There seems to be quite a few events going on at the moment and I am making it my mission to get along to as many as possible. With this in mind I headed through to Dundee on Saturday for a Q&A with Hayley Scanlan and a Pop Up Shop featuring her SS14 'Love me Tender' collection.
It was great to hear the back story of the brand from the designer herself. Hayley was taught to sew by her Gran before she even reached primary school and wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as she can remember. It was interesting to find out that her school wasn't that supportive of her achieving such a dream. Seems they thought fashion too fanciful for a Dundee lass, the fools! After leaving school Hayley went on to study Dundee College where she was allowed to develop her love for textiles and fashion which was continued when she moved onto Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, showing what a bit of support, encouragement and damn hard work can achieve.
Hayley's strong family ties have kept her in her home city of Dundee and I think the place is very lucky to have her. After a successful degree show, where she attracted the attention of supermodel Erin O'Connor, the obvious step would be to move to London or another big city. That pressure to move to the big smoke is something a lot of creatives feel but with so much business being done online there really shouldn't be the need. It's strange that that expectation is still there though. It would be great if creatives spread out, creating more diverse and interesting communities across the country. As Hayley mentioned in the Q&A it seems a lot more people are sticking around Dundee, what with the V&A coming, so it can only mean good things for the city.
Hayley certainly hasn't let her location hold her back, with features in Vogue, celebrity fans and exciting new collections. I found listening to her story really inspiring. Plus the pop up shop was filled with amazing items and I may have treated myself.
