UV light shines bright for beauty
Interview
Fida Spoke to artist Sophie Speyer
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When did you first get into drawing?
I first got into drawing when I was really young, probably around 7 or 8 years old.
Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?
I chose to end my career as a Bag Designer because I felt like a fraud. I chose my previous career because I can draw well and because I love fashion, but my mind never really switched to 3D visual thinking. All the years that I designed Accessories for the UK High street, I longed to be drawing fashion & accessories, rather than developing product. When I left my job, I did a short course in Fashion Illustration at London College of Fashion. It was a game-changer. I wish I’d known about Fashion Illustration as a genre much earlier in my life.
What is your particular working day as a creative?
I am a Printmaker at Bainbridge Print Studio in South London, and I work there as Studio Technician once a week. A typical day in the Printmaking workshop involves cleaning and preparing Silkscreens, mixing inks and cutting paper, tidying the workshop in preparation to print and sometimes demonstrating to other members how to print. I make my own work either on the etching press or in the silkscreen printing room. When I’m not at the workshop, I make illustrations and prepare images for printmaking in my small studio at home. I am a mother of 3, and so I’m a creative Night Owl, drawing once the kids are in bed!
What tools do you use when creating your images?
I’m an analogue artist. I draw most of my images by hand. I use a lot of litho crayons and Indian ink because I work on a special acetate called Trugrain. My marks need to completely block the UV light on the exposure bed, so ink, Posca pens, oily crayons and spray paint are good ways to achieve marks that will print well. I tend to draw from saved screenshots; and if I’m working on multiple layers, I use a light box to register each colour separation as I go.
Who or What has influenced you over the years?
I’m lucky that I’ve had a few really good teachers and mentors over the years. I made my first screen print when I was just 13 years old, and was taught by a textile print designer called Mike Wilde. I got the bug - it’s never really left. Seeing hand-drawn marks squashed through a screen and then re-imagined into something new, still gets me excited. At RCA I sat in front of Erdem, and around the corner from Noel Stewart. Both designers were in the year above me but my desk was in-between theirs; so they had to pass me to chat to each other. I loved earwigging on their creative conversations and listening to what they planned to make next. I knew I was in the company of some special talent, and they were both fabulous. I worked alongside Cath Kidston for 5 years. We both share a love of the printed image, and it was Cath who turned my head back to Printmaking. Even though I was designing product for her, we often discussed print, and I helped her to source a lot of vintage details. Cath has the most wonderfully eclectic taste. Range-building with Cath was a masterclass in how to juxtapose designs to build charming collections. On a good day Cath was pretty-much a licence to print money, her commercial eye was so sharp! All through my adult life I’ve followed the work of artist Stephen Chambers. In 2019 Stephen printed a series of 4 Lithographs called ‘The Fashion House’, and I saw them at the RA Summer Exhibition. It was then that I knew what I wanted to do - make Fashion Illustrations as a Printmaker.
What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry?
My advice for younger artists is to get busy! Draw everyday, look outside your house at what people are wearing and doing. Try to keep your work relevant to what’s happening in our world. Don’t give up, keep making work, it’s the only way. Make your creative dialogue with the world an ongoing conversation if you can.
What are you drawing today?
Ahluwalia AW22 in preparation for further drawings of her SS23 Menswear Collection (which I think is REALLY exciting, showing off her Paul Smith mentoring and leaping into a new era of being mo
What music are you listening to?
I’m not a massive music-head, and I love pop music unapologetically! The radio keeps me company while I work…6Music in the day, and Radio 1 or 2 late into the night. I’m currently listening to a great album by Jordana called Face the Wall which I first heard on R1’s Future Sounds (I have a Mum-Crush on DJ Jack Saunders).
What books are you reading?
Oh for the luxury of time to read! I am slowly working my way through ‘The Dutch House’ by Ann Patchett at the moment, but honestly, I fall asleep pretty soon into any book. I only ever pace through a whole novel on holiday.
Who’s your favourite Artist/Designer at the moment?
These are the people who always bring joy when I see their work in my Insta feed: Artist Cece Philips, Stephane Manel and Katherine Jones RA. I always like to see Vanessa Reid’s work, her Styling is always in the present and super-sexy. Georgia Palmer is my Model of the year. I’m just discovering the Designer Arturo Obegero after seeing Harry Styles in one of his looks!