German-born and London-based designer Paula Knorr is a star on the rise. Upon graduating from The Royal College of Art in 2015, the young designer’s unique and innovative draping techniques caught the attention of the British Fashion Council who named her as the latest addition to their NEWGEN talent incubation scheme last year. In addition to showing her autumn/winter17 and spring/summer18 collections at London Fashion Week this year, she’s released an exclusive capsule collection with Matches Fashion which builds on her vibrant, daring and fluid designs. Here, she chats to us about her role as a designer.
Paula’s capsule collection with Matches Fashion
Artistic beginnings.
I grew up in a very artistic household as both of my parents are artists and illustrators. I was always sketching and sewing outfits for my little sister which made me realise that I wanted to create clothes from a really young age.
London as a Launchpad.
I studied my masters at The Royal College of Art and stayed on afterwards. London offers plenty of great chances to young designers such as sponsorship schemes like NEWGEN for example, they have supported me since my first spring/summer17 season. As well as providing a lot of support that young designers lose but still desperately need when they graduate, these schemes also connect you with so many amazing people who mentor you and give you the confidence you to believe that you are on the right track with your ideas and designs.
Femininity in all of its forms.
Fashion tends to showcase this one dimensional, fictitious girl as a muse, so for autumn/winter17 I wanted to showcase the diversity and complexity of the female psyche and form. I imagined a collage where all these different emotions and characteristics that don´t belong or fit are brought together.
Clothing to covet.
The key pieces from my collection are definitely the black and red wine hued transparent dresses and tops. I used a silk and foil mix chiffon fabric, which can look like glossy transparent latex in pictures, but moves like super light chiffon which creates a beautiful antithetical effect.
It’s all about the woman.
To support and illustrate the female identity is at the core of my design ethos. In fashion you often get the feeling that the model wearing the clothes on the runway is getting more attention than the real woman who wears the garment later on. Every season, I try to reverse that and remind people of the actual purpose of fashion. The real woman should always be at the forefront, not her clothes. It´s all about her body, her movement and her personal beauty.
Thinking on one’s feet.
As a young designer the biggest challenge I’ve faced is having to learn all the skills and gain the knowledge you suddenly need to have when starting your own label fast enough. You aren’t just thinking from a designer perspective but also from sales, financial and operational perspectives.
What the future holds.
Seeing my garments stocked in stores and worn by real women still amazes me, I hope to see more and more of that as my business grows.
