Interview with fashion designer Erin Laurel Hayhow, studio resident at The Margate School. Filmed and edited by Nicola Roper, student on The Margate School's European Fine Art Masters programme.
‘See the beauty in everything, find the light in the darkness.’ is EIRINN HAYHOW brand philosophy, as she creates unique, high vibe garments, salvaged from unwanted materials.
Sustainability has always been in the heart of her creativity. A self taught designer, her love of fashion came from a young age.
'Putting my legs through the bottom of carrier bags from our weekly shopping trips, pulling up the handles like straps, I had made my first pair of dungarees. paper - mêrching together tissue boxes and toilet roll tubes, painting them pink, I made myself some high- heeled shoes, then strutted down my garden like a catwalk.'
This playfulness is still present in her garments today.
EIRINN HAYHOW initially studied Fine Art, graduating with a 1st. After graduating, she spent many years in Berlin, which had a huge influence on her work. She returned to the UK in 2018 to study her masters in Fashion Design, and graduated with a distinction in 2019.
She creates her own dyes from foraging plants and berries, and using fruit and vegetable waste. Everything is made from salvaged and sustainable materials that have a positive impact on our ecosystem.
She continues to research innovative ways to produce materials from natural resources.
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The Margate School (TMS) is an independent not-for-profit postgraduate liberal arts school. Situated across a former four storey Woolworths Building that had stood empty since 2008, The Margate School by its very nature has become a new hub for innovation and creativity in the town of Margate and plays an influential part in the story of Margate’s regeneration.
The Margate School's theme Art, Society, Nature aims to provide a socially engaged and sustainability-driven programme, delivered through knowledge sharing, space and facility provision, enabling creative practitioners to realise their potential.
The Margate School is rooted in community and connect locally, nationally and internationally, reaching out through its academic programmes, events, workshops, residencies, guest lectures, exhibitions and facilities. Much of its provision is subsidised in support of Margate and its diverse creative and wider communities.
www.themargateschool.com
The Margate School
31-33 High Street
Margate
CT9 1DX