Mia Layzell is a knitwear design graduate at the Winchester School of Art. The designer fell in love with knitting during the foundation year and further developed her knowledge at university.
“There’s not a specific time or moment that sparked my interest in fashion, I just know that it has always been part of my life!”
Mia use clothing as a way to express the creative side of her character. She creates graphic and playful collections where designs change drastically each time.
“I like to push the meaning of ‘knitwear’ and create garments that wouldn’t normally be knitted or that you can’t even tell are knitted until you look closely. I also tend to exaggerate elements of my designs – the silhouettes, patterns or embellishments, but I think I make the individual pieces pretty wearable.”
While starting a new collection, Mia always begins with research, both visual and theoretical. “I find it really daunting starting a new sketchbook so I usually tend to knit first and sketch later. It so much easier to design a garment with the knitted fabric swatch in front of me rather than the other way around.”
The designer also spends time to test new techniques and yarns to get an inspiration for her new garments.
“Recently I’ve been inspired by historical dresses, especially Victorian and Edwardian garments with their leg of mutton sleeves, corsets and ornate detailing.”
Mia finds colour inspirations in historical paintings, old school photographs and simple everyday objects.
While talking about the trends, Mia admitted that she doesn't consciously follow trends when designing but it’s pretty impossible not to be influenced by what she is seeing on the runway.
Mia’s graduate collection, the Devil’s Cloth, was influenced by checked and striped patterns. “After reading The Devil's Cloth I got really into these patterns. It wasn't until I got to my final collection that I realised half of my wardrobe featured checks. I still wonder if I was influenced by trends, or whether by surrounding myself with it in my designs I subconsciously started buying solely checked clothing.”
The Devil’s Cloth collection is made from naturally biodegradable yarns such as silk, organic cotton and mohair wools. The designer made sure to use materials which can be recycled in the future. Mia believes that it’s crucial to reduce the waste and the impact on the planet.
“Fashion is one of the most polluting and wasteful industries. There are massive human rights issues associated with fast fashion. Not only is it down to new designers to remould the way the industry works from the inside, but we also have to change our habits as consumers.”
Mia wanted to return to the roots of the craft and therefore the Devil’s Cloth collection includes various time-consuming techniques. “I hand strung almost 3,000 glass pearls together over 50 hours to make the pearl corset, spent hours quilting the layers of the gingham dress and hand painted the fabric for the coat over the course of a whole week.”
“It was a great way to disconnect from all the madness going on right now. It definitely kept me calm in the run-up to my hand in, even if my back was in agony”, adds Mia.
Designing graduate collection in isolation was a challenge for Mia. “None of the industry standard equipment like Dubied and Shima Seiki knitting machines, linkers or steamers were available”. It made it hard to finish the garments but Mia never gave up and came up with creative solutions.
The designer produced alternatives such as water-free printed fabric to replace a digital fine gauge knit for the quilted dress and used remnant wool fabrics instead of digital knit for the checked coat.
Mia had no models, photographer or space in her small apartment to photograph the final collection. She has decided to use her Photoshop skills to create something more exciting. As a result, the Rodarte’s SS20 campaign background was combined with the pictures of Mia modelling.
“I also hit a massive wall mentally when the workshops closed down due to the virus. I couldn’t see the point in carrying on with the collection.” In spite of difficulties, Mia was determined to show what she could achieve, even with the massive obstacle on her way.
Mia interned as a knitwear designer at Marc Jacobs in NYC. It opened Mia’s eyes on the roles within the industry and made her realise that she is in the right place.
“I arrived just in time to help with the AW19 runway show and then worked on pieces for the Marc Jacobs collections. They are even selling a few pairs of tights I’ve designed which is really exciting!”
Earlier last year Mia also collaborated with photographer Bryony Fenn on a series of images that included one of designers garments. The images were featured in Vogue Italia and French Fries Magazine.
“I also showed my Pre-Collection at the Work in Progress show hosted at WSA at the start of this year which was a nice taster considering there will no longer be any graduate shows this year.”
Even though the graduate fashion show was cancelled, Mia's work wasn't unnoticed. She was shortlisted for the Framework Knitters student award and Mia’s portfolio was selected for the British Fashion Council’s Graduate Preview Event.
The designer was lucky to get work experience and recognition but she believes that the fashion industry is not very accessible to designers that don’t come from a wealthy background.
“It is easy to create collections from luxury fabrics, boost your CV by doing multiple unpaid internships or hire the best models and photographers when you don’t have to worry about the money. It definitely puts young designers who don’t have this privilege at a disadvantage, meaning they won’t be offered the same opportunities.”
Mia has no idea what her future looks like considering the global situation but she wants to continue creating new garments.
“It has always been a goal of mine to work for myself in some capacity, whether that’s freelancing on the side of a design job or having my own small label. I will use this time as an opportunity to start working on this goal.”