A prints wonderland in British fashion label Lucy Jay’s ‘The Kreitzman’ collection

It was simply love at first sight when I first chanced on British accessories label, Lucy Jay and her magnificent digital-printed silk scarves a couple of months ago.

As a scarves and art lover, Lucy’s designs truly excites me in a way that no label has done so. Known for bejewelled symmetry and vigourous patterns in her prints, her unique approach in weaving together two ideas, that are not necessarily associated with each other, is a vision for her label and a factor why her designs are truly mindblowing.

From fusions of retro elements to explosive geometrics to prism-like gradient, and even an exciting collaboration with illustrator Stone and Spear in her previous collection that delved on the edge of humour and art, the prints of her scarves can be likened to a massive wonderland full of surprises that will intrigue creative souls.

And this season, it is no wonder why her eyecatching printed scarves are once again the talk of town, especially with launch of her latest collection for Autumn/Winter 2013, entitled ‘The Kreitzman’ collection at the recent Who’s Next Paris fashion tradeshow last month, where her label has shone greatly and has drawn the attention of many tradeshow-goers, when she won the Young Designer contest (accessory category) at the tradeshow.

In namesake, this collection of hers is not only inspired by the ever-colourful New York artist, Sue Kreitzman, who is now based in East London. This collection of hers is also one where Lucy not only took cues from Sue’s art, and also, joined forces with Sue to create a tantalizing and bold selection of designs that is graphically exciting, but also individualitic by incorporating some of the most unusual concepts into her scarf designs.

To mark the start of this collection, Lucy has even conjured up an exhibition at London’s The Old Shoreditch Station to a private launch, whereby the entire interior was covered with an explosion of prints from her label. Really fascinating I must say!

The Lucy Jay Exhibtion at The Old Shoreditch Station (London) which ran from April – June 2012

With her unique approach in design and exciting brand identity, I can’t help but be curious about her as a designer, as well as her trip to Paris. So I invited her for a chat where she speaks more about herself and her design:

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Hi Lucy, pleasure to speak with you. I’ve heard that you’ve just returned from Paris last month, after showcasing your collection at Who’s Next Paris, could you tell us more about your new collection?

Lucy: The collection took its inspiration from the colourful character Sue Kreitzman, an artist from New York living in East London who I had the pleasure to meet when starting to design the collection. I developed my ideas from talking to her and looking through her archive of work. From here I developed a collection that is alternative from my others with the focus expanding to all over prints as well as the traditional scarf styles, ensuring the recognisable Lucy Jay style remained.

From your trip there, are there any diverse differences between the fashion in London and Paris?

Lucy: Wherever you go there will always be differences in styles and fashion; overall exhibiting the collections in Paris it was really well received and eveyone seemed to love the colours. I think taking the styles from London to Paris can differ as there is such a diversity of styles coming out of London at the moment, creating a really prominent image for the city, which is really great and makes London a really great place to be a designer.

So how has the culture/community in UK influence your designs?

Lucy: I love the culture in the UK and I find it heavily influences my work whether it be music, exhibitions or just from people and places I see around. The UK and it’s influences are always a good starting point for a lot of my work; I have recently just worked on an exclusive print with Culture Label, called ‘Love London’, this was inspired by a traditional postage stamp and the typical London Culture.

For every individual scarf that you’ve designed, what kind of mood do you wish to portray?

Lucy: I want to make something that will create the mood for the person wearing it, the scarf is what makes your outfit and creates the mood and style you feel that day; each scarf can create what ever mood you choose it too, it is how you interpret it and how you wear Lucy Jay.

What song would best describe your designs?

Lucy: I am not sure of an exact song, I do listen to the likes of Cassius and LCD Soundsystem a lot while I am designing, so anything by them would probably sum up my work. Anything with a bit of a beat then I am happy!

How would you sum up your design in a verb?

Lucy: Bright!

Apart from scarves, what can we see more from the brand Lucy Jay?

Lucy: I am currently in the very early stages of working on a collaboration with the jewellery designer Myia Bonner. I am really keen to work alongside other designers from other disciplines and experiment with different styles and working with my prints, so this is something myself and Myia are doing at the moment. Developing the styles into ready-to-wear styles is also on the cards, so watch this space!

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Special thanks to the lovely Lucy for doing this interview!

With the cards on the table for this upcoming ready-to-wear collection from Lucy Jay, I really can’t wait for it to be launched.

In the meantime, if you love her label as much as I do, Lucy Jay is available at: Not Just A Label | Far Fetched | No-One | Minimall France | Culture Label and many more.

Do check out more about her label at LucyJay.com