Peculiarme designs, collection launch

Last weekend, a self-taught and aspiring fashion designer -Alaina Thomas-has hit East London showcasing her debut collection in a bid to "bridge the gap between being Christian & a fashionista" .
I caught up with Alaina a couple of days after the show and she kindly agreed to give me an interview. See the showreel for the collection and scroll down for more after-party photos.

Most of the items presented have been tailored by Alaina herself. 

"You can love fashion & God be peculiar, be passionate & love your life!"

"As a Christian designer I surround my collections with a sense of pride where sexy is also classy & modest & daring is bold not exposing.

My collection is focused around the realistic shape. It is far from commercial & it uses culture including daring tribalism with the need to feel feminine & confident whether size 6 or 16" 

"My inspiration always comes again from my faith love of new wacky things. How can I make something so flat like a panel of fabric sculpt itself around the female form - is something I always ask myself emotively."

J: Was there any preliminary research made or you founded your collection entirely on your own intuition?

"I founded it [collection] on my own intuition. Although I love pattern & shape- and the African culture has a lot of both. Being a big fan of Art I became intrigued with African pattern when I discovered Yinka shonibares work; then I watched first hand with my friends parents at Nigerian weddings & was gob-smacked at their creativity with fabrics or colours & needed to be a part of the action"

 J: How Do you identify yourself as a versatile designer?Can you pin down your style?

"I try to keep myself open to new styles, I tend to switch a lot between soft goth with the flatforms dark lipstick & biker jackets, to the vintage working woman with the dolly dresses & smart jackets. It's like dress up I never know what I'm going to get day to day."

J: When did you realise that fashion was your call?

"When I realised I had a talent for it at 16-years old after making my first dress. I went through a stage of trying everything out but God kept bringing me back to fashion. Then the sense of accomplishment & pride that came after was incredible. I would make mistakes & be happy because I was learning, even if I was tired I'd still find energy to sew."

J: How difficult it is for you to come up with several pieces don the same topic, do you seek for assistance/advice from colleagues/relatives?

"Strangely enough I find it quite easy, its not making too much is the problem. May sound cliche but I pray before designing & who better to give me advice or designs than the one who gave me my talent. Its taking the stress away from a beautiful moment taking nothing & making something admirable & attractive from it. The collections fall in to place, I can always tell when I'm off track when I need to think too hard about it."