
Jasper Garvida
He was the winner of Project Catwalk last year but what has Jasper Garvida been up to since then? We caught up with the designer to talk embellishment, Salvador Dali and Naomi Campbell.
Hi Jasper, what have you been up to recently?
At the moment Iâm promoting the new collection for Oli as well as working on my own label.
Apart from winning, what was your highlight on Project Catwalk?
For me the highlight was actually seeing my parents again after the show because I hadnât seen them for such a long time and they hadnât really seen what Iâve been doing and for me that was the biggest highlight.
I’ve used models before from size six to size sixteen
Were there any bad points?
Well I wouldnât say that there were any bad points. I guess in life thereâs always going to be some difficulties and I guess Iâm one of those people who accepts the fact that its not always gonna be good at times but if you work hard and youâre really determined then life can be better.
Weâve seen your new collection. Where did you get the inspiration for it?
My inspiration for this collection came from Salvador Daliâs wife, Gala, I actually went to northern Spain to do some research over there. The collection, your gonna see thereâs a lot of soft materials and hard embellishment sort of combined together and the colours reminded me of the hills in northern Spain.
Sounds great! Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?
Yes, thereâs actually a few. Thereâs the black bolero jacket which I love, the white sequined shirt I really like that and the purple evening dress and I think every woman should have it!
As well as designing youâve also lectured fashion students at Havering College, what was that like?
Yes oh my god! That was good I really enjoyed teaching. I wish I could go back there but Iâve been doing quite a lot of things, Iâm trying to establish my own label, I just didnât have the time to teach any more. When youâre teaching itâs not just a 9-5 job its constant you have to think about your students quite a lot. Itâs hard work and I think it would be unfair for me not to give myself entirely to that job so I decided to stop teaching and just work in fashion at the moment.
Do you prefer that?
Well if I can do everything trust me Iâd do it but I have to make some choices.
As well as for Oli youâve designed for Miss Selfridge and Monsoon, how did that come about?
Actually my first job after graduating was working for a couture label and I decided to move on to the high street because in couture youâre just creating clothes for the sake of art and for the sake of creating and thereâs a big difference designing for real women and itâs the real women out there who actually consume much of the clothing that you can see everywhere and it is such a challenge because every single woman is different every single body shape is different and I think it was a challenge for me but I really enjoyed it because I learnt a lot.
How do you feel when you see people wearing your designs?
I get excited! For example two days ago I was eating in a restaurant in Old Street with a friend of mine and I was like âHey, check her out sheâs wearing one of my tops!â That was really good it was a good feeling to see someone actually appreciating what Iâve done.
Moving on to next season what do you think will be the key trends?
I think you have to start with the colour palette. Thereâs quite a lot of muted greys and blacks also with a touch of berry colours, something like a hot pink or purple. Also a catwalk trend at the moment for Autumn/Winter thereâs a lot of embellished pieces, so if you want to add a bit of sparkle into your wardrobe and be on trend, find pieces that have embellishment. It could be the collar, it could be the cuff, it could be a detail on a dress.
Are you doing anything to prepare for London fashion week?
At the moment Iâm devoting my time to Oli.co.uk, Iâm working on the Spring Summer collection for next year as well as preparing for obviously London fashion week, hopefully next year. I said Iâm not gonna show till next year anyway so I still have quite a lot of preparation to do. Itâs quite slow but weâre getting there.
Thereâs recently been a revival of original supermodels such as Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington been used in campaigns. What do you think about this?
I think itâs great. I think being hot doesnât mean you have to be 16, 17 or 18. Anybody can be hot. At their age, gosh, they look stunning. Theyâre the girls that, when I was younger I was looking at them and I was like âGosh. This is why I wanna be in fashionâ. One thing that Iâm gonna say though is that Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, I think theyâre good role models for girls today as women. Theyâre not size zero or anything like that. I think what theyâre doing is really good.
What about Naomi Campbell? Is she a good role model?!
Well Naomi is Naomi! I would say that everybodyâs different but you gotta give the girl some credit. I think she had some problems and stuff like that. Iâm not here to judge anyone but there you go.
What do you look for in your own models?
I like my models to feel comfortable in what theyâre wearing. Iâve used models before from size six to size sixteen. So long as they can sell the garments, so long as they can move in the garments, so long as theyâre comfortable I think thatâs what makes a good model.
JessicaWatson â Female First