Exclusive : Emma Cook

This autumn sees a celebrated British designer and Topshop collaborator, famed for her ‘cuttng edge designs’ and visions and originality’ Emma Cook launch her first ever handbag, developed around UK fashionistas’ need for convenience, but also their taste for all things sweet. The joint venture from the designer marks the re-launch of SPLENDA Low Calorie Sugar Alternative tablets – now called Sweet Minis. Open’s fashion blogger Sophie Eggleton used this as an excuse to grill Ms Cook on her rise to success and thoughts on the current state of British fashion.

When did you first realize you had an affinity with fashion?
 I’ve always been interested in fashion from a young age, as lots of young girls are. I think I loved fashion on the same level as other girls, but from a practical level I realised I was good at it – especially as I progressed in my BA.

You were brought up in a small village near Manchester, how did that affect your personal style and ambitions?
Living in a small village affects your ambition – London as a city is always exciting, and when young I had a burning ambition to go there. It was a far off, exciting place, and always my focus – I knew I wanted to move to London even before I knew I wanted to do fashion!

You studied at Brighton University ( Emma went on to complete the fashion MA at Central St. Martin’s ) a place renowned for its bohemian quality, did that have an influence on your designs?
Brighton is a great place to study as it is so relaxed. It’s close enough to London to go to exhibitions, but it had none of the stresses of the city. It could be difficult to make friends in London, plus it’s very expensive. The Bohemia didn’t affect my designs as such, but being less stressed made me more able to design well.

What advice would you give aspiring designers?
We have a lot of work experience come through our doors, and I always impress the importance of technical skills. Lots of them can design very well and put impressive mood boards together, but they can’t cut patterns or even sew! It’s a rarity now so there’s always a job for those with technical skills – there’s a real demand. I think it’s something which should be pushed in colleges –like it is in France or Germany, but for some reason it’s not pushed in the UK – there are no degrees in pattern cutting.

What do you think of the current state of British Fashion?
I think it’s really good at the moment. It is what it is, it’s where exciting things happen, and it’s the only city where really anyone can have a go. There are ways of making it in London whereas in other cities it is more difficult.London is supporting some fantastic young designers at the moment.
 
What current trends do you wish would go away?
I really don’t like wet look leggings, or low slung jeans. They will only look good on 13 year old skinny girls – otherwise they are just not flattering. I don’t think  there has been such an unflattering trend since the 60’s, when girls were wearing mini skirts when they really didn’t have the legs for them.

Will you be doing more designs for Topshop, and is there anyone else you'd love to collaborate with?
I love working for Topshop as there’s so much happening – we’ve just done shoes and boots which come out at the end of the month. And our new collection is doing well at the moment.
I really like working with new people as it’s exciting and refreshing – but I haven’t any thoughts on who I would like to work with in particular.

Some top names in showbiz have worn your pieces, is that particularly exciting to see or is anyone wearing one of your designs thrilling?
It’s really exciting when a celebrity like Diane Kruger wears your designs, but just as exciting is when you see someone wearing a piece at the bus stop. You can’t believe they are wearing “my dress”!
 
Do you think there is too much concentration on the celebrity aspect of being in fashion, e.g endorsement , front row and designers being celebrities themselves?
Unfortunately it’s just the way things are at the moment – we’re celebrity obsessed, and it’s just something which has to be dealt with.
 
How did this Splenda collaboration come about?
Splenda approached me to make a bag to celebrate the re-launch of their Sweet Minis. The bag is for any fashionista on the go as it has a pocket made especially for your Sweet Minis, so you can always grab them when you need them.
 
The Sweet mini contains less that one calorie, are you conscious of healthy eating? What sort of food do you eat daily and do you have an exercise regime?
I watch what I eat, and I don’t really eat much sugar – I always run around my home area and the park at the weekends.
 
What do you think makes the perfect handbag?
Practicality is key, with lots of pockets to fit in everything you need for the day ahead.
 
What would we find if we rifled through yours?
Sunglasses, my purse, key’s, Sonny’s ( her son ) chocolate buttons and wet wipes!
 
How has the credit crunch affected your business?
I think the credit crunch coincided with us making large changes to the business, which we would have done credit crunch or not.It was a structural shift, we moved all the production and worked with factories to reduce the price point to make the items more affordable.We are now in a totally different place in store, and we are doing really well due to the lower price points as people are willing to pay £250 for a dress, but perhaps not £700.
 
What do you predict will be the trends for S/S?
I think people will be wanting to buy something which is special, which is not high street (as the high street is so good) – they will want something which looks totally different rather than having items which simply tick the boxes.