When Charlie May sent her AW13 collection down the catwalk this year, each look had its own piece from her recent collaboration with accessories designer Danielle Foster. Their capsule collection heavily features vinyl plastic on leather bags and jewellery, keeping in line with both Charlie May’s minimalist and Danielle Foster’s timeless aesthetic.

Twin spoke to May about the joint design venture…

 

When did you discover Danielle Foster’s accessories?

I discovered Danielle through Bengt, who was my first stockist and started seeing her bags popping up everywhere. I loved the classic design and heavy focus on hardware on leather.

What is it about Danielle’s designs that captured your attention and made you realise that your collections could compliment each other?

I love that Danielle’s bags are so raw. They’re finished in a classic and traditional way, but add in chunky gold hardware and even some human hair so you’re on your way to something unique and unusual, which I relate to a lot with my work. Classic tailoring in unexpected fabrications and cuts is something I love to do.

What was the collaboration process like? How did it differ from your usual creative process?

I loved working together, it was very easy and we both knew to keep it simple. Danielle had already been thinking up shapes when I brought in the leathers and designs for my AW13 collection. I’ve always wanted to work with clear plastic too, which matched perfectly to my icy inspiration.

What materials did you utilise in the collaboration?

The bags are mostly made from traditional thick saddle leather. The only unusual material was the clear vinyl plastic, which I absolutely love in the satchel. I feel there are lots of clear bags around at the moment but none as cool as our satchel! I think the clear against the heavy black is really strong. I really liked Danielle’s braided handles on the tote bags, to give a cool little detail on a classic.

How do the accessories accentuate your collection?

I always think bags finish off a collection perfectly, it’s like having the whole package. A lot of my AW13 collection was quite matchy. The classic satchels were great to pair with a few trouser suits to step it up a notch and also to toughen up some of the floatier silk looks.

Who in the future would you like to collaborate with?

I have a couple of super exciting collaborations for next season that I’m not quite ready to blab about, but I can reveal that it will include shoes!

Why do you think collaborations between designers are such a big commodity nowadays?

I think collaborations are amazing for young designers to get their names heard. Working with other designers, you’re effectively sharing each others fan bases and reaching a wider audience.

The Charlie May x Danielle Foster collection will be released in August on BengtFashion, The Unconventional and the designers’ respective own e-commerce sites.

charlie-may.co.uk

daniellefoster.co.uk

 

Tags: Charlie May, Danielle Foster