Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emma Blythe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Emma , thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I grew up costume making. I think the first look I ever fully designed and made was for the tooth fairy. She left a note saying she loved it so Im assuming it fit. However my first more formal bits of training were sewing lessons from my grandmother. Just the basics of sewing a garment with a store bought pattern, but from there I started experimenting and finally went to university to study fashion design for my BA in New York. The program I was at was very intense about perfect construction and sewing techniques. They wanted us to be prepared to work as tailors and seamstresses and commercial designers and I just knew that wasnt for me, but I also knew the importance of a well crafted garment.

So once I graduated I took what I learned and moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins and then the Royal College of Art for my Masters. I think this is where I had the most difficult transformation. It took three years of almost un-learning everything I had worked so hard to gain. Here, craftsmanship came second to creative concepts and an almost performative method of design. I had been taught in a strict, methodical setting and now needed to remember the freedom I designed with before I knew the rules, and it was disorienting.

It took me a while but I found my solution in upcycling. Starting from pre-extisting items meant I couldn’t rely on pattern drafting and standard studio techniques, and each new project was a totally new terrain, which forced me out of my head and meant the items were much more in control of what they became. It’s more of a back and forth conversation when dealing with items that already have a form and a history, as opposed to new fabric that lays flat.

Layering in the social activism and future-building that is now my design ethos, I was able to find a way to deepen the meaning of what I work on everyday, and have a real message and dream for where my work goes in the future, and that makes it much easier to continue to spend so much time in the studio developing new work.

Looking back, despite how hard I tried to un-learn it, the sewing and construction techniques I learned at the start have been the most grounding and essential skills to have, that I rely upon daily. Breaking away from them for a bit was freeing and helped me creatively, but now, as I work on my own and have to rely upon myself to create final outcomes, being able to craft a well made garment start to finish is the only way I can do what I do now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I work now as a fashion designer and upcycling designer. I specialise in handmade luxury items that focus on finding vintage and pre-worn objects and repurposing them in order to show how fashion can be used to mitigate cultural and environmental harm.

Feminist activism and sustainability is at the core of my work, and I’m really proud that Ive managed to carve out a space for myself within an industry thats very unwelcoming to new processes and new ways of progression. I want the people who see my work, and who wear the things I make to feel empowered to forge their own paths as well. People can be more than just one thing, and I try to reflect that in my work by creating garments that move, alter, and change alongside the bodies that wear them.

“Reimagining a positive future with items from a recognisable past” is the tagline on all my websites and such, and although it gets repetitive after a while, I’ll keep repeating it as it is still the inspiration behind the materials I select and the forms they become. We do not have to be tied to repeating the same systems of harm over again, and fashion does have a role to play in reconstructing and better way forward.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

It’s a sort of design basic, but it really helped me regardless: “Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences, and Empathy” by Johnathan Chapman. It’s not fashion focused, but explains how product design can influence and reflect human experience and behaviour. As designers in 2024 I don’t think we have the luxury of simply designing for aesthetics. Resources are limited and timing is critical. Design must be purposed driven in one way or another and this book shows a way in which we can do that, and how its been done before. Its just a great starting point to them apply to your own specific practice or purpose.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

This sounds worn out but supporting new artists and not spending money on brands and corporations that don’t care. As an emerging designer myself, I am surrounded by other amazing, talented, brilliant creatives who are all struggling and their visions never get seen because everyone is still focused on the same major brands, and the same major celebrities. Its all connected, and it gets overwhelming, but it really comes down to overconsumption and greed.

Offer lower studio rents to small artists so they have a place to develop. Allow space for communities to flourish. Make art school less expensive. Stop looking at follower counts to discern talent. Wear emerging designers so they can afford the next collection. Don’t support large brands who copy emerging designers’ work.

Especially today it really is overwhelming and there is so much people have to fight against, but investing in small artists and in local communities is a great way of paying it forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emmablythestudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmablythestudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmablythestudio/
• Youtube: EmmaandChun
• Other: TikTok: @whatisblythe

Image Credits
Models: Chun-yin Chan, Damsel Elysium, and Maya Pan Photographers: Bea-Puppo amo and Raga Munecas