Niece and easy does it for Victoria's own babywear collection
When Yves St Laurent wanted inspiration, he looked to only one woman... His elegant friend, Loulou de la Falaise.
For over three decades, Loulou provided his creative spark.
And YSL's bond with her was far from unique... Muses play an important role in a designer's search for creativity, as fashion's latest boy wonder Henry Holland will testify. He has top model and best friend Agyness Dean to visualise wearing the creations of his mind's eye.
And as for Barnsley designer Victoria Thompson, she just looks to the house next door.
The muse behind all her collections is her two-year-old niece, Isla.
In fact, the little girl was inspiring Victoria even before her birth.
A fashion student at the University of Huddersfield, Victoria was looking for an unusual and marketable theme for her final collection. When elder sister Claudia announced she was going to be a mum, the whole family were so thrilled, Victoria decided she fancied designing babywear.
"Not many people on my course agreed with me though," she says. "Out of 50 students, 45 chose womenswear and my tutors weren't very supportive of my choice. I felt they didn't think it was the glamorous, creative option, but I loved the challenge of creating unusual yet entirely practical little clothes."
Not long after finishing her degree, Victoria became an auntie for the first time.
"My sister chose me as her birthing partner because her husband Gareth is a bit squeamish and she wanted someone holding both their hands. It was an amazing experience and I developed a strong bond with Isla," says
Victoria, 23.
"When she was a month old Gareth and Claudia moved into the barn conversion next door to our farmhouse in Darton and I'm sort of a second mum to Isla these days."
When the family's babywear shopping began in earnest, Victoria realised she could put her designs to use - and set up in business.
"I thought it was a sound business idea. In a recession, people put their need for new clothes way down the list of priorities, but they still buy clothes for their children," she says sagely.
The idea also appealed to her creative side.
"I wanted to create mini outfits, not boring babygrows, and came up with the concept of baby loungewear - multi-functional clothes that were practical and comfortable enough for babies to sleep, eat, play in, but stylish enough for them to be taken out and about in.
She looked to her little muse next door for inspiration and asked sister Claudia to report back on the pros and cons of the babywear she had bought.
"It was great," she laughs. "My sister became my sounding board. I had a researcher in the field on tap and a beautiful little niece to wear all my prototypes."
The eczema Isla developed at six months added extra fuel to green-thinking Victoria's desire to make her entire range in totally pure, organic cotton and in beautiful colours made from natural dyes.
"I feel it is really important how and where clothes are made and I was determined not to use conventional cotton, which accounts for one quarter of global pesticide use, with alarming environmental and social consequences," she says.
"Totally organic cotton is not harmful to the environment and is grown naturally. It is also kinder to a baby's skin, particularly if they suffer from eczema. Claudia had found it definitely helped relieve Isla's symptoms.
"Organic cotton is commonly used in the babycare market but I found many brands professing to use it were actually using fabrics that were only 20 per cent organic. To my mind wasn't good enough."
She tracked down producers in Turkey who had Soil Association
creditation; "I felt it was important to register for the Soil Association symbol; it is the UK's largest and most recognisable trademark for organic produce and it means that my customers can have the peace of mind that what they are buying is 100 per cent organic, natural and ethical," she adds.
That step over with, she then set out to find a British organic clothing manufacturer; "But I couldn't find one. Most of the companies I found had closed down and others didn't have the correct facilities, I'm sad to say."
She turned back to Turkey and found a Control Union-certified factory in
Istanbul who could work to her emailed designs and specifications.
Her company, Green Nippers, was born last August, when Isla was a year old and still able to fit into the samples the Turkish workers would send in the post.
"It's all been a huge learning experience and very hard work, but I am very proud of the Green Nippers range. There are 13 designs - six for boys, six for girls and a unisex outfit, plus a collection of matching accessories like hats, bootees and bibs. They are all witty and bright - I noticed that most organic babywear was always in natural colours and wanted to inject more vibrancy into my collection. Just as importantly, I heeded Claudia's comments and ensured they are all very practical and easy to get on and off."
Victoria sells from her greennippers.co.uk website, and is soon to be stocked locally at baby boutique Ankle biters on Sheffield's Abbeydale Road.
And things could really take off since some of her designs went centre stage at The Baby Show at London Excel.
"I was exhibiting my label at the show last week and was so pleased when organisers selected some of my outfits for the baby models to wear on the catwalk," explains Victoria. "Several buyers made approaches to me for orders afterwards."
Isla was put to good use as a mini model when Victoria needed to stage a photo shoot to illustrate her website.
But at the age of two, it looks like she's going to have to retire from the role of model and muse for a while. "She's two now and my range only goes up to 12 months," says Victoria. "But plans are afoot to launch a Green Nippers collection for one to five year-olds, so Isla will be back in business!"
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Friday 25 May 2012
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