| COZETTE MCCREERY from SIBLING... |
| Written by Sacha Young | |||||||
| Wednesday, 20 April 2011 15:22 | |||||||
It is a very rare occasion when I come across a label that I feel have broken creative boundaries to an extent where I believe they are pure genius. Determined to know more, I sought the opportunity to pick COZETTE MCCREERY's brain - one third of the talented trio behind 'SIBLING', a knitwear label based in London. Keeping their head in the game and an eye on the prize, Sibling count themselves lucky with their wealth of knowledge and experience within the fashion industry. Noting that between the three of them (Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreery) they could easily play the six degrees of separation game, 'Kevin Bacon' style. With their outlandish designs and innovative pieces, I can't wait to keep an eye on Sibling's future collections. For now, check out what Cozette has to say about their sixth collection 'C6'... COUP DE MAIN: What is the background of 'Sibling'? COZETTE MCCREERY: 'SIBLING' is three people all of whom have a very long history of working in womenswear. You name a designer and one of us will have had some connection to them in one way or another. Like that Kevin Bacon game. We’d been talking about doing something together as a project for ages and because we love knitwear and felt that there was a real gap in the menswear market that’s the direction we went in. We thought we could have some fun filling it. Luckily we have a great relationship and complimentary skills so we jigsaw very well.
CDM: Who or what influences your designs? COZETTE MCCREERY: Oh lots of things from people on the street, to youth culture, to pensioners. All three of us are very visual, so it’s usually an image that will set something off. CDM: Can you tell us a bit about your creative process? COZETTE MCCREERY: We get some visuals together, we chat, we forget about it, we move to something else, we go back to what we first thought of, we shout a bit, we have tea, we think about cake, we all do something else and then finally with deadlines looming over our heads we get on with designing. CDM: How does one come up with a KISS-inspired-panda sweater + matching balaclava? COZETTE MCCREERY: Well that wasn’t down to us, that’s an image by Pure Evil who have a gallery in East London. Joe brought the print ages ago and it sits above Sid’s desk so when it came to thinking of our artist collaboration for C6, Pure Evil was a no-brainer as he’s a real part of the East London, we know.
CDM: To you, what makes a brilliant knitwear sweater? COZETTE MCCREERY: Something fun, colourful, considered and most importantly WEARABLE. CDM: Can you tell us a bit about Sibling's current collection - Collection 6? COZETTE MCCREERY: C6 is a Knitted Pub Crawl around our East London favorites. So you start at The Golden Heart, pop into The Red Lion and end up at The George & Dragon. To explain: The Golden Heart is a Twinset with a tattooed winged heart embroidered on it, the George & Dragon is a fair isle scattered with dragons and knights, and the Red Lion is a giant hand-embroidered lion’s profile. It’s called 'Darn The Boozer'; a play on words with the colloquial way people would say ‘down the pub’ mixed in with a very ‘knit’ word – darn. It’s a little SIBLING joke, which hopefully not only we find funny. CDM: Can you remember the most expensive item you've bought? COZETTE MCCREERY: Gosh well as a person who would rather save up FOREVER than buy on the high street, then I’d say most of my wardrobe comes under an expensive item header. I’m a firm believer in that old fashioned you-get-what-you-pay-for ethic and have clothing older than my ten-year-old Godson. For example I have an Equipment snake print shirt I brought in the late 80’s from their store on Sloane Street. At the time it cost me a good chunk of wages but I’m still wearing it (and they've just reproduced it) thereby making it quite possibly the cheapest thing I own! Ditto Westwood, Hamnett and Demeulemeester pieces. CDM: If you could bring one item back [from the past], what would it be? COZETTE MCCREERY: My Grandmother who even years later I miss terribly, although she’d hate to be thought of as an ‘item’!
CDM: What did you want to be when you were seven years old? COZETTE MCCREERY: A few things: a ballerina, but I was told that I’d be too tall. A train driver, but I was also told that I’d not get to drive a train straight away, so totally hacked off with everyone telling me what I couldn't do, I settled on wanting to be a vet or at least work with animals. At twenty-four I finally did it and became a shepherd on a Kibbutz. I learnt to milk them and had my own dog called Queen. Still haven’t driven a train though. Yet. CDM: Who would be at the top of your 'best dressed' list? COZETTE MCCREERY: No-one in particular if I’m being honest, I’m not really one for muses or lists. CDM: ...'worse dressed'? COZETTE MCCREERY: Me probably <laughing>.
CDM: When you imagine a 'Sibling' guy/gal, how are they styled? COZETTE MCCREERY: In a great bit of knitwear! Actually, it’s less about styling and more about attitude, as even a very loud piece of knit should not look as if it’s wearing you. And mixed up a bit so a SIBLING knit, a well loved jacket, a new pair of socks, expensive shoes, cheap bag, mortgage defaulting idiotically priced skirt… that kind of thing. CDM: What is the best advice you've ever been given? COZETTE MCCREERY: Recently it was that I should arrive with a smile, an open mind and a big heart. This was when I was traveling to Tokyo on my own and suddenly, inexplicably felt very daunted. At first I read it and cynically thought ‘yeah whatever Mr. Spiritual’ - but hell, it works. He was right. CDM: Finish this sentence: Life is... a bloody good laugh but only if you let it.
HEART LISTENING: 'Kingstonlogic' - Terry Lynn. HEART WATCHING: Spiral on BBC4. HEART READING: 'Must You Go?' - by Lady Antonia Fraser. HEART OF THE WEEK: Any charity raising funds for Japan. SIBLING C6 from SIBLING LONDON on Vimeo.
www.siblinglondon.com |
