As Phoebe English’s eponymous brand enters its second decade, it’s a good time to look back at how far it has come in its first ten years. Graduating from CSM in 2011, English found success almost immediately, joining the ranks of the new school of British design that flourished in the 2010s. Since then, her name has become synonymous with an eco-approach to fashion and a focus on handmade fabrics that stand in bold rejection of our current fast fashion economy.

Speaking exclusively to HERO, English gives us a glimpse into her forthcoming SS24 collection debuting at London Fashion Week this September – offering up an image of a black heart garment as a visual teaser.

What’s been on your mind this season?
How hard it is to run a very small business this year.

What emotions does your collection represent?
Hopefully joy.

Can you talk us through any references behind the season?
There aren’t any visual references I’ve used this season as I tend to not be a referential designer. I tend to work directly with textures and forms building them onto the body. I was working directly with the clothes and surfaces to build textures on textures and three-dimensional forms, trying to get an electric magpie feel.

The other thing I’ve been trying out this time is building looks specifically for the people who are going to showcase them: through doing fittings and listening to everyone’s specific requirements from their clothes. It’s been a really rewarding process, everyone has such specific desires and needs for their clothing – it’s been wonderful to hear about those.

Can you tell us a song that echoes this season’s sentiment?
Hmmmm, I haven’t listened to much music this time, but I have listened to a lot of Gardeners’ Question Time. It keeps me feeling calm during a presentation run-up.

Are there any new techniques/fabrics you can tell us about?
We have been exploring the bright electric yellows you can get from the dye plant Weld when it’s used on very fine silks, which we source as off-cut waste from wedding companies. We have also looked at the reds you can get from the plant Madder.

Phoebe English SS24 will take place on Friday 15th September – stay tuned for our full SS24 womenswear coverage.