Katie Simms

‘Make Do’ is a collection inspired by the work of my great-grandparents, Louisa the glove maker and Wilfred the tailor, in the 1950‘s. Louisa would turn a men’s suit jacket inside out and transform it into a garment for one of her many children. Therefore, her creativity and resourcefulness inspired me to research glove patterns from which I derived my main silhouette and main concept. Materials such as a leatherette were chosen to represent the materials she used in glove making, the floral cottons represent the blouses she would have worn, and the plain cotton represents my great-grandfather’s dress shirts. The florals and feminine colours also symbolise the femininity of my great-grandmother and the strength of the women in my family. Making do with what you have is a very important lesson that my mother taught me; it is more important to appreciate what you have rather than to focus on what you may not have.

• katiesimmsfashion@gmail.com