi. to launching her ()lanic label in 2002. Along the way. she‘s patented a sock-hoot design called 'Stilli'. designed to he pulled over the heel of a shoe. so transforming it into a kind of hoot. And 32-year-old Taylor‘s hard work has begun to yield rewards outside Scotland: in 2005 she was imited to show at the ()n/Off schedule at London Fashion Week. and as a result The 77mm named her one of the top ten international names to watch. For Taylor. this isjust the beginning.
13—27 Apr 2006 THE LIST 19