In Conversation with Harvey Simpson
Designer: Harvey Simpson @harveysimpsondesign
Photographer: Rosie Bell @rosiebelll
Model: Tom Burke @tom.bx3
Assistants: Tom Jackson, Alex Warmisham
Interview: Jess Barker @jess.barks
Whilst graduating from university may seem like a lifetime ago or a lifetime away, we have taken a deep dive into the journey of one of Manchester Fashion Institute’s Fashion Design graduates, Harvey Simpson. Since completing his degree in 2021, Simpson has spent the past three years making his mark in the fashion industry. Describing himself as a fun and gender-provoking designer, he challenges conventional norms while incorporating elements of luxury through precise pattern cutting.
Hey Harvey, how are you? What have you been up to this week?
I’m good thanks! Busy as ever but I can’t complain, I’m currently split between London and Manchester. I did go to see the Fragile Beauty exhibition at the V&A and it honestly blew me away. It’s Elton John’s private photography collection, and I highly recommend going to visit if you can.
You studied fashion design at Manchester Fashion Institute (previously MSoA), talk us through your final collection?
My final collection was called the Fab Freak F*g. It was based on a muse of a person who basically went to the club every night and their outfits got more audacious throughout the week. There was no gender in mind when designing my collection and I shot the collection on a male to provoke a reaction and start a conversation about dress stereotypes. We’re creatives and I feel like the binary line between Male and Female clothing can be blurred even further.
It was a collection heavily inspired by LGBTQ+ culture mainly in New York in the late 80’s early 90’s. It was a story inspired by how gay people navigated the HIV/ Aids crisis and how a huge chunk of the creative industry was wiped out. I explored Ballroom culture in the 80s and into the 90s with the unapologetic spirit of the Club kids. It is inspired by people like Robert Mapplethorpe, Susanne Bartsch, Leigh Bowery to name a few. Throughout my collection and in my work in general there is always an element of creative pattern cutting which I guess kind of became part of my DNA when I design, I feel it gives me more purpose.
There is a wonderful feel to your designs, pushing boundaries with shape and pattern cutting, where do you think this stems from?
I’ve always been obsessed with fabric manipulation and how you can transform 2D to 3D. An amazing woman, Juliana Sissons, who was one of my pattern cutting mentors, she introduced me to a book called Creating with Shapes by Usha Doshi. From this book I sampled so many different techniques which could be VERY tedious at times but the end result always felt so rewarding to me. I wasn’t technical in the sense of pockets and trim details but I took more of a couture approach in terms of elevating my designs.
My first kind of wow moment was when I discovered Kabuki and the link between dance and drag. Watching the performers transform their outfits on stage, their costumes were adjustable so they would reveal new outfits by pulling down a zip or unclipping a buckle, they wouldn’t have to leave the stage for costume changes. I decided to put a parachute onto a mannequin and created so many new ways to transform this garment to have many layers and different reveals as if it was going to be worn in one of those performances. I’ve never been one to take that much inspiration from actual garments.
I work a lot better in 3D and draping on the stand. I find this way more influential and constructive when designing. However when it comes to try and pattern cut this that’s when it begins to be tricky haha. I also think scale plays a part at the same time I’m obsessed with scale and I think it’s an easy way to create an impact whilst not having to specify a gender when designing.
How have you found life in the fashion industry since graduating?
It’s very humbling. I guess it depends where you work but I’ve been in high street for the past few years and your levels of creativity are very limited because you’re designing a product that needs to be very wearable and appease a certain demographic. My dream would be to be working in Schiaparelli’s couture studio, but I’m also a realist and that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, but stranger things have happened so who knows.
If you were to change the fashion industry in any way what would you do?
Elitism. There was a great article called ‘What happened to the working class designer’ by Daniel Rogers and it really struck a chord with me. We can’t afford to live in London and work 5/6 days a week for free, it is as simple as that. Some opportunities are physically impossible because of this and it kind of sucks that this probably won’t change anytime soon.
There are a lot of PHENOMENAL creatives that are essentially set up to fail before they’ve even begun their careers. It is a depressing view but remains a real challenge for the industry. Can you imagine a world without Galliano and McQueen These are the working class talents that could have been missed 30 years ago. Imagine all the suppressed talent out there that could flourish.
Obviously sustainability, working in high street opens your eyes to the masses of clothing that we buy and it just isn’t necessary, but it’s a double ended sword because without these people I wouldn’t have a job so it’s trying to find that balance and how we can be kinder to the planet. I personally buy 90% second hand and then the odd few high end pieces that I invest in and I think that’s a great way to balance that’s my small contribution to the planet.
How do you hope to evolve as a designer in the coming years?
I want to get back to designing my own clothing again. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of working so hard and something and then being actually happy with it at the end of the process. I struggle because the clothing I design tends to be very costly and usually unwearable for the everyday folk so there probably will never be much money to be made from my personal things so it almost becomes an expensive hobby. Maybe refining my designs to make them a little more wearable and try and find my niche out there.
