Dresses made of nails! Yes, for London based Anna Goswami nothing is out of radar when it comes to seeking fashion inspiration. One look at this Central Saint Martins graduate’s final design collection and you’ll be surprised. From a distance her outfits appear to be made out of sequins but the real story surfaces when you get closer, they are made of fake nails.

 

Anna Goswami who has become the coolest new designer on the block speaks to us about her obsession with nails, her favourite city to live in and why is London the coolest city for young designers?

 

Anna Goswami( AG)

 

Anupam Dabral( AD)

 

AD: Your collection is very interesting but why nails?

AG: The starting point for this collection came from a fascination with the wonders of nail art; I have long been intrigued by how such a small surface can inspire so much creativity.  I was drawn to how a unique image can be created on each individual nail, yet on the surface of the hand all the nails work together to create a complementary collection.  I have used this basis to construct my prints, with each look featuring a separate image, made up by painting, arranging and stitching acrylic false nails to fabric, to in effect create my own unique fabric.

 

AD: Are you a nail art fan?

AG: Yes!  I feel naked unless I have my nails done and mine tend to be OTT, always patterned and heavily embellished, crowded with gems and crystals.

 

AD: What inspired you to create such an unconventional collection?

AG:I wanted to make something that hadn’t been seen before, I love experimenting with different types of fabrication and after experimenting with several ideas I decided the most exciting fabrication was the nails.  I love the versatility of using the nails as I could paint them to get the exact colour I wanted and it felt more personal as it was all hand done.

 

AD: How has Guy Bourdin’s work inspired you?

AG: For the colours and prints I was inspired by a lot of 70’s photography, particularly Guy Bourdin’s beauty images featuring hands, nails and lips, that linked perfectly with my fabrication.

 

AD: Those dresses you have created are extremely intricate, how long did take for you to finish that collection?

AG: Each garment is carefully designed with the placement of every nail considered and hand painted with nail polish, a coat of colour and then a matte topcoat, to give a more modern vibe.  I then hand stitched all the nails to organza, to produce a scale-like fabric which sculpts to the body.  I lost count of how many nails I used but I would say in the long dress there are approximately 8000, which took 4 weeks (of long days) to complete.  The collection took about 5 months to come together.

 

 

AD:What challenges did you face in putting the ensemble together?

AG:Mainly time wise, I didn’t think I would ever finish!

 

AD:In a fashionscape where being commercial seems to be the key what pushed you to create such an artistic and an unconventional set of outfits?

AG:Being at Central Saint Martins the tutors encourage you to ignore commercialisation and just follow your creativity, it’s a healthy attitude because you can always take a great idea and tone it down for a commercial market, but you can’t take a commercial idea and make it creative.

 

AD: Tell us about the artists/ designers who inspire you?

AG: My favourite designers are Prada and Christopher Kane, they bring so many new ideas to every collection and are doing things that no one else in the industry is doing.

 

AD: 3 instagram handles which are a constant source of inspiration?

AG: @ideabooksltd

      @elisazaccanti

      @franburns

 

AD: What sort of music do you listen to?

AG: A bit of everything, but a lot of 90’s hip hop…

 

 

AD: Paris, London or New York City you would love to live in? And why?

AG: Definitely NYC!  I lived there for a few months a while ago and am desperate to go back.  There’s such a good vibe, everyone goes to New York to follow their dreams and do what they are really passionate about so there is a really good creative energy about the city.  They also have the best happy hours in the world!

 

AD: They say London is a hotbed for young and experimental designers, what do you think makes London so special?

AG: Out of the 4 Fashion cities London is the one that produces the young innovative designers, thanks to CSM and the support from the British Fashion Council that continue to nurture new designers and help them set up their businesses.

 

AD: Your guilty pleasures?

AG: Probably reality TV, Something I can have on whilst painting nails!