GRADUATE FASHION WEEK SHAY D PETER JENSEN FESTIVALS ALEX PRITCHARD

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PAYZEE MALIKA spoke to
fashion designer Peter Jensen
about the influence of icons,
and what he’s learned. Plus: an
exclusive look at his notebooks.
Payzee Malika: How do you find judging at GFW?
Peter Jensen: Well I have to start off by saying I have been teaching
at St Martins for 14/15 years now. It’s once a week, menswear only.
Looking at students’ work and going to judge those things – I find
it really uplifting and very much in touch with a new generation
that is appearing. I have always been a big fan of youth, because I
think that’s where fashion really comes from.
PM: Do you have any advice for young designers getting into
the industry?
PJ: It always depends on the avenue you want to take… I would
really advise people not to try and sell their product within
the first three seasons. I think you can risk putting yourself
out there… [but avoid selling until] you get into a situation
where you won’t have made any mistakes. Then maybe slowly
try and sell bits that you know you can control, like jerseys
or whatever it is that you are planning to do. I think a lot of
young people who are trying to set up a business fall through
because they can’t deliver the quality, or what the buyer is after.
Unfortunately the system is being built that way, [so] that they
don’t have any leeway; you’re under the same terms, delivery
dates, quality and all of that.
PM: Are there any up-and-coming designers that you love?
PJ: Yes, I really like Charles Jeffrey’s work; he was one of my students
at St Martins. I think what he’s trying to do is something that’s a bit
more underground. There’s a new generation coming up and I think
what happens is, when new people come up and they start doing
these things, they might not get noticed at first… but then they will
start to notice, and then the whole establishment will start to get
really jealous because they are creating something new, something
exciting. And all of a sudden they start to become employable, they
start to get something that people are buying into. And fashion needs
that. Fashion needs these people to come up with these refreshing
ideas, so it doesn’t look all polished and like you’ve spent a lot of
money on it.
PM: I heard that you were studying tailoring back home in
Copenhagen before you came to London...
PJ: That’s not entirely true… I did train as a tailor for two years, but
it wasn’t Copenhagen, it was in Aarhus, which is the second biggest
city in Denmark. And then I moved to Copenhagen and lived in
LA for a period of time. I moved to London to do my MA.
PM: Is design something you’ve always been passionate about?
PJ: Yes, I think it was. Looking back, I think it really started off
by being interested in style and really doing costumes for myself.
I was very interested in my mum’s sewing machine as a tool. I was
really interested in what it could do for me and that is really where
it started. Then I started making outfits for people on my street.