It was a pleasure to collaborate with you on your Tarantula collection last winter. Could you share some insights about the collection and the various collaborations involved? This collection was a departure from the usual aesthetic of Blue Nude. Previously, the colour black had been off limits to myself and artists as I wanted to celebrate colour in my collections. Upon the initial conception of the Tarantula collection, I had become inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope and its images of deep space. Alongside this, I was experiencing a period of grief and had found solace and comfort in the concepts of quantum physics and the unknowns of existence after physical death. 

Ultimately, the collection still represents an investigation of colour. It was freeing to be able to use black as a base to experiment with techniques that might have been a bit garish if using another colour for a base - such as embroidery and sculpture. I found it amusing how designing an all-black collection, which one could say is a cliche in the fashion industry, would cause shock. I’m glad I made this decision, as now I have explored both light and dark within Blue Nude, and moving forward I can present a more balanced interpretation of my themes and the duality of life and the natural world.

For my collaboration with you at Studio Cosmogram, I was excited to work together after we connected as residents at Hackney Downs Studios. You had been to my very first Art Party - a bit of a mystical phantom I had kept hearing about from my friends but hadn’t yet had the chance to meet. 

The Tarantula collection has three main themes - infinity, creation, and oblivion, with at least one piece representing each theme. Though, I thought the concepts all sounded beautiful and meaningful together, and wanted to create a t–shirt which would represent these mysteries of life. You have an excellent eye for typography and textual design, which was something I hadn’t yet explored, so I wanted to challenge you with the brief of combining these three texts to a sort of spherical design representing a black hole. And thus, with a feminine touch! Doesn’t sound easy, right? You aced this and we now have our gorgeous Three Realms Screenprint T-Shirt.

Collaboration with Lea Rose Kara on the Zia Detachable Sculpture Bustier: I came to know Lea after you recommended her following an encounter at an art opening a few weeks prior. I contacted Lea out of the blue, and fortunately she was as equally excited about the collaboration as I was. We set off on our eight-month journey to create our bustiers. 

Lea approaches her artistic practice like a scientist, very research-based and methodological. It was inspiring to see this approach to creating art in her development and research of materials to make lightweight, yet durable, ‘space beads’ for the bustier’s sculpture. Thanks to Lea, I now wield metal cutters and have a better understanding of working with raw materials, and in return I exposed her to my love of gothic sci-fi art and film which has influenced her artistic practice. Making these unexpected connections is what the process is all about. At the end of our project, we designed an elegant, sensual, innovative bustier which is my first-ever demi-couture piece. This means it takes an extraordinary amount of time and craftsmanship to make a singular piece - 14 days per bustier to be exact.