‘I’m a big fan of pink!’ designer Amie Robertson laughs, after complimenting her candy-coloured hair.
You may not be familiar (yet) with this Manchester-born designer - but the 25-year old talent is fast becoming the breakout star of London Fashion Week. Admittedly, it helps that Marc Jacobs is a huge fan already and Kate Moss’ BFF/ editor of LOVE magazine, Katie Grand, styled A.V Robertson's debut collection last year. But it’s her artful, fantasy-like creations - dubbed “casual couture” - that really set her apart. And to describe Amie in the flesh is much like her debut standalone presentation for AW17: like a modern-day Tinkerbell.
‘I wanted to create this alien, fairy-like landscape,’ Amie says. ‘The patches on the collection are almost like portals to a parallel universe.’ While she admits she was up all night embroidering, it is at night her collection comes to life: ‘Most of my best ideas come to me in my dreams - it’s a nice place [to be]!’
Robertson masters the art of feminine dressing without being ‘girly’ (think ‘80s-style lurex jumpers and corduroy evening gloves with crystal flowers). ‘My embellishments are quite beautiful but I don’t like them to be too pretty,’ she admits. ‘I like it to have a kind of futuristic feel.’
‘I’m not someone with this really ‘fashion’ background - no one in my family is creative,’ she says. ‘I just used to write stories and give them to people to read about these magical lands.’ Though she was hooked on designing in her teens. ‘When I was 13 I started a Textiles class and just became obsessed with embroidery and embellishments.’
Her journey since graduating Central Saint Martins in 2014 is every new designer’s dream. After internships at Dior Couture and Alexander Wang, Robertson enjoyed a stint as Marc Jacobs’ design assistant. Intimidating, much? ‘No, not at all! He’s the nicest person alive!’ Amie enthuses. ‘I got there thinking “he won’t speak to me” - but he used to come up and chat to me all the time.’ Jacobs even sat FROW-side at her debut collection in London last February. That’s some cheerleader.
The greatest lesson you learned from the fashion maestro? ‘[Marc] always likes to put on a show and that’s key for me as well,’ Robertson says. ‘I want to entertain people. I want people to be wowed by it. I want people to come here and escape reality and almost be transported.’
Although it would be pretty hard to ignore the ‘Future is Female’ message at New York Fashion Week and, more than ever, designers dissecting gender politics on the runway. Is there a girl power movement at LFW? ‘Yes, I think so,’ Amie says. ‘For me for a long time so much of the fashion world is dominated by men.’
‘Most of the director’s are male. But I do think there’s a rise of women in fashion now. It’s about time.’
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