Explore the collaborative relationship between maker and manufacturer with our expert panel
Mary Quant redefined the designer's relationship with manufacturers, driving textile innovation to realise her designs. Join Penny Martin, editor in chief of The Gentlewoman and our panel of contemporary designers and industry experts as they explore how that relationship is manifest today.
The panel includes Designer Beca Lipscombe of Atelier E.B; artist, ceramist and illustrator John Booth; April Crichton co-founder of LA FETICHE; designer Olubiyi Thomas; and Lorraine Acornley, Creative Director of historic Scottish Weaver's Begg & Co.
Speakers:
Penny Martin is a London-based editor who since 2010 has been editor in chief of the biannual women’s magazine The Gentlewoman. Previously, she was editor in chief of SHOWstudio.com from 2001 to 2008 and a curator at both the Women’s Library (formerly The Fawcett Library) and The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television (now National Media Museum). She contributes to numerous magazines, has curated exhibitions at museums and galleries including The Photographers’ Gallery and Somerset House and she consults to companies including Nike and Miu Miu.
Beca Lipscombe is a Scottish fashion and textile designer, printmaker, and one half of Atelier E.B. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Lipscombe’s professional practice is multi-layered and draws upon a vernacular aesthetic. Now, under the umbrella of Atelier E.B, Lipscombe operates in the space between design, art and commerce, responding to and critiquing the tensions generated by these uneasy bedfellows.
Creative Director at Begg & Co since 2017, Lorraine Acornley graduated from The Glasgow School of Art in Printed and Knitted Textiles before completing a Master of Art in Fashion Knitwear at The Royal College of Art. She has designed for the likes of JOSEPH, Alberta Ferretti, Pringle and Connolly to name a few.
Working across design, from illustration to textiles to ceramics, John Booth is known for his colourful, exuberant style. He studied Fashion Print Design at Central Saint Martins before interning with John Galliano and Zandra Rhodes. Collaborations include Italian fashion house Fendi, Scottish weavers Begg & Co and a mural commission for The Conran Shop in Seoul, Korea.
April Crichton is Co-founder of LA FETICHE, a collection of clothing created in both Paris and Glasgow. Following a career in design with Sonia Rykiel in Paris for over 20 years and more recently with Marc Jacobs in NYC, the idea to create a collection of ‘timeless’ pieces working closely with specialised manufacturers in Scotland and France was launched.
Lagos born, Glasgow raised, London based Olubiyi Thomas graduated from Central Saint Martins feted menswear BA programme in 2013. Since then, he has worked with Alexander McQueen in London, and cult label Siki Im in New York and underground London label De Rien. In 2015 he left to establish his own independent label, Olubiyi Thomas, taking an artisanal approach to design, exploring archaic techniques and reinterpreting historical references.