Fashion designer Hayley Scanlan creates edgy clothing collections with huge appeal, from appearances in Vogue and Grazia to dressing Erin O’Connor and The Saturdays.
Born in Dundee, Hayley was taught by her grandmother to make clothes at a very early age. “Before I started primary school I was making Barbie clothes on her sewing machine and knitting dolls’ clothes with her,” she says.
As the eldest of five sisters all passionate about fashion and creativity, Hayley feels “it’s definitely something that just comes naturally in my family”. That interest, and a commitment to work ferociously hard, has helped her build a successful brand from her hometown.
Studies at Dundee College and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design led to an internship in Hollywood in 2007 with Jeremy Scott, who is now Creative Director at Moschino and owner of his own company.
“I find it quite difficult to put my design style into words,” Hayley admits, “but people have told me they can spot my work a mile off which means I obviously have a particular style.”
“I tend to be really influenced by iconic women in films, books and music that I was brought up around, in particular Debbie Harry,” as well as there being “a strong element of punk in a lot of my collections”.
“I think my collections are full of feminine silhouettes but it’s important for me to put my own stamp on it and I love to toughen things up with metal hardware, zips, studs and bold slogans,” Hayley adds.
Twice winner of Scottish Young Designer of the Year, other successes include being picked by Topshop for a pop-up shop during London Fashion Week and working with Debenhams across Scotland on pop-ups.
More recently, Hayley has expanded beyond her flagship H.S label to open her own shop in Dundee, where she also gives other designers the opportunity to showcase their work.
“I have been blown away by the response and feedback and feel much more satisfied in my career being able to showcase and sell my work directly through my own store,” she says. “To see so many people believe in your own vision and what goes on inside your head is a pretty amazing feeling, I honestly couldn’t be more grateful.”
For Hayley, “design matters because it’s vital to our everyday life”. “Personally it matters to me because it keeps me sane.”
“I think V&A Dundee is a great thing to happen to our city and also to Scotland, it’s really changing Dundee and it’s exciting to know that my sons will grow up with one of the best design museums on their doorstep,” she adds.
As someone who has created a distinctive fashion brand by herself, working from her home city and attracting international recognition, we’re very proud to add Hayley to V&A Dundee’s Design Champions.
To find out more, please visit Hayley’s website.
The V&A Dundee Design Champions are inspirational designers creating high-quality work and helping to enhance people’s lives, or champions of the power of design to improve the world.
We will announce 50 Design Champions in the run-up to the museum opening on Saturday 15 September 2018.
V&A Dundee’s Design Champions project is working with Dezeen as its media partner.
Dezeen is the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine, with an audience of 2.5 million unique visitors each month.
