Designer Profile: Sophie Blayden

Its an honour to do our very first designer profile on Sophie Blayden. I studied for a year with Sophie in Newcastle, Australia in 2008. That year at Newcastle Tafe studying Fashion Design and Technology was honestly one of the happiest(and most stressful) of my life because there is nothing like being surrounded by creative, passionate people who are having fun and exploring their talents. Plus these girls were all so infectiously silly!

Sophie was always one of the best when is came to both design and particularly construction. Its something I always envied. Sewing/patternmaking skills certainly don't come naturally to me(hence the stress!), and Sophie seemed to be able to throw things together and have them turn out perfectly. She seemed to be constantly making something new for herself, her friends and even her dog! And it was always cool to see what she would show up wearing on a night out. I guess her skills were a sign of true and natural talent.

Now based in Sydney, Soph is going from strength to strength with her namesake label, Sophie Blayden. Its very, very cool. I think what makes it cool to me personally(ie, someone living in Ireland) is that the label reeks of Australia. The fact that Sophie grew up in Newcastle and now works from Sydney is clear and evident, as I reckon nobody does laidback street-wear better than coastal Australia. According to the label's Facebook page, Sophie 'is brave but careful in the patterns and colours she puts together in her pieces'. You will see for yourself from the images below that this is true. By that I mean that while her designs are indeed brave, Sophie has never tried too hard to impress. She has never been over-the-top crazy and fashion forward in her designs, as she simply doesn't have to be. The quality of her work speaks for itself.

All garments are designed and made by Sophie herself. Check them out and do a little online shopping at www.sophieblayden.com or give the label a like at https://www.facebook.com/sophie.blayden.  Enjoy!





-Emily