Rachel's approach to any design concept is with a blank page and an open mind. In a saturated market, it's vital to embed authenticity from the off and where each design brief is unique, it deserves careful thought to hone in on the core values which underpin all of the details that sit above. These could be philosophical brand values or physical, like key fabrics, a combination of the two tends to be the strongest starting point.

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As a future-thinker, the bulk of the heavy lifting is done within the concept stage, casting a net far and wide in order to gain an interesting 360 mix of inspirations and innovations which will meld together to form the bones of the collection. An important aspect within Rachel's work is to marry both aesthetics and sustainable ethics in order to create garments which continue to hold value long after the initial point of sale. 

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Sketching in pencil remains fundamental within Rachel's practice, exploring ideas, experimenting with silhouette and defining the feeling prior to finalising designs in precise detail using Adobe Illustrator. Trained at Sweaty Betty, digital detail has become a foundational component of Rachel's work with an emphasis on the importance of a specification and clear techpack alongside a Bill of materials to optimise factory communications and prototyping stages.

 

Crossing product categories and design disciplines is becoming a signature of Rachel's take on design as she harnesses over 10 years of experience designing for a diverse range of retail clients coupled with a proactive, knowledge seeking attitude keeping afloat of an ever-evolving fashion landscape.

 

An example of the process below :  ​​​

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