Designer Profile: Carolyn Massey

fuk.co.uk first encountered the romantic English menswear of RCA graduate Carolyn Massey at her London Fashion Week debut in a stunning church in February 2007. We've seen the label develop over the last few seasons and MARIAN BUCKLEY caught up with Carloyn after her Lens collection went on sale in Topman Oxford Circus in March 2008.

Carolyn Massey made an immediate impression on us at her debut last year. Just a few months after graduating from the Royal College of Art she showed a modern gothic collection which combined romantic English menswear with slightly sinister leanings. "I loved that show," she tells me from her Leytonstone studio. "The smell of the church, the atmosphere, it was amazing. That vision of interior with the garments, the essence of what you feel is hugely interesting to me." Born and brought up in Bristol, Carolyn studied for a degree in Menswear at the University of the West of England before enrolling on the MA in Menswear course at the Royal College of Art which meant her moving to Hackney. "I loved it at the RCA, it is an incredible place to study," she says with genuine enthusiasm. "All the disciplines are in one building and they encourage you to collaborate so there's this cross-hibernation that goes with interior people working with product designers etc.. It was my biggest dream to come to London to study for my MA and I really found myself at the RCA."

Having had very positive placements at Mulberry and Dunhill, Carolyn took the dramatic decision to launch her own label without any financial backing in February 2007. After just over a year she's made great progress and has sold her collections at Rendezvous Paris, has a sales agent (Eastern Bloc) with whom she's very happy, and has had two capsule collections commissioned by Topman. "I have learnt so much," she admits. "I don't want to be some flash in the pan, for me it's about slow growth. I read an interview with Richard Nicoll recently and he said that it he was a slow burner - I really respect that because that's what I feel."

Carolyn Massey A/W 08 Collection

High Hackney rents have driven Massey further east to a live/work unit in E11. "Hackney just got too expensive so I found this place, what's great is that the living area and the studio are separate so you can close the door and leave work." She does most of her designing by hand drawing, "I draw all my flats" she says. Her main line collection is currently produced mostly in the UK. "This is something that I really wanted to try and do, produce where possible locally. However, while I will still do my sampling in the UK, production will probably have to take place elsewhere because of the costs." Sadly, Carolyn believes where a garment is produced makes no real difference. "No-one seems to care," she says with resignation. "At a consumer level people don't care and it doesn't seem relevant to buyers."

Matthew Murphy who runs b-store and the Lens concession in Topman Oxford Circus saw Massey's collection last year in Paris and asked her to design a capsule range which is now in its second season and will be continuing into September. "It's been great to work on this. I give them my flat drawings, they do the sampling, we then have a sample meeting to discuss changes and they oversee production. So it's me doing the fun part!." Carolyn is also gaining invaluable experience. "The resources they have are incredible," she says. The association will also help get Massey known internationally as her range will be going into La Foret in Tokyo in September and also in the much-anticipated Topman shop in New York (date of opening still tbc)."I could rant about this for hours because I do feel strongly that we need more opportunities to show British menswear, we have so many menswear designers, we've seem a rejuvenation of Savile Row, people agree that menswear is really important but there are no menswear awards like Fashion Fringe to help designers show and get their work known."

Despite what seems like a very successful start for her label with two seasons at Lens already under her career belt, Carolyn still doesn't make enough money from designing to live on. "I am totally self-financed so it is very difficult. I teach." She is determined to grow her label gradually and with integrity. "The web is really important - the piece on fuk.co.uk about my London Fashion Week has brought me so much feedback and it's right up there on Google, it comes up second after my own website."

When she's not designing or teaching design, Carolyn likes to escape with her boyfriend. "He's a photographer so we go to the countryside and he takes photos. We stay in Landmark Trust buildings, you can stay in old forts and castles for not much money in winter. I am hoping to get to Cornwall later this year - I am a true Anglophile!". This is of course translated into her clothing and her production methods, "I love traditional methods of construction," she says and then explains that the annual War and Peace show is a great favourite. "It's gobsmacking to see guys dressed in full military uniforms (although the Nazi ones are a bit wrong) talking into walkie-talkies about battles - people from all over the world go. I get loads of military garments and then take them apart - I love the functionality of military clothing and the ridiculousness of the un-functionality - you'll get a heavy wool jacket with all the regalia, which is supposed to be worn on a hot day."

Carolyn is also an avid collector of old books and skulls. "I would of course one day love my own shop but that's definitely further down the line. I have all these things I collect which would be great - I think the atmosphere of a shop is really important." Despite being responsible for so much, and working on very tight budgets and deadlines, the passion Massey has for her work is immense. "I love it. I woke up at three the other morning buzzing with an idea - I jump out of bed each day, someone said 'you never go to work if you are in the right job' and that is exactly how I feel."

www.carolynmassey.com
www.Topman.com