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.

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