‘I Spy’ … A florist, a cheesemonger, a bakery and a vegetable shop.

Playing with the unpredictability and irregular finds of this game, I aimed to celebrate the chaotic charm of this childlike pastime through a collection of conversational, heavily embellished and digitally printed textiles. With research gathered through games of ‘I Spy’, I aimed to record the general hustle and bustle of shop fronts and shopkeepers. From digital drawing and paper collage to digital print and hand embroidery and embellishments, this collection holds a focus on colour, texture, illustration and storytelling. Through research into storybook illustration and paper artists, creating ‘pop-up’ textiles in response to this, was another key focus.

‘I Spy’ is a fashion-focused collection for women and menswear. Keeping my designs gender and age neutral aimed to emphasise the inclusivity of childlike games and widespread ability to relate to childhood memories. ‘I Spy’ was responsibly designed through locally sourced, organic fabrics, upcycling of found, waste materials and incorporating fabric off-cuts as florals and ruffles in following samples. I hope that my ‘happy’ textiles communicate a sense of playfulness and evoke a form of childhood escapism.

‘Meet Bella’, a self-directed drawing project, prompted by games of ‘I Spy’ with my little sister, inspired this investigation.