Interview with Craig Lawrence: “I’d like to see how far I can push the woolly hat”

The Upcoming was lucky enough to chat to knitwear designer Craig Lawrence about his inspirations.

What do you think makes you want to create and make your designs? What do you think is your driving force?

Generally, I always like to create something that I think is new, a bit different to what’s going on. I think especially with knitwear and fashion there is such scope to experiment and play, and I think the experimenting and the playful side to it is what I enjoy the most, because you can just do endless, endless things: just invent your own fabrics and invent your own way of dressing.

Do you have a certain type of person in mind whilst you’re designing?

It’s a mixture of some of my friends and sometimes I want my friends to be able to wear the pieces, and then other times it’s like Björke who wears it in her relation to her music and performance. There are a lot of performance elements in some of my pieces. I dressed Patrick Wolf a couple of times and it was so nice to see: it kinda puts what I make into context relating to performance and music, and I think that whole feel of that is creating something different and a new attitude.

When you are looking at your designs they seem quite futuristic in a way with a retro feel much like sci-fi – would you say that’s true?

I would say so. I think there is always an element of trying to push for something a bit different  so that tends to come across as a futuristic feeling, and I think because they are such strong designs the women look like warrior women playing into the whole kind of futuristic warrior with a powerful sexuality [thing].

Nowadays do you see the customers having more of a driving force with what the want from designs, rather than the designs having more of a say?

I think you can go either way from my perspective, being a youngish designer, or not established designer – you kind of still do what I’m still doing because I’ve just gone with my gut, and been brave with it. So I think that’s an important element to what I do: you have to have a strong belief in yourself.

What would you say to someone who is setting off into design or fashion now – what would your advice be?

I would say you would have to be free with yourself and not put a burden [on yourself] of expecting a steady career out of it. I think if you are going to go into fashion then it’s a good attitude to have a creative mindset rather than a business mindset, depending on what kind of designer you are – if you want to go into fashion to create then you are going to have to be strong about it and stick to it.

Where do you see yourself moving forward with your career and you designs from this point?

Hopefully I would like to expand… and do accessories and menswear ranges. See how far I can push the woolly hat and how I can change menswear. I think it would be really fun to see how far you can push things.

Rebecca Saunders
Photo: Martin Evans