Young, fervent and imaginative womenswear designer Clio Peppiatt makes bold garments for modern women. Founding her fashion label after graduating from Ravensbourne University two years ago, Clio has amassed a cult following of switched-on supporters who value the effort she puts into quality and concept. Gouregous traditional embroidery and Clio’s own hand drawn illustrations are what makes the London-based designer’s collections so highly coveted. Feminine with a hint of dark humour, her spellbinding presentations at London Fashion Week are works of art in themselves and her distinctive garments have been worn by the coolest of gals from Adwoa Aboah to Susie Lau. But behind the opulence of the fashion world, Clio is just a down-to-earth London girl following her heart and her beliefs. She often uses her platform to bring attention to serious issues and is keen on community and giving back. Curious about the love and labour that goes into the making of a contemporary brand, we met up with the perceptive designer to talk being inspired by film, her passion for drawing and why fast fashion needs to change.

How did you get into womenswear?
I’ve always loved to paint and draw but I didn’t want to go into fine art and fashion felt like the closest thing because I could still use those skills. I come from a creative family which is amazing because they’re really supportive and understanding. Both my parents work in fine art as curators and art historians. So growing up, even though they weren’t the ones painting, all of their friends were artists. It was such an interesting way to grow up. There was art everywhere.

What artists and illustrators are you inspired by?
I’ve always loved anything very detailed. Something you can stare at for hours and still find new elements. Artists like Erte, Aubrey Beardsley. Really stylised and intricate works. I love the work of Paula Rego too. Her paintings are beautiful and she paints clothes and captures light and shade so well. I’m also influenced by film. Often a starting point for a collection is film.

Did a film inspire your current collection?
Yes. The Love Witch. It came out early last year. It’s only the directors second film as far as I’m aware but it’s garnered this massive interest and is a bit of a cult film already. It’s really aesthetically beautiful and plush and sensual but it’s got a dark twisted core. It’s about a witch who men fall in love with and die but it’s unclear whether she’s killing them indirectly or whether they are dying of a broken heart or because they’re so in love with her, they can’t handle it and are destroyed by it. She’s very beautiful but also such a force of nature – its mad that the world finds those two characteristics hard to reconcile – but theres this contrast throughout the whole film. It’s also done with a sense of humour. You watch it with a lot of mixed emotions. It’s very multi-layered.

That’s interesting because a lot of female characters in films are quite one-dimensional and not very complex at all…
She’s a real representation of an actual person. When I first watched it, I really identified with the contrast of something looking beautiful but having a twist. My garments may look traditionally feminine but they always have a sense of humour and there’s something dark in there because that is a real representation of the people wearing the clothes.

Is that part of the brands ethos?
Yes definitely. The clothes being beautiful isn’t what I consciously set out to do. I love embroidery and I love beading and those things are very beautiful and play a heavy part in my work but I never try and make something look pretty. That’s not the main motive.

In terms of embroidery, what interests you about that technique?
I’ve always been in awe of old traditional techniques. It used to be such a done thing but it’s something that is slowly getting lost. So for me, it’s important to keep it alive in my work. I like incorporating non traditional imagery with very traditional methods. Of course these crafts are associated with things that women traditional did so I like using them and flipping them on their head. There’s a rebelliousness to it.

How does your first collection compare with your most recent?
My first collection was two years ago and I started with a very DIY approach. I was making everything from my bedroom completely on my own and getting friends to shoot and making them something to say thank you. I had the idea of starting my own label for a very long time but actually putting it into practice, I did very quickly. There’s definitely a lot to be said for people who plan things really carefully. That’s smart in a lot of ways but there’s no better way to learn than by just doing it.

Has the fashion industry changed in any way since you started out?
There was something happening right before I started out in regards to the way we approach the fashion system and schedule and the selling of clothes. People are now starting to think outside of the traditional formula of how a fashion label should be. Whereas when I started, it was very much ‘This is the way you have to do it to be taken seriously’.

People do seem to be questioning the future of fast fashion a lot lately. Producing two collections a year seems like a lot of work…
And it’s really expensive as well! But I think social media is changing everything. There’s something exciting about this shift. You don’t have to play by the rules and you can forget how everyone else it doing it and work out what’s best for yourself. It would just be great for everyone to do what’s right for them. No one’s journey is the same. It’s crazy that we’re all squeezed into this rigid structure.

Everyone works at such different paces. There’s no set amount of novels a writer should publish each year or how many albums a musician you should release. Why aren’t designers given this same freedom?
And working at that speed – it’s difficult to stay ethical because you’re going so quickly. The most important thing it to research where your fabrics are coming from and where things are being made. But that’s not always easy when you have this pressure on you to always produce things.