We recently chatted to graduate designer Naoise Jo who’s showcasing her first collection at Fashions Finest SS20 during London Fashion Week. Plus she shares her insights on getting started in fashion design and finding that work/life balance.
Born and raised in Dublin, Naoise Jo graduated from Griffith College Dublin in 2018 with a 1st Class Hons degree in fashion design. Since graduating, Naoise has interned for Primark and Irish brand Avoca and has been featured in Vulkan Magazine, The Irish Independent and Alinéa magazine.
Naoise, how did you first get interested in fashion?
My biggest inspirations have always been my Mum and Nana who have always dressed incredibly themselves but have also brought me shopping and encouraged me to have a personal style. I then had always been an artistic person but had only wanted to study fashion design when I created a company selling customised shorts in secondary school.
Did you always dream of becoming a designer?
I had always dreamed of being some form of designer or working in an artistic career.
Where does the love for fashion come from?
My parents have always encouraged me to dress differently and so this formed my love for dressing up personally. It was when I started studying fashion design that my passion for designing fashion formed.
When you first started, did you have any specific ambition?
To one day form my own brand and to try to learn as much about the industry as I could.
What makes a good design?
If you love what you have designed then it is good design. I don’t think there is a wrong way to design – it’s just down to personal preference.
How does your typical day look like? How do you balance your career with your personal life?
My typical day involves me firstly designing in my studio. This is my place to go and just clear my head and be creative. I am at my happiest in here. I then teach children fashion design and sewing in the afternoons. I think balancing a career in the fashion industry with your personal life is very hard. You have to just surround yourself with positive people who understand you and support you.
Name five things you cannot live without:
- A pad of paper and a pen
- My laptop (with Illustrator on it)
- My bed
- My family
- Winged eyeliner
Where do you see the brand and yourself going in the future?
In the future, I’d like for my brand to have grown its following to a number that would allow me to focus on this full time as my career.
Check out Naoise’s designs on Instagram here.
You can also grab tickets to the Fashions Finest SS20 here.
Top image credit: Unsplash
