Amelia’s Magazine | Beautiful Soul: meet Nicola Woods, ethical fashion designer extraordinaire

ZarinaLiew_BeautifulSoul_FW10
Beautiful Soul A/W 2010 by Zarina Liew.

You started out as an insurance broker so you’ve have had an unconventional career so far. Why and how did you become a fashion designer?
As a young girl, approved treatment I wanted to be a fashion designer, shop but life has its twists and turns and I found myself caught up in the rat race for eleven years. I lacked passion for my work but I didn’t know how I would cope without my luxuries and the next pay rise. Then I had the opportunity to backpack around the world for six months with my best friend and for the first time in my adult life I realised that I could live on a budget. I started to see life in a different light, with endless opportunities. Whilst in Tokyo, something happened to me: I was surrounded by the most amazing boutiques and I was like a child in a sweet shop. Mesmerised. Excited. Totally inspired. I realised that I needed to make radical changes to my lifestyle in order to make my dreams a reality and I haven’t looked back since. I graduated from the London College of Fashion with a BA(Hons) in Fashion, Design and Technology in 2008. During my final year, I was involved in a project based around ‘saving the earth’. I was hooked. Fashion with a TRUE meaning, for me, is the only way, and my ethos helps me to focus and push forward.

Beautiful Soul A/W 2010 by Zarina Liew
Beautiful Soul by Zarina Liew

Why did you decide to specialise in creating adjustable garments?
I set out to create timeless designs that will be favoured pieces in the wardrobe for a lifetime and multi-functionality renders a garment timeless, as it can be worn to suit different moods and seasons. A woman’s curves change regularly and it’s frustrating when a zip or button will not close. I therefore avoid using conventional fastening in my designs and instead explore alternative methods. I love to experiment and delve below the surface of fashion, discovering new ways to incorporate responsibility through use of distinctive materials and design innovation.

What does your zero waste policy mean in practicality?
I am extremely fond of fabric and I hate to see it go to waste! I upcycle vintage kimonos to create new garments that hold a greater value; when I dismantle a kimono I am left with very limited panels of fabric, only 38cm wide. It’s important that I work with these restrictions and nurture an understanding of the fabric availability. Any leftover fabric will be placed aside and then revisited the following season, where I set myself the challenge of designing a new piece based on the leftovers. I have just designed Beautiful Soul’s third collection, S/S 2011’s Believe, and the leftover fabrics have been transformed into a range of unique corsets and shoulders pads in our menswear jackets. Material remnants feature as fastenings and embellishments, adhering to the policy of zero waste whereby every last thread of fabric is used in the creative process….


Beautiful Soul SS:11 Believe was created with Zarina Liew after she made contact with Nicola Woods to complete her submission to be in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Music was provided by Amelia’s Magazine favourite Gabby Young and Other Animals.

Read the rest of this interview and see more illustrations of Beautiful Soul’s clothing in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, alongside interviews with 44 other ethical fashion designers and 30 fabulous fashion illustrators. You can buy the book here.

Categories ,Beautiful Soul, ,Eco fashion, ,Ethical designer, ,Gabby Young and Other Animals, ,Kimono, ,London College of Fashion, ,Nicola Woods, ,tokyo, ,Zarina Liew

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Amelia’s Magazine | RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2011: Flower Trends

RHS Flowers by Laura Parker
Roses at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Laura Parker.

So, recipe you’ve already met the hot new trends in garden design, now time for my interpretations of flower trends. Mainly in roses as it turns out, because my dad was very keen on loitering in the rose tent. As a result of his in depth investigations he’s just bought a whole load of climbers and ramblers to plant up the walls of his house… I’m thinking of doing the same. I quite fancy a little garden cottage in Brick Lane! And the ivy is taking over somewhat…

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011 allium photography by Amelia GregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011 allium sphaerocephalon photography by Amelia GregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-Gloriosa Rothschildiana Gloriosa Rothschildiana Hampton Court Flower Show by Toni Bowater
Gloriosa Rothschildiana at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Toni Bowater.

But first, a stop at the Dutch Allium stand, where my mother bought 50 bulbs of bee attracting Allium sphaerocephalon. Glorious purple globes in every shape and shade! I was also taken by the spikey orange Gloriosa Rothschildiana flowers.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
Now for the main trends in rose, plus a peek at the stuff I just well, you know, liked. Orange is so now you would not believe: hot, peachy, tropical and all types of orange in between. Every stand had them… Wildfire, Rotary Sunrise, Brilliant Sweet Dream, Super Trouper, Top Marks and Easy Does It (HarPageant Orange) – the gorgeous curly petaled rose.

Rose by Gareth A Hopkins
Rose by Gareth A Hopkins.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
Blowsy and peachy is also big, with the likes of Belle Epoque appearing on lots of stands, especially blowsy with faded and differentiated edges, like you might see on an antique book, epitomised in a rose called Nostalgia. I also liked SchoolGirl, a deep pink edged modern climber and Blue For You, which is an astonishing lilac colour.

Flower-Show-Love-by-Hollie-McManus
Flower Show Love by Hollie McManus.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
I don’t know what the technical name is for this, but tight double furls inside the outer petals were also a new look to me and featured heavily.

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Illustrating RainRHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Illustrating RainRHS by Illustraing Rain
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Illustrating Rain.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
Hot Chocolate may seem like an odd name for a rose but this was also everywhere – a curious shade, somewhere between orange, brick and brown. It had a nice scent too.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
I loved the stripy dog rose hybrid for patios, Wonderful News had amazing stripes.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
I also liked the curious star shaped rose that I found lurking at the bottom of the display on one stand. Super Flower Carpet Procumbent – what an odd one!

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo by Amelia GregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo by Amelia Gregory
On a more general note there’s something about the way that stands are arranged to show off flowers that tickles me greatly…. here are just a few of my favourites!

Hampton Court Flower Show Floral Marquee by Sam Parr
Hampton Court Flower Show Floral Marquee by Sam Parr.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo by Amelia GregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo by Amelia GregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
Hampton Court Flower Show by Toni Bowater
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Toni Bowater.

hampton court by lou taylor
Flowers by Lou Taylor.

RHS by Illustraing Rain
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show by Illustrating Rain.

Garden, flower at Hampton Court by Bern O'Donoghue
Garden, flower at Hampton Court by Bern O’Donoghue.

And finally (I think I should stop) here’s some wonderful Beatles swinging 60s style arrangements from the Horticultural colleges. Don’t forget to check in with my blog about Garden Design too.

RHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregoryRHS Hampton Court Flower show review 2011-photo amelia gregory
All photography by Amelia Gregory. Please do not take without asking!

Categories ,2011, ,Allium, ,Allium sphaerocephalon, ,Bees, ,Belle Epoque, ,Bern O’Donoghue, ,Blowsy, ,Blue For You, ,Brilliant Sweet Dream, ,Climber, ,Dog Rose, ,Easy Does It (HarPageant Orange), ,Floribunda, ,Flowers, ,Garden Design, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Gloriosa Rothschildiana, ,Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, ,Hollie McManus, ,Horticultural, ,Hot Chocolate, ,Illustrating Rain, ,Laura Parker, ,Lou Taylor, ,Modern Climber, ,Nostalgia, ,Orange, ,Patio Rose, ,RHS, ,Roses, ,Rotary Sunrise, ,Sam Parr, ,SchoolGirl, ,Star Shaped, ,Super Flower Carpet Procumbent, ,Super Trouper, ,Toni Bowater, ,Top Marks, ,trend, ,Wildfire, ,Wonderful News

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