Innes Thomson is a recent fashion design graduate from Fife, Scotland. Her optimistic outlook that a better future is attainable drives her design process. Through experimentation with unorthodox textiles, and strong narrative Innes’ graduate project embodies a stylistically naive yet technically skilled and considered body of work.
“I had to fall out of love to fall back in love with fashion again. Lockdown allowed me a lot of time for reflection on the aspects of the industry I didn’t like, and I realised I could only continue in fashion if I was effecting a positive change. My project acts as a manifesto for what I value moving forward; collaboration, community, craft, and conscious design.”
ANCESTOR came from an unexpected 2021, where Innes ended up back in her home village in Scotland. Inspired by the Pict tribe that lived on the hill behind her home, she began to think a lot about how ancient civilisations would have lived with the landscape. As the Picts had no known written language, this led her to consider the importance that communication holds to keep tradition and knowledge alive. This prompted research into the hypothetical scenario that instead of the industrial revolution, we followed an approach of the ancient knowledge of our ancestors – working with nature and not against it.
From this stemmed many avenues but became focused on the shared sense of melancholy amongst Scottish people around the loss of the “old ways” and culture, the importance of community and collaboration, symbiosis between humans and the land, and human essence. Through personal experience, Scottish poetry, and a yearning for change ANCESTOR was born.
Watch Innes’ video for British Fashion Council explaining her inspiration and process.
