Native Youth started three years ago as a brand creating quality yet affordable menswear. For SS15 the British label is expanding it’s offer to include a womenswear line, one inspired by art, photography and contemporary culture.

The debut collection is full of casualwear staples that are androgynous in silhouette and minimal in style. We decided to speak with their womenswear designer, Penny Armstrong, to find out more about brand, their new line and their international influences.

How did Native Youth came about?
Native Youth was founded in England by a small team of creatives and has since grown to global success. Native Youth represents a no-nonsense look at British fashion combining inspiration from around the world.

Describe the aesthetic in three words…
Clean, considered, cohesive.

Why did you now decide to venture into womenswear?
The collection stemmed from the menswear line and has been on the cards for a while now. We decided that Spring/Summer 15 was the right time to launch and spent time refining ideas, and gathering inspirations and fabrics for the perfect debut collection.

How does the womenswear line differ from the mens?
I think it was very important to keep the handwriting of the mens collection. However, we didn’t want this to be too literal and therefore used fabrics and prints in new ways to suit the feel of the collection. This concept is something that will evolve further for AW15, as keeping the balance between androgynous and feminine is something that we see as integral to the Native Youth womenswear collections.

Was your creative process different?
As I design on the menswear line also, the thought process was really similar. But I loved sourcing fabrics for womenswear and obviously it allows for a bit of my personal tastes and preferences to sneak in too!

I travel a lot to Asia and also parts of Europe and take inspiration from everywhere I go. I’m always inspired by Japanese street style and culture so this played a huge part in the design process.

You have quite an international stockist list, where else would you like to see the brand?
We’ve been amazed by the reception of the brand globally and this has been amazing to see. I’d love to see the collection sold in Japan alongside the menswear line.

Your about to launch your own e-commerce site with your own blog. What features will we find?
The blog will give a behind the scenes look into the life of native Youth as well as the small team behind the brand. We come up with our own lookbook concepts, ranges and styling and its amazing to be part of such a creative team.

What can we expect from the SS15 collection?
Soft colours, bold silhouettes and more of our amazing fabrics. It’s an exciting time for Native Youth.

native-youth.com