CREDITS:

Designer: Joshua James Small

Creative Direction: Joshua James Small

Photography: Jade Danielle Smith

Stylist: Nathan Henry

Make Up: Maria Comparetto

Hair Stylist: Fabio Vivan

Hair Assistant: Alessandro Spiota

Model One: Chloe Bettine Irvin from FIRST

Model Two: Estelle Digridi

Venue: The Queen Adalaide

Cover Illustration: Scott W Mason

Garment Composition in Detail

Sustainability

'THRU THESE TEARS'

SEASONLESS COLLECTION 002 2021

on Maroon’. Each look balances colour with a tangible finesse that evocates feeling, devoid of caricature-esc tropes. Every silhouette treads a fine line between vulnerable exposure and abrasive boldness. This is reflected most explicitly in look five, with a heavy and somewhat brutalist vegan leather checkerboard skirt, layered over a delicate and hand embellished French Chantilly lace top. Small also collaborates for the first time with knitwear designer and sister Sophie Alice Small, who worked on a hybrid hand/machine manufactured, fringed lace body-con midi. Sculpted to the female form with trained precision, the knit

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fleeting than ever; it can often be those closest to us that do the most damage. Inspired by life pre-pandemic, Small’s muse is despondent and lonely, yet perseverant. Melancholy has shaped her entire being, and yet still, she presents herself as the antithesis of that feeling.

he breakdown of regular life has upended how we live and feel. Human connection feels more

Built from the remnants of sadness, this collection hones in on the strong, necessary front we create to push forth.

ven those at their lowest ebb can deceive the savviest observer through a manifested confidence.

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Human connection feels more fleeting than ever; it can often be those closest to us that do the most damage.

Finding solace in laborious creation, each look spotlights heavy focus on couture technique. From hand sewn lace applique, to hand embellished pearls and crystals, the full body of work exhibits an excess of over 500 hours of hand craft. Through a shifted and darker colour pallet, every piece echoes Small’s empathetic interest in the late works of Mark Rothko, most specifically ‘Black in Deep Red’ and ‘Red

inding solace in laborious creation, each look spotlights heavy focus on couture technique. From hand sewn

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intentionally recedes at the bust, displaying an intrusive abstraction to the upper silhouette. The ethereal use of volume and apparent skillset in fine fabrics such as lace and silk chiffon, tropes akin to Small’s brand, are carried through from the previous collection, with an updated version of the ‘Rita Dress’. Manufactured to the sounds of UMRU’s remix of ‘Ocean of Tears’ by Caroline Polachek and Burial’s ‘Archangel’, among a playlist of contemporaries, this release catalogues an honest feeling of brokenness.

THANK YOU:

Thank you to Barry Taylor and all at The British Fashion Council.

Thank you to the following for their respective help, advice and assistance given throughout the process of forming this collection:

Sophie Alice Small; Karen Pau, Siena Jones; Emily Tuck; Daisy Hayward; Jodi Style, Charlotte Duringer; Bernice Brobbey, Gareth Roberts, and the full team at FIRST model management; Douglas Greenwood; Rawnie Whittow-Williams, and the full team at Swarovski; Roger Shakles and the full staff at Sewcraft Swindon; Quinn Gormley; and Richard Battye.

Equally, thank you to the following for their support over the past year:

Patrick McDowell; Chloe Baines; Kamran Rajput; Tori West; Maddy Reid; Megan Taylor; Ann-Marie Voina; Alexandra Fullerton; Clare Press; The full team at SHOWstudio; Nina Van Volkinburg; Checkii Harling; Evelyn Mora; Olivia Chammas; Stephanie Irwin; Iolo Lewis Edwards; and thank you especially to my best friend and mother, Helen Louise Small.

Thank you to New College Swindon for the generous use of their studios.

SUPPORTED BY: