Top Image: Eddy, photograph by Dham Srifuengfung, styled by Michael Darlington, modelled by Travis Barton (Nii Agency) 

For her final year collection, RCA MA graduate Elizabeth Vale looked to her grandfather. Inspired by fleeting moments in time and the blending of historical references with contemporary design codes, the collection, titled Eddy, explores memory and a forgotten sense of masculine elegance.

A trip to the Isle of Sark encouraged by her grandfather became a key inspiration. Located in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France, the island functions on feudal traditions; operating under its own set of laws, it is one of the few places in the world where cars are banned and horse-drawn vehicles are still the main mode of transport. For Elizabeth, Sark represented a key reference point as she explored the connection between memory and reality. This in turn informed her reinterpretation of military achieve pieces.

Thalia Chin: What made you decide to go into menswear?
Elizabeth Vale: I stumbled across Hywel Davies’s book Modern Menswear and Lindsay Anderson’s film If…. during my foundation year and the context of my work just clicked into place.

Thalia: I understand that your MA collection, Eddy, was named after your grandfather. Can you tell me a bit more about the inspirations behind the collection?
Elizabeth: I adored my grandfather when I was growing up and naming my collection after him is a tiny token to the belief he had in me as a kid. Eddy is in the name of affection. His anecdotes led me to the Isle of Sark, which until recently was the last outpost of feudalism in the Western world. All cars are banned and the only methods of transport are by tractor or horse drawn carts. This strange idyll is slowly losing its ancient way of life yet still seems to be caught in the ghost of time. It was my time on the island that fuelled the collection to inhabit a space between memory and reality. Inspired by moments that have drifted ashore in our seas of time.

Thalia: Did you always have a clear vision of the themes that you wanted to explore?
Elizabeth: The excitement of menswear, for me, is that it’s hiding in plain sight. I used my master’s to research and reveal associations and emblematic details that might otherwise be overlooked due to their subconscious familiarity. My starting research was almost archival in its dissection of menswear archetypes – I created a patchwork of information from text to antique garments through original photos. It was the gestures of dress that fascinated me – how sailors put their coats on to prevent creasing their collars through to the hidden liberty cuffs covered in elaborate embroidery that they used to hide bank notes. I was very lucky to have access to Mohsin Sajid’s extensive denim archive and the rich source of knowledge from my tutor Brian Kirkby. The research was always clear but the outcome came about through a lot of trial and error. But then you only learn through making mistakes.

Thalia: I love the description of your collection as pieces “looking to whisper instead of shout”, was this a difficult decision to make amongst other collections that were louder?
Elizabeth: Everyone in the year had their own voice and message. Yet I felt we all celebrated each other – whether you were loud or quiet, surreal or subtle. You’re seen as an individual at the RCA, it’s an intensive environment where you’re constantly striving to understand your own practice, this means that there’s almost no time to worry about what your peers will be presenting. It’s an insular existence for the months leading up to the show – a real luxury of time to work on a single collection.

“It was the gestures of dress that fascinated me – how sailors put their coats on to prevent creasing their collars through to the hidden liberty cuffs covered in elaborate embroidery that they used to hide bank notes.”

“This strange idyll is slowly losing its ancient way of life yet still seems to be caught in the ghost of time.”

Thalia: Though your collection is officially a menswear line, the pieces do look as if they would also translate well as womenswear. Was this intentional?
Elizabeth:Whilst writing my dissertation on the changing landscape of masculinity I was struggling to contextualise my role as a woman designing for men. I think ultimately as a designer you create objects that you would want to own, if not necessarily wear. I briefly explored the concept of the unisex yet it resulted in a series of sexless experiments, so I shifted my focus to the gendering of objects. Sourcing early hunting jackets I was intrigued by the feeling of femininity seen in the linings. This led to creating reversible pieces with internal pockets alongside hand stitching to explore a modern intimacy and the notion of sharing jackets between the genders. I used ghost stitching and seaming on the outside to create a trace of ownership yet still an absence, showing how these ghosts of the past will still determine the future. I don’t feel I am necessarily challenging traditional concepts of masculinity; instead I’m exploring a forgotten sense of male elegance. On reflection, I feel it’s the subtle balances within a piece of clothing that dictates its gender, more dependent on the body on which it’s worn than the physical garment itself.

Thalia: There are visible uniform influences in your collection and work wear is having a bit of a moment right now, do you think there has been a resurgence of fashion for function as apposed to simply aesthetics?
Elizabeth: I think the rise in denim innovation has led to this really exciting resurgence of elevated workwear. The trend of gentrified utility seems to bring a formality to casual wear, coupling aesthetics and function together. It seems to fill a space between the T-shirt and the blazer.

Thalia: Do you see your self pursuing this aesthetic or shifting direction?                                                                       Elizabeth: I think as a creative you constantly grow and learn through the people you meet and work with. I would hope that my aesthetic would remain constant, but my future experiences will push and expand my practice further. There’s still so much I want to learn and do.

Thalia: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Elizabeth: My main ambition is to work as a research designer for a brand such as Loewe or Hermès and/or freelancing as a creative consultant. The dream would also be to set up a studio with like-minded collaborators and create a collective.

Thalia: If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
Elizabeth: Jean-Luc Godard during his incredibly productive 1960’s period.