Artist and print designer Leanne Claxton turns her artwork, namely her dramatic oil paintings, in colorful scarves digitally printed to the highest possible quality and finish onto the finest silk and cashmere fabrics. A Central Saint Martins graduate, Leanne cut her teeth in Paris next to Christian Lacroix, before she worked both in-house and as a freelance print designer for major brands in London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Spain. In 2012, she was named “Design Star of Tomorrow” at the Perspective Magazine Awards, and three years later she set up her studio in her native Lancashire. Read on as Leanne reflects on how she came to launch her brand, her early beginnings in the industry, and her future plans.
Was there an “aha!” moment that made you decide to launch your own brand?
I think that my story is not the conventional way designers usually launch their own brands. After graduating, I was offered a full-time job in Hong Kong, and, being a very broke poor student, I took the job right away! I gained knowledge and experience in manufacturing as well as falling in love with living and being able to travel in Asia. Within a year, I transitioned from full-time work with one company into freelancing for many different companies, which allowed me the freedom and time to paint my collection of oil painted canvases for exhibitions. It was during my first solo art exhibition in Hong Kong that I had my “aha!” moment so to speak. That was the first time I had transported one of my oil paintings onto a very small silk neck scarf along with my website written across the bottom. The scarves were originally going to be exhibition giveaways to help promote my website but we decided to sell them and donate any money we raised to charity. To my surprise, all of the 40 scarves sold out within just two hours of the exhibition opening, and the reaction was so strong that it was there and then I thought “aha! Maybe one day I should launch a scarf brand!” My journey has been an organic one, and even after that first exhibition back in 2012 it was only last year (2015) that I launched my accessories brand with the British Fashion Council during London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House.
What is the biggest lesson you learned next to Christian Lacroix? How do you evaluate this experience in general as your first in the industry?
I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when I was told that I was successful in gaining an internship at my favorite print designer on the planet – Christian Lacroix! I can honestly say I knew hardly anything about creating print designs, patterns, repeats, Photoshop, Illustrator etc… before I worked at Lacroix. I could draw, paint, screen print, do basic sublimation printing onto fabrics but this was very limited compared to what I was taught at Lacroix. I remember my first thoughts when I met the whole print team (there was 5 in the team at the time) were “oh, why are they all using the computer!” So, for certain my biggest lesson I learnt at Lacroix was the importance of using the computer to aid design. It was 2005 when I first worked at Lacroix so the digital world wasn’t as strong as it is today. I would say every print and embroidery design started off by hand, which was great as I spent much of my time at Lacroix sketching, painting and drawing embroidery patterns but in the end the final layouts would mostly all be in the computer and then sent out to the factories for production. The director of the Christian Lacroix print team Craig Wheatley was a strong teacher when I worked for him, and after my internship finished I was asked back to freelance for Lacroix during 2007-2008. Ever since, Craig has been a strong mentor, continuously supporting my work and giving invaluable advice.
You have worked both as an in-house and a freelance print designer. Weigh in for us the two situations; how has each contributed to where you have come today?
I really enjoyed doing contracts whereby you work for sometimes 3 months in-house or 6 months in-house. It gives you the chance to fully be part of a team and experience everything from initial story/moodboards being created, designing, strike off, range presenting through to final production. However, these days I work more on a freelance basis either on collaborations with my brand or in the shadow, due to time restrictions now I have my own brand.
What is your creative process – from designing to fulfilling a product?
First of all, I start with the inspiration that often comes from patterns in nature, all kinds of flora and fauna, sometimes butterflies and birds. I observe my inspiration often whilst outdoors, and I start to draw. Once I have a drawing, it is then processed in two different ways. For my bespoke scarves, that are individually handmade using various screen-printing and hand-painting processes, the drawing is translated into a screen. The drawing is also used as the information, which I use when I paint my large-scale canvases using oil paint. The oil paintings are then transported digitally into the computer and then digitally printed by machine onto fabric. I use oil paint to capture the vibrancy of the colours I observe in my initial inspiration. The dyes, which I use to directly paint onto a blank scarf, act in a similar way to oil paint, except they are even more vivid. The reason I developed the hand painted bespoke scarves was because of my genuine love of painting and blending seeping brush strokes of vibrant colours. I use silk twill, crepe de chine and chiffon – all 100% silk fabrics because they are soft and luxurious and they are easy to glide the dyes over. After recent customer feedback, I have started to develop a cashmere/modal fabric mix which is more modern and has a warmer feel to it. However, my heart lies with silk for hand painting!
Tell us about your collaborations. Which aspect of your brand have they benefited the most – the creative or business?
My collaborations with celebrated Hong Kong designer Johanna Ho have been fantastic for raising my profile in Hong Kong and China. We collaborated twice on a printed suit design that saw my floral oil paintings printed onto Cantopop star Eason Chan’s suits whilst he preformed on stage. This was my favorite collaboration so far! This was definitely beneficial to the creative aspect of my brand but I guess also it contributed to the business side too because it raised my profile in China because Eason Chan is extremely famous in China!
You also create bespoke pieces. Are there any challenges you have faced while doing so?
I love creating bespoke pieces because I have the chance to create something extremely special and personal to the client. I enjoy working with clients directly, and I think any challenge I may face working on bespoke pieces is always very valuable. Often I learn new colorways and exciting inspirations by working with clients on their specific requests.
Between designing, manufacturing and marketing, what’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Ah, this is a tricky question. I have to say I love to see people enjoying my artwork whether it be viewing my oil painted canvases in an exhibition or wearing my scarves at London Fashion Week and Weekend. This is very rewarding. I especially love to listen to feedback from my customers whether that is in person or online. The part of my job I love the most is the initial drawing and oil painting but I guess the most rewarding is to see my artworks being displayed or worn.
Your latest collection embraces the natural theme, particularly flowers. Why is this motif so important to you?
I am never 100% sure of the answer as to why I am drawn to flowers so strongly. I always remember the quotes from my favorite artist Georgia O’Keeffe: “Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” and “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”
I discovered O’Keeffe’s work at the age of twelve when I started to oil paint. I am fascinated with shapes and color found in natural forms and I like to express these onto canvases. My latest body of work called “Ephemeral” is an investigation into the traditional offerings to the gods seen in countries such as Bali and Sri Lanka. The beautiful daily offerings are transitory, lasting only a short time, but are art pieces in themselves, representing moments in time, cycles of change. Offerings are made several times a day and placed in front of temples, shrines, houses, offices, shops and even on cars in order to please the gods and also placate bad spirits. The collection aims to capture this beauty in a moment in time, and transform these intricate creations into timeless artworks.
What are your future plans?
I recently exhibited in London with DSArts in a very cool underground gallery space in Dalston so I plan to have more exhibitions of art and scarf installations. I was in Dubai last week researching the market there and connecting with an agent. Now I am in Hong Kong and I will have a two-month exhibition and studio space here at PMQ, which is ‘a stage for creative happenings’ in Hong Kong. I am working on my Summer 2017 collection and will be exhibiting again in September at London Fashion Week and Weekend.
www.leanneclaxton.com
Images © Leanne Claxton
