Fashion Fringe: Q and A with Teija Eilola

This Little Girl Is Lost continues on the trail of young Brit Designers this month with a sneak peak at the sketches of Fashion Fringe 2012 finalist Teija Eilola.

Q: What is the inspiration behind your Fashion Fringe collection?
A: A Finnish girl goes to a party with her party shoes in her bag. On the way she crossed a forest and couple of hills. The collection is about clothes that fit in to your environment.

Q: What do you specialise in and where do you find your inspiration?
A: Tailoring, technical outerwear and silk dresses. To develop the new collection I try to find new techniques from different specialisms. I source new fabrics every season and then play with all the materials in the studio. Inspiration can also be a just feeling, a chapter in a book or a conversation that sparks an idea.



Image Credit: © Nilu Izadi for Fashion Fringe

Q: How did you get into design?
A: I'm fascinated by how two-dimensional patterns become three-dimensional pieces just by joining different parts together and then how switching the fabric from stiffer to drapey makes the garment suddenly react differently. I started the journey when I was quite young and I still get very excited when the design works.

Read more after the jump

Q: Tell us about your fashion fringe journey so far.
A: The last three months have been an incredible journey into understanding yourself as a designer and learning about how to run a fashion label. Meeting various industry experts has been invaluable. We started the journey from Burberry head office experiencing how to run a successful business, moved from there into the studios to develop the collections while being mentored by Fashion Fringe experts, and finishing with learning about show production.

Q: What do you hope to achieve in the future?
A: I have a vision of cloths that are versatile, that go with you from day to evening, from city to the country. A wardrobe that is both protective yet a little escapist, letting the fabric transform into something else. It’s about Finnish folklore merged with British design ethos. The most important thing is that Teija label communicates this to the wearer.

This is my last Q&A with a Fashion Fringe finalist, I hope you have enjoyed my profiles, If you want to find out more about FF before the catwalk finale on Tuesday just go here.