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The months between issues are long and the format of our magazine limited but there are lots of people, work and ideas that we don’t get to feature, so over the next few months and into the run up of /- 4  we will be offering a little insight to our favourite designers of the season through our blog.  The information is all out there, the collections  and work analysed and picked apart, but as always we at /- love the “WHY”, so a simple question and answer format allows some space to think. We love that people take the time to think, make and do.

MATHEW MILLER, MENSWEAR A/W 10

Describe what you do?

I investigate, by this I mean I take a subject, be it social, political, ethical or industrial for example and turn it into a narrative. Some times the narrative can be formed from a variety of different sources, which in turn forms the ethos of the collection. Which, eventually become garments to be worn.

How did you come to be doing this?

Originally I went to university to study Forensic Science, which is something that I still find incredibly interesting. I found the course too formal and limiting in its approach and mentally suffocating and I realised I craved the freedom that the Arts offered. So I went back to Art College, which led to my becoming a fashion designer.

How easy or hard is it?

It’s incredibly difficult to be both successful and creative in the fashion industry, actually in any of the creative fields. The competition is immense, but I have a competitive nature, it is something that I thrive on and I adore challenges presented to me.

What would you change about your industry, your work, you?

I’m constantly changing, something which I do on a daily basis. I feel that I live in a constant state of flux, because I have this need and want to find and ultimately achieve perfection. That is why I design, why I will always design, to satisfy my urges and feelings. In regards to the industry, I could spend hours talking about what I see as the flaws within the fashion world. Sometimes it feels incredibly archaic and scared of moving forward. This is not to say that I do not like tradition, I feel if the industry evolved and started to work more with technological institutions, as well as mathematicians and industrial designers things would become interesting and possibly more relevant to the times we live in. I realise that there are other designers out there pushing the limits of fabric technology and production, but it still feels a little niche.

Is there a plan?

In the beginning there wasn’t a plan, but as I have started to learn and grow as a designer a plan has started to form. I realise that working within this industry you have to be prepared to play the long game, to build up the business slowly. I would say everyday, every time I speak to someone, I learn something new and that has a bearing on my “plan”. It is important to always be open to change, to negotiation, but at the same to keep this working for you and to always have in your mind why you originally started.

Is the process from idea to product or output a changing one, or a routine one?

The generic answer would be that as a designer the design process is one that never changes, some might stick to formulas learnt at college, others to methods learnt from other designers. Where I am concerned, my working process is adaptable and seems to evolve with each project. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve started to explore the notion of perfection and viewing this in terms of the design process as a whole, I haven’t found the perfect or ideal process yet! The other day I attended a talk about design, I was sat at a table with a woman in her 50s and a man in his early 30s, we got talking to one another and I asked them what their jobs were? The woman told me she was a mathematician/scientist and the man a computer programmer. For me this was too good to be true and a thousand questions started tumbling out of my mouth! From this dialogue the seeds of a possible collaboration have started another project for the future.

Is there always an audience/ character/ market in mind, an external audience?

It would be foolish as a designer to say that you do not have someone/thing in mind. I have a specific target in mind, but this changes as mine and societies views on masculinity change. As my working methods rely more and more heavily on technology and my concepts become more complex, the final product is just part of the process. What I find interesting is what sort of man would wear Matthew Miller? To me he is interested in aesthetics, is diligent and has an appreciation for construction as well as design. Though on the flipside when I see friends wearing my clothes I see them in a different light and the notion of who would wear the garments shifts. I am definitely influenced by my past, by the present and also the future.

Explain the relationship between art/creativity and establishment/industry, can the two co-exist? Is successful work diffused work?

I have had countless conversations around this subject, to me, creativity is an enabler. It allows us to create, to design, to produce an end product that is defined as fashion or art, for example. Though people, such as mathematicians are creative people, just it is defined differently, through stereotypes formed over time and passed down from generation to generation. Everything feels focused on business right now and there is an argument that says fashion shouldn’t follow normal economic models, shouldn’t the investment in a beautiful object be enough? True, we must make money to survive, there are certain modes of working, but they are there to be broken, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. You rely on networks of people you meet at college and out within the industry and beyond and through this discourse work gets made. I think because of this, the work is stronger and probably braver, it isn’t diffused.

Is there a defining line between you the individual/ designer/creative and the audience/market/output.

Some designers create a mystic around them, refuse to do interviews, have their photographs taken, others are the complete opposite, media whores! For me it is important to engage with my audience, especially in this world where we are constantly bombarded with information. I do not think there is a line between myself and my audience, as I said earlier I am fascinated at how my clothes look on friends and others. Also, remembering back to when I was a student, it was interesting learning about designers I respected, to see who they were, how normal a lot of them were! I understand why some designers chose to remain anonymous, but I feel that to make a young business successful, you have to be visible and available.

Who or what are your influences, heroes, idols, muses, irritants?

My hero is Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Others include Jackson Pollock and my muse at the moment is David Bowie (1976), but this changes all the time. Friends have influenced me, how they wear their clothes, turning the ordinary into the interesting, I like it when people maintain a style for years, altering it slightly, moving it forward. My main influence are words, they are so powerful, they can inspire, destroy, annoy, irritate, achieve, motivate, immerse, disconnect and make or break an individual.

If money wasn’t an issue what would you do/produce/create or not do?

I would re-create a contemporary take on the Ballet Russes overseen by Sergei Diaghilev. Obviously Diaghilev is dead, but because money is no object, I would genetically bring him back to life. It would be fascinating to see what he would produce using a selection of designers, artists and musicians working today. The resulting performance would be staged in my living room for my close friends.

Tell me about the current collection/project you are working on; what is your current source of inspiration?

At the moment I am working on a project for an award I recently won. I am re-designing a classic, using binary codes and algorithms as inspiration, but that is all I can say at the moment. The results will be sold in a pop-up store next March in London.

Is there an emotional, physical, mental backdrop to your work, what gets you motivated work wise?

My work is a product of a natural curiosity. I find it impossible to sit still for too long and I love meeting new people, engaging in dialogues and learning from them. Earlier I mentioned how I met a mathematician and a computer programmer and how through that initial meeting a project was born, that is the best example of how I get motivated.

If you were to study a subject which is related to your practice but could inform your work what would it be?

I would study computer programming, it is something that I started to study at A-Level, but it was like learning a whole new language. As it becomes more relevant to my work, I wish I’d stuck at it, but then on the flipside, I get to collaborate with people from other walks of life.

If you could do something else what would it be?

I would definitely be an explorer.

This issue is themed “2ND SKIN” how would you translate this?

I would translate this into a “put the lotion in the basket” Buffalo Bill style shoot. The boundaries between masculinity, mass-murder and tailoring would be explored, think Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) trapped in suburbia. Super-saturated versus super-glossy images with Vincent Gallo modeling, I’d only sell the magazine on a USB stick so when you flick through the various photo shoots you get a digital song to listen to as you view, such as Q Lazarus – Goodbye Horses, or some Huey Lewis and The News!

(WOW, if only we had contacted Mathew before this issue came out)

Thanks you Mathew.

Photos: David Poole.

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