Fashion.qxp_Layout 7 24/08/2020 11:13 Page 1
FASHION
‘Exuberant Opulence’ for AW20 – hyper-real nature, oil slicks, highshine, ombre colour washes
Rise and high-shine
What’s inspiring chic Bristol textile design studio &elle, and how fashion has changed and adapted this year
E
llen Tozer moved from London to Bristol in 2015 after cutting her teeth in the capital’s fashion industry as a print designer for UK and international brands for over a decade. Having decided she wanted to relocate her work to a “more authentic and creative” city, Ellen founded her textile design studio &elle – based on Barton Road and born from a realisation that brands were increasingly using print and colour to define their aesthetic. Rather than buying ‘off the shelf’ designs she set up with the intention of creating bespoke prints tailored to the brands’ individual style, allowing them to create their own hero pieces. Here she talks fast fashion and future trends. TBM: Which brands are you working with this year? Ellen Tozer: Currently some amazing small UK-based and eco-focused brands – unfortunately none that can be named at the moment. They’re in a range of sectors, from men’s lounge and underwear to ladies’ casual wear and even ceramic tabletop products. Which is your favourite of the coming trends for AW20? We’re seeing an interest in high opulence for Christmas. In a backlash against future austerity and having to live pared-back lives, Christmas and winter are going to be focused around more being more. 14 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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SEPTEMBER 2020
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No 192
There is a huge interest in the healing properties of nature, and how images and colours of nature can promote calm and positivity
How have/will our new circumstances affect what we’re wearing? Due to the pandemic there has been a huge shift in the way companies are predicting trends for the coming seasons – mainly because trends are predicted on street style, fashion weeks and previous buying patterns, all of which have been put on hold for the time being. Brands also have a huge amount of surplus stock from this summer which will be folded into the collections for SS21. This leaves us with a great challenge of predicting which trends will be key for SS21 and can layer into the old SS20 stock when it is put into store next summer. So we’ve been really busy though lockdown, working out the key trends for SS21. That being said, these trends are quite classic, and are harking back to retro eras, looking at them through rose-tinted glasses. The drawing style is hand-
