by Caitlin Rattray
SquareOne Fashion
Strutting into a coffee shop in Edinburgh, glamorous young fashion designer Dieny Itoe looks as well suited to modelling her clothes as she does creating them. Kitted out in a cropped fur jacket, thick black tights and with a luscious black afro, she has liquorice legs to die for.
Dieny was born and brought up in Cameroon and at the age of 10 moved to Tain in the North of Scotland. Desperate to escape the small town, she moved to Glasgow as a student and took up a course in Community Arts at North College.
There, she was scouted by a modelling agency, and despite being encouraged to move to the states to make a career out of it, she wasn’t keen: “It’s never something that I wanted to pursue” she says, “although I do still model occasionally. It’s easy money!”
In November, her collections appeared as part of a 10-strong shortlist for the 2007 Glasgow 1999 Medal. It was the fourth to be awarded and the shortlist included a range of projects created as a legacy to Glasgow 1999, ‘Year of Architecture and Design’. Dieny’s contribution was a medley of beautifully handcrafted dresses and blouses.
Despite the acclaim, Dieny did not consider the possibility that she might win: “Honestly, have you seen what some of the other nominees have designed?", she asks as she starts flicking through the programme, “I mean look at this one… this girl designed a device that helps to re-grow jaw bones after cancer surgery. How do you compete with that? I don’t think anyone has ever won for making pretty things!” This comment would come back to haunt her as she went on to win the award.
Dieny’s work is inspired by the works of turn of the century illustrators Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, both of whom drew for a collection of fairytales.
She explains their influence: “For me, this collection was all about playing with proportions. In Rackham and Dulac’s illustrations, you see a lot of tiny fairies standing beside huge mushrooms and it is images like this that inspired the oversized skirts and collars in the collection.”
These fairytales also inspired the colour palate that Dieny chose for her collection: “If you look at the illustrations in many fairytales, you will see that they are often surprisingly dark and the most prominent colour is often grey. So the pieces in the collection are mostly grey with pale peaches and pinks appearing too.”
When asked about working in such a notoriously tough industry, Dieny effortlessly shrugs it off: “Working as a model means that I have had some experience of the fashion industry already. I sort of knew what to expect and I suppose it sparked my initial interest in fashion so it couldn’t have been all bad!”
She is not embarrassed to admit how important it is to have an address book full of contacts: “I guess part of it is about knowing the right people. If I hadn’t modelled for The Herald, I wouldn’t have met certain people that in turn, lead to some of my clothes appearing in the paper. Similarly, if I hadn‘t been involved with Glasgow Fashion Week, I wouldn’t have met the head buyer at Fifi and Ally who decided to stock my clothes.”
Currently at Edinburgh School of Art, Dieny was offered a chance to fast track straight into third year, but modestly turned it down as she wanted the full term experience. It seems that her education is something that she is very passionate about: “My clothes are sold in Fifi and Ally in Glasgow, and I have been offered a couple of other places, but unfortunately I just don’t have the time to make the clothes.”
This is something that can be overlooked about young designers; every item that appears in the shops has been painstakingly produced by them alone, from the first drawings to the final stitch.
Edinburgh College of Art will hold their annual fashion show for graduating student on Wednesday 7th May and Friday 5th May, see Arts news for details.
SquareOne Fashion
Strutting into a coffee shop in Edinburgh, glamorous young fashion designer Dieny Itoe looks as well suited to modelling her clothes as she does creating them. Kitted out in a cropped fur jacket, thick black tights and with a luscious black afro, she has liquorice legs to die for.
Dieny was born and brought up in Cameroon and at the age of 10 moved to Tain in the North of Scotland. Desperate to escape the small town, she moved to Glasgow as a student and took up a course in Community Arts at North College.
There, she was scouted by a modelling agency, and despite being encouraged to move to the states to make a career out of it, she wasn’t keen: “It’s never something that I wanted to pursue” she says, “although I do still model occasionally. It’s easy money!”
In November, her collections appeared as part of a 10-strong shortlist for the 2007 Glasgow 1999 Medal. It was the fourth to be awarded and the shortlist included a range of projects created as a legacy to Glasgow 1999, ‘Year of Architecture and Design’. Dieny’s contribution was a medley of beautifully handcrafted dresses and blouses.
Despite the acclaim, Dieny did not consider the possibility that she might win: “Honestly, have you seen what some of the other nominees have designed?", she asks as she starts flicking through the programme, “I mean look at this one… this girl designed a device that helps to re-grow jaw bones after cancer surgery. How do you compete with that? I don’t think anyone has ever won for making pretty things!” This comment would come back to haunt her as she went on to win the award.
Dieny’s work is inspired by the works of turn of the century illustrators Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, both of whom drew for a collection of fairytales.
She explains their influence: “For me, this collection was all about playing with proportions. In Rackham and Dulac’s illustrations, you see a lot of tiny fairies standing beside huge mushrooms and it is images like this that inspired the oversized skirts and collars in the collection.”
These fairytales also inspired the colour palate that Dieny chose for her collection: “If you look at the illustrations in many fairytales, you will see that they are often surprisingly dark and the most prominent colour is often grey. So the pieces in the collection are mostly grey with pale peaches and pinks appearing too.”
When asked about working in such a notoriously tough industry, Dieny effortlessly shrugs it off: “Working as a model means that I have had some experience of the fashion industry already. I sort of knew what to expect and I suppose it sparked my initial interest in fashion so it couldn’t have been all bad!”
She is not embarrassed to admit how important it is to have an address book full of contacts: “I guess part of it is about knowing the right people. If I hadn’t modelled for The Herald, I wouldn’t have met certain people that in turn, lead to some of my clothes appearing in the paper. Similarly, if I hadn‘t been involved with Glasgow Fashion Week, I wouldn’t have met the head buyer at Fifi and Ally who decided to stock my clothes.”
Currently at Edinburgh School of Art, Dieny was offered a chance to fast track straight into third year, but modestly turned it down as she wanted the full term experience. It seems that her education is something that she is very passionate about: “My clothes are sold in Fifi and Ally in Glasgow, and I have been offered a couple of other places, but unfortunately I just don’t have the time to make the clothes.”
This is something that can be overlooked about young designers; every item that appears in the shops has been painstakingly produced by them alone, from the first drawings to the final stitch.
Edinburgh College of Art will hold their annual fashion show for graduating student on Wednesday 7th May and Friday 5th May, see Arts news for details.
2 comments:
lovely piece - but I need pictures! Or a link to her site...? A
Azza, Dieny doesn't have a site, and we don't have photos, but you can find some here - http://www.theherald.co.uk/glasgowfashionweek/fashion01/pop.php?i=17,
More information here - http://www.cardonald.ac.uk/students/case_studies/121
Hope this helps....
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