These are clothes for the girl who dances from dusk ’til dawn to stay in shape. Zoning in on the transition of day to nightwear by the partygoers around her, Caitlin transforms trackies from caj to luxe with detachable satin frills, and describes her aesthetic in five words as, “Tracksuits, shiny, frilly, girly, tough, luxe.” Studying under the late, great Louise Wilson, Caitlin was awarded the Armani Scholarship and graduated from their elusive, exclusive MA course, during which she assisted menswear fave Christopher Shannon on his first womenswear collection. After her turn in the Fashion East show last Friday, get to know the 27-year-old South Londoner:
1. Daytime to nighttime, Caitlin makes the “what to wear” dilemma painless.
“Most of my research tends to comes from my own photographs; garments I’ve archived, pictures of my friends or places I’ve been that evoke the right mood. Styling is central to the way in which I work. Before I begin designing I often start by collecting garments and accessories from my own wardrobe, markets or eBay which I then piece together on the body.
I have always been fixated on the idea of getting dressed up to go out and the idea of artificial luxury. I’ve seen this a lot around me growing up, girls transforming themselves for a night out, tracksuit bottoms by day, fake eyelashes by night, so in the same way I wanted both collections to be about this. This inspired me to have frilled details which would be added to glam an outfit up but could be taken away to reveal a sporty ‘day’ look. The clash of oversized sportswear on girls and ultra feminine frills and ruching felt fresh. This season I am continuing the story but the girl is more ready for her night out now.”
2. The first thing she thought when she got told she was in the Fashion East line up was…
“I thought no Christmas for me then! I still can’t get over it, I feel so lucky to have been picked.”
3. The best piece of advice fashion fairy godmother Lulu Kennedy gave her was…
“She tried to make me put on my MA collection, then said, “Next time I see you, I want to see you actually wearing your stuff.” It made me think.”
4. She’s in a competition with her work as to how many nights in a row she can go without sleep…
“There’s a lot of hand finishing in my work, which makes it very time consuming. My poor interns. There hasn’t been much time for sleep recently!”
5. She’s also prone to dancing from dusk ’til dawn.
“It’s not really a night out if it ends before 6.”
6. Caitlin dreams of dressing…
“Kali Uchis. I think singer Sasha Keable and Danielle Greco from V FILES has a strong vibe. And of course Riri and FKA Twigs.”
7. She’s well into her fellow Fashion Easties…
“I always love what Marques’Almeida do, they were the year above me on the MA at CSM and I always admired how their vision of the girl is so central to their aesthetic. I think Grace Wales Bonner is incredible, her work feels so fresh, I am really excited to see what she does next.”
8. Her team all agree on the studio’s background music, which is…
“Garage mixes, Mariah, and Kisstory.”
9. She likes to chill out in front of the box to…
“Twin Peaks is my favorite series of all time. I am so excited for the new release!”
10. Caitlin’s favorite films are…
“Lilya 4-ever. And Rineke Dijkstras’ The Buzz Club is my all time favorite visual.”
Credits
Text Felicity Kinsella
Photography Piczo