Many of you may have read that for a university project we had to interview a fashion designer. Well I chose Sara Bro-Jorgensen, who was lovely in the flesh. Check out my interview piece below, plus my work laid out for Surface magazine.
(Ignore the top-right image, it doesn't print blurry)
SCOUTS HONOUR
Vauxhall Fashion Scout ‘One’s to Watch’ winner combines a love of culture and digital print in a ‘playful’ womenswear collection.
“It’s the only place to be in Dalston,” Sara says in her European accent, motioning around Dalston Superstore. She’s sat at a table in this café by day, bar by night, with it’s retro 70s print wallpaper and ‘Now! That’s What I Call Music’ vinyl records hung above the bar. The night before lingered in the atmosphere, mixing with the smell of a full English hangover cure, coffee and grease. Sara searched through her Marc Jacobs clutch for tea money, revealing a small bag full of coins. “It’s really expensive, funding a brand.”
Denmark-born Sara Bro-Jorgensen never knew that her career path would lead her to fashion design, let alone win one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s ‘One’s to Watch’ awards. The 30-year-old designer (dressed in all black and sipping at a cup of English tea) sits reminiscing how she got to this place in her life. “I started on a photography course in Denmark, but I ended up doing Knitwear at the Royal College of Art in London,” she laughs nervously. Fashion seemed inevitable for Sara having sewed clothes for her sisters and herself, but photography proved too much of a passion to push aside.
Jorgensen managed to combine both her loves using the art of trompe l’oeil. “I find it fascinating” she says. She becomes even more animated as she begins to talk about her inspirations for the new collection, shown in Paris. “I was building upon on my S/S 11 collection. I was inspired by early 20s silent movies, working in prints of tuxedo jackets onto my garments.” One of her favourite garments from the collection is a Goth black midi dress, with a trench coat graphic printed on both sides of the piece. It’s a daring look, something that Sara’s woman is. “She’s someone who is playful and not afraid to wear what she wants.”
Sara is very cultured, having lived in Denmark as a child she moved to India with her parents and sisters when she was a teenager. Once she had finished her A Levels, the designer took time to travel and gain work experience from the likes of Adam Jones, Dior’s knitwear designer. After six months in Paris she ended up in Berlin, “it’s a great place to live,” she says laughing. Jorgensen returned to education, earning a BA in Fashion Textiles and a Masters in Knitwear. On her recent adventure back to Paris, Sara met Emilien Bouglione, owner of Cirque d’Hiver, describing him as a “90 year old man with an amazing sense of style.” He invited her up to his apartment, where there was champagne and laughter.
Looking around Dalston Superstore, Sara begins talking about what London fashion is to her. “It’s a lot of things, young designers, very creative and it’s always pushing itself to the edge. That’s what makes London so special”. The designer expresses the importance of travelling the world and picking up inspiration from different cultures. “I also took the American Indians’ way of decorating themselves with beads and used it in my A/W 11 collection.”
Sara is optimistic about the future, although a little nervous even so. “I’ve started applying for funding for my line, I hope to build the business up that way. It’s a hard industry but if you have the passion, you’ll thrive.”
