Today we were lucky enough to get tickets to see Matthew Williamson in conversation with Colin McDowell as part of Fashion Fringe and it was so inspiring! I'm not a massive fan of Williamson's work but I found his story really inspiring and motivating and made me reconsider my approacch to the course at the moment.
His mmain emphasis was upon self belief and motivation. If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to buy into your ideas and designs? He also had a lot of support from his family and partner, with his parents moving into his tiny bedsit to help stitch and label his first deigns under his own name, after leaving Monsoon to set up the Matthew Williamson brand, which recieved such success that they struggled to keep up with the demand both in production and financially. It just showed to me how much you need to be willing to sacrifice in order to gain success and the risks he was willing to take, a drive I feel I have lost this year by being held back by other things.
It was also interesting to hear about his work experience in his 3rd year, in New York with Zhandra Rhodes, something I need to organise for the summer, or atleast next easter. He created his final collectuion mainly from offcuts he found in Rhodes' studio which I found quite amusing. "Waste not want not". It was during his work experience that he became fascinated with Indian culture and the idea of "turning something poor into something really rich". He left Central Saint Martins in 1994 and spent 3 years with Monsoon, then leaving to begin his eponymous label. I found it reassuring when he commented that only students ask what grade he graduated with, that employers are focused upon your portfiolio and experience. I took many helpful tips from the talk, aswell as a lot of inspiration.
