Meet Patrick McDowell
London based sustainable fashion designer Patrick McDowell is reinventing the role of a fashion designer as we know it, believing in not just designing amazing clothing but also the systems they sit within.
Striving to reinvent luxury through a sustainable mindset, Patrick has re-purposed garments into new pieces of furniture for this collaboration. Patrick’s brand has three founding pillars: supporting people and the planet, uplifting the LGBTQ+ community and promoting creative education.
Re-designing fashion
Patrick’s style stems from his Liverpool roots and is bolstered by his attention to craft and modernity. He juxtaposes the hyper masculine with the glamour associated with his hometown and draws inspiration from his family history. Believing that telling your own personal story is the best way to create a sustainable, authentic narrative.
After studying at Central Saint Martins, Patrick has gone on to reinvent the role of a fashion designer as we know it today: proving that it is not only a designer’s responsibility to create beautiful clothing, but to also redesign the systems they sit within. Hosting London Fashion Week’s first ever Swap Shop, collaborating with global brands to promote sustainability and creating collections completely digitally, Patrick’s creativity knows no bounds.
Sustainability is at the core of Patrick’s practice, as he strives to reinvent luxury through a sustainable mindset. Crafted from reclaimed fabrics and ethically produced materials from the likes of Burberry and Swarovski, his pieces are designed and made with a low carbon footprint in mind. He is a strong advocate for reducing fashion’s global impact through designing with moral practice.
Patrick says “I first made a bag out of a pair of jeans when I was thirteen – since then I’ve been working to create new things out of old things. I’m so interested in how people take clothes and make them their own – how they change and become more than just art because people live their life in them.”
Planet Studio
For RHS Chelsea 2021, Patrick dressed Gemma Collins for the show and met James whilst he was there. When James reconnected with Patrick this year to work together on Planet Studio, it was clear that they could create something incredible.
Patrick’s sustainable ethos and Chelsea Flower Show’s garden design excellence work in great harmony – after all, all fabric originally comes from soil and so it’s natural for Patrick to want to connect back to the natural world.
Sustainable garments by Patrick will be displayed in a coat-check installation in the studio, and bespoke textiles will adorn the furniture – paying homage to the outlandish style of 70s club Studio 54. A specially designed T-shirt, made in collaboration with Hit and Run, will also be available to order at the event.
Patrick says: “It’s been fantastic to again push our capabilities in terms of sustainability – working to create furniture and soft furnishings for the first time by reclaiming over 25 pairs of jeans, alongside our amazing one-off show pieces.”
Meet the 2022 Collaborators
A collision of houseplants, bespoke ceramics, textiles and retro lighting will convey the eccentricities that were synonymous with Studio 54.
Find out more
