New On The Catwalk

Stefan Orschel-Read

Stefán Orschel-Read won gold medals as a dressage rider for Great Britain and studied law prior to designing clothes.India-born and raised in Scotland, Stéfan realized early on that he could mix his broad array of tastes and talents with fashion design. He attended the prestigious Central Saint Martins receiving an honors degree in menswear as well as completing a masters at the royal college of art.

" Fashion to me is like playing God, and greatly hoping someone might just play along."

Stéfan finds inspiration in classic british literature; his collections have been themed after Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

" There is no divide between men and women. There are differences but far more similarities."

Virginia Woolf

But the references he makes with his clothing do not stop there: hindu artwork and London’s multicultural youth also figure heavily into this young designer’s stimulating repertoire. His collections merge couture and liberty prints with wearable silhouettes and accessible tailoring, marrying innovative leatherwork, contemporary pagan influences and organic materials.

" There is time for work, and time for love. That leaves no other time.

Coco Chanel

His pieces have been shot by the hippest photographers and featured in the most selective magazines. Fashion icons Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell have worn several of his pieces. Stéfan’s daring and evolved approach to life imbue all the fabrics he touches, turning them into sought-after treasures.

  • Stefán Orschel-Read Interview

    ___ What would you consider the most daring moment in fashion history?

    I believe that in the very near future we will experience an explosion of creativity that will overshadow any from the past. Ours is the first truly free generation. we are not constrained by set societal values, as our parents were. In addition we are not motivated by rebellion. it is in this era of freedom that the utmost creativity will be realized.

    ___ Where is the most unique or surprising place you have been inspired for materials or patterns?

    At a time when I was worried I was feeling uninspired, I found inspiration in an unlikely place. On a day trip to Stockholm I sat in the pews of a church and looked up, and was fascinated by the ceiling murals of the church. It is natural that at points one can become uninspired, but one must have the confidence that inspiration will come often when you do not expect it.

    ___Many designers today say that fashion is a kind of storytelling. If so, what story were you telling with your last collection?

    The inspiration for my bespoke collection ‘edges of the world,’ showing in June 2011, comes from a children’s storybook that I produced and had bound, telling the story of a sailor in the fleet of vasco da gama, in a quest to discover a new trade route to India in 1492.