Silkwear By Somerville London | Interview With The Founder

You’ve probably seen the beautiful silkwear pieces from Somerville London pop up on my feed and Stories before, founder Stephanie Somerville is a good friend and debuted a really wonderful collection of silk shirt-based designs last autumn…

UK made silk and garments digitally printed, made in small batches to minimise waste, using sustainable products in the supply chain (such
as the Corozo nut in button making) and recyclable packaging are behind the eye-catching and super wearable pieces.

A few months ago, I joined Stephanie and her latest collection in a cool east London apartment to take some shots for the @somervillelondon social channels.

Stephanie does a fine job of modelling her designs (as you can see from the pictures!) – Steph has always had the coolest style and it made total sense to me when she told me she was launching a fashion label…!

We had great fun styling up the pieces and I thought I’d share a few of the images here along with a little interview with Stephanie herself, where she talks about the new prints, her love for Bridget Riley, how she styles her subtle and surprising pieces and manufacturing silk locally.

Enjoy the interview! And check out the new season at somervillelondon.com

Tell us what went into the new collection from an inspiration point of view?
The sixties and specifically the Op Art movement. Bridget Riley is a heroine of mine and it’s the period when she started to experiment with colour which inspired this collection – her epic coloured stripe paintings in palettes that you can’t take your eyes off. In my former life, I worked at St Mary’s Hospital where there are huge Riley murals painted directly onto the wall. I walked past them everyday so I’m not surprised they have turned up in this form!

The Love print is great fun! What was on your mind when creating that?
The word ‘love’ is totally overused in fashion – emblazoned on T shirts everywhere but the word still has resonance and meaning. So I wondered if I could produce a print that worked it in in an original way. It takes a moment to see the ‘Love’ in the print, it’s subtle (Ed’s note: See the tee here!). I love producing prints which are surprising.

How are you wearing pieces from the new collection?
The silk tees are so easy to wear – they provide just the right amount of ‘dress up’ but I never feel overdressed in them. I’m tucking them into pale highwaisted denim – either my pale blue pair from Acne or vintage 80s white mom jeans from Brick Lane. I add some barely there sandals with a tiny heel for summer drinks and a blazer from Isabel Marant Etoile for when it gets chilly. I’ve also rediscovered my love of minis. The Riley mini doesn’t need much accessorising – some slim gold chains of different lengths with a flat solid tan sandal (brown legs help!).

Where are your pieces made & where is the fabric from?
The fabric is all silk and our designs printed onto it by a family team in Brighton. It’s more difficult than you imagine to print on silk – to get the colours right and minimise faults. It then goes up to our factory in Leicester to be made. It’s great having local manufacturers who I can visit and I can be confident that they are doing a good job in decent conditions.

Thankyou Stephanie for your lovely answers!