The Fashion Time Magazine

If you hadn’t heard of England’s Dean Thomas (left) before, now you shall. Hailed as the next ‘Big Thing’ by the UK’s Daily Mail, he is a rising star of the British fashion scene, an innovator in fabric and feathers, whose creations have already drawn the appreciation of Vogue, establishing himself as one of the trendiest young designers in the world.

Thomas, a native of Dulverton in Somerset, attended and graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins, Britain’s renown school of art and design, known for such alumni as actor John Hurt, painter Lucian Freud, and noted designers Stella McCartney, John Galliano, and Alexander McQueen, whom Dean worked with.

For Thomas, each work of his is a creation of pure art and fashionable joy, a fanciful exploration of the imagination, conceptualized on the runway for all to see. As Dean himself tells us, “My collection is based on the 18th Century Novel of ‘Lorna Doone’. I decided that I wanted to create something very personal and romantic and so made a conscious decision to source all fabrics and trimmings from my native Exmoor and Somerset.”

We thank Dean for taking time off from his busy schedule to participate in our interview.

Fashion Time: Did you always want to be a designer? Were you artistic from an early age?

Dean Thomas: I’ve always been artistic. From an early age I loved to draw, and create. I didn’t always want to be a designer though, and fashion was something that came along later. I’ve gone from wanting to be a firefighter (like my dad!) a teacher, and a chef !

I’m not afraid of starting from scratch, and it was this renegade attitude to my career that led me to Saint Martins. I was working as a Sous and Pastry Chef, in a restaurant in Somerset, up until just before I moved to London. I really enjoyed being a chef. It gave me the opportunity to create in an artistic 3d way, which is how my mind works, but there was something always missing. As a chef I was constantly creating these dishes and then sending them away… the cherry on the cake was absent. I wanted to follow the food from the hotplate, to the table and see how it made the diner feel. It’s the pleasure of making a woman feel sexy, powerful or confident that, for me, is the reward of doing fashion.

Fashion is more permanent, a jacket will be around for years, hopefully a treasured possession. A Crème brulee lasts minutes, It was this permanancy I craved. I think everyone wants to make a mark in some way.
I woke up one day and decided a change of direction was due! I applied to Saint Martins, only knowing its prestige. I only applied there so left it to fate. If I got in I’d give my everything to fashion. If I wasn’t accepted I’d make things work as a chef… im so happy things panned out the way they did!

Fashion Time: You’ve been heralded by England’s Daily Mail as “The Next Big Thing”. Has this contributed to a lot of pressure in your life? And does the fashion press like to build them up, to tear them down later?

Dean Thomas: “The Next Big Thing”?..,, I don’t feel it puts a lot of pressure on my life. It puts pressure on me as a designer. It is difficult as an up and coming designer, because you constantly have to prove you can do better than what you’ve done before. I don’t find that scary though. Every day I spend designing or making I learn more about my craft, this means inevitably if I make 20 jackets the last will be far superior to the first. Things can only get better, if they go the other way I think its time to down tools and be a chef again!

I think the fashion press can sometimes build up designers too much too soon.

To be heralded as “the next big thing”, after one public collection is maybe a little premature. I have the rest of my career to live up that moniker.
When you are built up like that, you gain expectations from so many people, it is easy lose sight of your next move and if you fail to deliver the next season, it is natural that a disappointed fashion press tear you down again.

Fashion Time: Lorna Doone, the novel and your home in Somerset were cited as an inspiration for your first capsule collection. What is it about the area of Somerset and Exmoor and its legendary and romantic nature that inspire you?

Dean Thomas: Inspiration can be found in the strangest places. It is only being away from my home of Dulverton, in Somerset for 4 years that has made me appreciate its beauty. I couldn’t see the wood for the trees, quite literally! Lorna Doone was another thing that I had overlooked. I grew up aware of the novel (a statue of Lorna stands proudly in Dulverton a few hundred yards from my family home), but had never read it. I decided to read it last year and was immediately seduced by its romanticism. I was drawn to the novel also because it was so personal to me. The rivers mentioned in the book were rivers I had played in as a child. Trees I had climbed and Churches I had visited. This Book represented everything I missed about home and I was inspired with every turn of a page. Exmoor’s legendary romantic nature is too hard to ignore, if you have ever been there, or one day have the pleasure of visiting, you will be seduced!

Fashion Time: What audience are you trying to reach with your designs? For whom are you designing your clothes for?

Dean Thomas: My audience varies from collection to collection. I have come from a humble area where size 0 doesn’t exist! Exmoor is full of beautiful, “real” woman and my designs reflect this. My Tailoring may look Great on a gorgeous catwalk model, but it begs for a bust, hips and waist! I think its very easy to dress a catwalk model, you could dress them in the most unflattering of creations, yet they will still look a million dollars. Its far harder to dress a size 14 lady in her 40’s, you have to be intelligent in your design and treat each customer as an individual, but I like a challenge!

Fashion Time: You’re noted for working with tweed and feathers. Why feathers?

Dean Thomas: When designing the collection I decided that I wanted to create something very personal so made a conscious decision that as well as dedicating the collection to Exmoor I would source all fabrics and trimmings from within 50 Miles of my home! All the tweeds were woven on Exmoor using wool from Exmoor sheep and buttons were hand carved from Exmoor stag antler. Cotton voiles and silks were left in the River Barle to age and soften, and Exmoor Pheasant feather were used to create delicate silk prints and wing dresses. Feathers are possibly one of the most amazing natural materials. How does a bird’s body know which feather of what colour and size is going where? After plucking nearly 100 pheasants for the collection, you appreciate just how beautiful they are.

Fashion Time: And some think of tweed as being a British upper class sort of fabric. Is it truly a material for the masses?

Dean Thomas: The tweeds that I created for my final collection were hand dyed, hand spun and hand woven, produced in an 18th century style, a time consuming and costly method that could never be applied to mass production whilst keeping the quality.

Tweed is essentially a utility fabric and has its roots firmly in hunting and shooting, which had always been associated with nobility, It was this history that fascinated me. The collection will not change the perceptions of tweed, but challenges them in a positive way.

Fashion Time: Is there a celebrity or celebrities you dream to dress in your creations?

Dean Thomas: Yes, but most of them are dead! I adore the age old style of the 1930’s and 40’s. Women were at their most beautiful and knew how to dress. I would love the opportunity to dress anyone from Grace Kelly and Lana Turner to Ann Miller.

Celebrities from our era include Sienna Miller, Keira Knightly , Charleze Theron, and Scarlett Johansson. These women transcend to me because they could have come from any era of beauty. You only have to see Sienna Miller in the film Factory Girl, or Keira Knightly in Attonement to see why.

Fashion Time: Do you have a favorite model or models that you would love to see on the catwalk showcasing your designs?

Dean Thomas: I think Karen Elson is absolulty stunning for the same reasons as all the girls above, her shock of red hair on pale skin is beautiful. I would also love to dress
Daria Werbowy, Jessica Miller and Erin Wasson because they are just plain sexy!

Fashion Time: Do you have a designer muse?

Dean Thomas: I don’t have a designer Muse, I muse about collections from individual designers. McQueen stands out because of his showmanship. His Dance Collection (Deliverance, S/S 2004), His Scottish Collection (Widows of Culludon, A/W 2006) and his Chess collection (Its Only a Game, S/S 2005) bridge the gaps between fashion and theatre, which is always something I have been fascinated in.

Fashion Time: You worked with Alexander McQueen, a fellow alumnus of Central Saint Martins. Can you tell us what that experience was like for you?

Dean Thomas: It was fantastic. I learnt so much, I got to go to Paris for the show and the hard work put me in good stead for my final Collection. It was truly inspirational working for Lee. He has a sense of style that I aspire to. He knows what women want… or if he doesn’t he does a good job of convincing them!

Fashion Time: Could you share some of your thoughts with us on the following designers: Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Tom Ford, Rei Kawakubo, and John Galliano?

Dean Thomas: I had the pleasure of being in a talk with Marc Jacobs, he is a brilliant designer and a team player, I didn’t hear him say ‘I’ once, he referred to every decision as ‘we’. I have a lot of respect for his attitude towards his team.

Every designer dreams of making a permanent mark on fashion, and for that Vivienne Westwood is truly an icon. She has inspired generations and still challenges the boundaries of fashion. Tom Ford is classic and shares a similar design ethos to me. I’m a big fan. On the other hand although Rei Kawakubo and John Galliano are not my style I do love what Galliano does for Dior and cannot deny that they are both worthy fashion greats…sometimes designers tend to challenge for challenging sake, but if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Just make it better!

Fashion Time: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. As a designer, do you have to function somewhat like a dictator to achieve your goals or is it more of a group effort?

Dean Thomas: As a designer it is very important to be focused on your goals, but just as important to be open. I believe its very important to take advice from everyone, ultimately you have the luxury of the final say. If you take a dictator attitude to your work it can lose its appeal to any market wider than yourself, if you want your designs to be accesessable you need to give others access.

Fashion Time: Some designers have blogs. Will you join the trend? Does blogging about your life as a designer interest you?

Dean Thomas: Not Really, I not that interesting!… [Laughs] also mystery is good.

Fashion Time: One of the criticisms directed against the fashion industry, is that Third World sweatshops produce most of the designer clothing in the world. Is this really an ethical thing on the part of the industry or is the criticism overblown?

Dean Thomas: It’s a catch 22, people want designer clothing at affordable prices and the third world will always compete. The quote from the previous question sums up the situation perfectly. (Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely). The need for cheap production has nearly all but destroyed our production in the UK.

When designing my collection I was very conscious of this. Ultimately, whilst being a collection of luxury and romance, it also hints at the lost luxury of time and craftmenship. (The buttons took days to hand carve while the tweed for one look took nearly a month!, woven by a 73 year old man in his garden shed!). By dedicating time to each component, the collection makes a subtle utterance towards the throw away culture of fashion we are currently experiencing.

Fashion Time: Does the fashion industry negatively influence women’s perceptions about their bodies?

Dean Thomas: It doesn’t help, but it’s the lesser of many evils. The media, celebrity and just about every part of popular culture are to blame. We have always had idols, and I’m sure women have always compared themselves, creating negative perceptions. I think even if the fashion industry sent plus size models down every catwalk, people will be negatively influenenced for some reason.

Fashion Time: Surely, you must have some Fashion dislikes. Could you share one or two of them with us?

Dean Thomas: Wedges, Gold and Zebra Prints. My worst nightmare would be a pair of gold wedges with a zebra print!

Fashion Time: What does glamour mean to you?

Dean Thomas: A woman feeling confident, beautiful or sexy. She needs to feel it before she can look it and without that she can’t be glamourous.

Fashion Time: Can you describe your own personal style? What clothes do you like to wear?

Dean Thomas: My own personal style is classic and varied, I will wear anything from a tuxedo to a pair of jeans and a vest. But most important of all I will never wear anything unless I’m comfortable.

Fashion Time: Any advice you would give to aspiring designers?

Dean Thomas: Be confident, stay grounded, surround yourself with real friends, and never be afraid to be objective!

Fashion Time: What does the future hold for you?

Dean Thomas: I’m a great believer that “you get out of life, what you put in”, I love Fashion and give it everything I’ve got. By working twice as hard now I keep telling myself I can relax twice as hard in the future! The thing that makes all this a little less scary is knowing that life is too short. I’m not afraid to change career direction anytime, although im not planning on swapping dresses and bustiers for profiteroles and terrines anytime soon!

Dean Thomas Designs, 07973 642 637; deanthomas designs@hotmail.com

Image Credits: All images courtesy of Dean Thomas, Catwalking.com