Featured Designer: Amelia

Graham

SUBMITTED TO : MA’AM SAROSH

SUBMITTED BY : ZOOBBIA TANVEER
Amelia Graham
 TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION
2. EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUNG
3. CAREER
4. BRND STABLISHMENT
5. DESIGN AND COLOR
6. INSPIRATION
7. WORKING PATTERN
8. WORKING STYLE
9. THEME
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 AMELIA GRAHAM

INTRODUCTION

Textile Designer Amelia works cross-discipline in the fields of

fashion, art, and interiors

Textile designer Amelia Graham lives in London with her husband and two
small sons. Her work crosses the fields of fashion, art, and interiors and shows
her deep interest in geometrics and arithmetics and led to the launch of her
label in 2014.Free and measured rhythms, nods to brutalist
architecture, African textiles and post-modernism, encapsulated in signature
prints on fabric, cushions and scarves.
Amelia also work on commission for Women and Menswear Clients,
interior and commercial designers; recent projects include beauty
packaging design, Resort and Swimwear, collaborations with Footwear
brands, and luxury bed linen.
Amelia's collaboration with embroiderer Ellie MacDonald, "EvA" resulted
in bespoke textile art pieces for high-end commercial and private clients
across the world. Their latest commission of digitally rendered botanical
and geological prints free-hand, embroidered on a Singer sewing machine
are currently hung on the walls of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in
Singapore.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNG

She is an alumni of the UAL and have a Bachelor of Arts on textile design from
Chelsea College of Art and Design. She did her foundation art at Brighton. Her
prints now grace the catwalks of ready to wear designers and high street
fashion labels and adorn the interiors of boutique hotels and private clients.

CAREER

Amelia Graham started her career in women wear print, but after 10 years
designing for different brands, she decided it was time to put her name on
her own line.

BRAND STBLISHMINT

Amelia is a textile designer from London working across multiple disciplines

within fashion, art, and interiors. Before deciding to go freelance, Amelia had
an extremely successful career in women wear print, spanning 10 years. So,
why did she decide to go solo?

Where did the drive and ambition to start your own business come from?
I started my career in women wear print, working anonymously under the
guise of a number of different brands, appearing on both the catwalk and in
international press. After 10 years, I decided I wanted to appear from the
shadows and put my name on a product where I controlled the whole design
process. I wanted to make sure production was maintained in the UK, whilst
still being able to focus on where my true inspiration lies – within geometric
form.

How did you know the time was right to start working on your own line?
I was driven to produce my first line while I was pregnant with my son. I
continued working on commissions for brands such as Topshop, Calvin Klein
and Rolling Stones alongside this – it was great to keep the collaborations
going, it’s the key to staying creative.

Tell us about your influences – what inspired your love of geometric and
arithmetic work?
My influences come from all over. My father is an architect and raised me to
love Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. He also sparked my interest in
photography, buying me my first SLR as a gift for passing my A-levels. My
mother loved textiles, especially those inspired by the styles of the Bauhaus
movement and William Morris.

My own line’s got a clear modernist intention. I’ve got a strong sense of form
and I use colour boldly – I believe textile design is about more than just
fashion and interiors. They can be used anywhere.

Tell us about your influences – what inspired your love of geometric and
arithmetic work?
My influences come from all over. My father is an architect and raised me to
love Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. He also sparked my interest in
photography, buying me my first SLR as a gift for passing my A-levels. My
mother loved textiles, especially those inspired by the styles of the Bauhaus
movement and William Morris.
My own line’s got a clear modernist intention. I’ve got a strong sense of form
and I use colour boldly – I believe textile design is about more than just

What are your tips for other entrepreneurs looking to launch their own business?
I found it really important to do everything myself when it came to branding
my business. Initially, I thought I should hire someone to do the collateral, but
I realized the only person who knew exactly what I wanted and could convey
it best, was me.

DESIGN AND COLOR

Amelia’s modernist aesthetic is partly derived from her architect father, as

well as her mother’s love of textiles from Bauhaus and William Morris.
Primarily created on the computer, her designs use bold color and strong
shapes for a distinct look that is all her own. Grab some of her fabric by the
metre or pick up a scarf via her website before this talented designer becomes
too exclusive.– Jessie
Amelia Grahams’ textile designs are playful takes on geometric and arithmetic
form and draws on her interest in architecture - looking to Brutalism, and
Modernism for formal elements, but also taking cues from the African Textiles
of East London, and the playful use of colour and dynamic form prevalent in
postmodernist art.

INSPIRATION

Which designers/artists/inspirations etc. have been particularly influential in your

design practice?

Art – Color Field and Abstract Expressionism, Motherwell, Pierre Soulanges,

Clifford Still, Barnett Newman, Franz Kline.

Emile Nolde and some other Expressionists for colour.

Wyndham Lewis, Vorticism, the Bauhaus, Constructivism, De Stijl for

formality.

Photography – Saul Leiter, Maholy Nagy, Vivian Maier.

Architecture – Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, FLW, Richard Neutra, Taedo
Ando, Neutra. Modernism, Brutalism.

Fashion – Dries Van Noten, Jonathan Saunders, Proenza Schouler.

Textiles – Josef Frank and Babara Brown.

 WORKING PATTERN
Photoshop and illustrator are invaluable as are a digital camera and a Wacom
tablet.Authenticity resonates in good design. Borrowing or aping others seems
to impart a veneer of disingenuity that is usually brutally apparent.

How does a typical work day start out, and where do you do most of your
designing?

I work when the moment takes me and opportunity allows. I am a mother so

often the work day begins walking my son to nursery, and ruminating on
ideas on the way back to the studio.

Working part time is liberating, and I find it allows the creative process time
to breathe.
Most of my design work takes place in front of my Mac Pro. I also generate
motifs with my trusty Leica and through mark marking, but digital
experimentation plays a key roll. Work is rendered digitally on silk.

Amelia, you currently live and work in London, one of the world’s fashion
capitals. What is that like for you as a textile designer?

London, its vibrant dynamism and its huge and expansive disparity and
contrast and green spaces is a constant source of inspiration. It’s a city in
constant flux, evolving architecture, new against old. It’s full of ideas. Fashion
is experimental, diverse, I find ideas everywhere, in art galleries , through the
lens of a camera, on the street.
 WORKING STYLE
There’s so much to love about Amelia’s work, but we are really drawn to her
bold use of color and emphasis on movement and textural details. Each
pattern is unique, yet they all work so well together as a collection.
Vibrant and forward in their style, the prints of Amelia Graham captivate us.
Based in East London, this British designer’s work can be found on garments
for fashion labels around the globe. Here she shares her influences and
inspiration which includes her love of French culture (it helps that she’s
married to one) and her best project to date

Can you describe your style in fashion or at home?

Fashion; somewhere between Paris and London.

At home, minimal with an emphasis on materials and light, wood, glass…fairly

sober and refined. I like maps and graphic design on the walls. I am more
playful with textiles; I have quite a lot of Josef Frank. His work is organic, but
not too literal. We have the Teheran fabric in our bedroom. It looks like
internal organs or arteries. It’s quite viceral. I like the unprettiness of that.
 THEME

Each of your designs is named after a year. That’s pretty specific! Are you
thinking about events or people when you’re looking for inspiration or does
the design come to you first?
Classifying them by decade was a way to group them according to look and
the inspiration behind them. They have nods to époques or genres without
being wholly referential to them. I hope they have an essence of a
particular time, interpreted in a contemporary manner. The 70s series for
example took its cue from Brutalist architecture and Optical Art.

1973-print-silk-scarf-green/white/black

Tell us about ‘1964’. We’re thinking it’s a little bit tribal, a little bi t Mad
Men. What were you doing around the time you were working on this print?
Absolutely! Come to think of it I probably was watching Mad Men at the time.
I wasn’t conscious of my design being influenced by that, sometimes it takes
an outsider to make such an observation! The costume design on Mad Men is
so on point, so evocative of the mood of the characters … Yes it’s definitely
60s psychedelia meets Dutch Wax Print, with nods to other ethnic print
genres.

Each of your designs is named after a year. That’s pretty specific! Are you
thinking about events or people when you’re looking for inspiration or does
the design come to you first?
Classifying them by decade was a way to group them according to look and the
inspiration behind them. They have nods to époques or genres without being
wholly referential to them. I hope they have an essence of a particular time,
interpreted in a contemporary manner. The 70s series for example took its cue
from Brutalist architecture and Optical Art.

Tell us about ‘1964’. We’re thinking it’s a little bit tribal, a little bit Mad
Men. What were you doing around the time you were working on this print?
Absolutely! Come to think of it I probably was watching Mad Men at the time. I
wasn’t conscious of my design being influenced by that, sometimes it takes an
outsider to make such an observation! The costume design on Mad Men is so on
point, so evocative of the mood of the characters … Yes it’s definitely 60s
psychedelia meets Dutch Wax Print, with nods to other ethnic print genres.

You’re interested in modern architecture and seeing your work in new

applications. We’re thrilled to be working with you on our umbrellas and
Love Rugs. What made you want to work with two crazy Aussies?

I love the ethos of the brand: artistically driven and collaborative design married
with innovative and functional craftsmanship. The result is a product that is
beautiful and considered but also goes the distance. You’ve been consummate
professionals and have such good energy, it’s been a pleasure to team up with
you

The 1920s series, Tropical LOVE art print

inspired by the
Utopian landscapes
of Metropolis with
nods to Art Deco
Miami, add graceful
geometry and bold
monochrome
Bibliography

 http://www.ameliagraham.com/about-1/
 https://www.pinterest.com/agrahamprint/amelia-graham-my-
work/?lp=true
 https://www.pinterest.com/agrahamprint/amelia-graham-my-
work/?lp=true
 https://basilbangs.com/au/meet-amelia-graham-geometric-kid/
 https://www.jovoto.com/blog/uncategorized/introducing-amelia-
graham-textile-orbit-guest-pinner/
 https://zigzagzurich.com/collections/amelia-graham
 https://patternobserver.com/2015/11/27/featured-designer-amelia-
graham-2/
 https://patternpeople.com/interview-amelia-graham/
 https://www.moo.com/blog/interviews/from-behind-the-scenes-to-
centre-stage-life-as-a-freelance-textile-designer