Unknown Origins

Deborah Lewis on Fashion

March 07, 2021 Deborah Lewis Season 1 Episode 47
Unknown Origins
Deborah Lewis on Fashion
Show Notes Transcript

Bestselling Fashion Designer, Deborah Lewis, provides perspective on creativity and entrepreneurship in the fashion industry, establishing her own venture, noname design, and currently, mentors start-up sustainable fashion brands to design, make, and produce saleable garment collections.

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Music by Iain Mutch 

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Roy Sharples:

Hello, I'm Roy Sharples, and welcome to the unknown origins podcast. Why are you listening to this podcast? Are you an industry expert? Looking for insights? are you growing your career? Or are you a dear friend, helping this four year old pylon, I created the unknown origins podcast, to have the most inspiring conversations with creative industry personalities and experts about entrepreneurship, pop culture, art, music, film, and fashion. Ever since childhood, Deborah Lewis had an eye for fashion and design, with a knack for translating what people desire to make them feel special and empowered into what they wear. As a fashion designer, she spent over the last 20 years designing best selling garments with some of the UK's most influential retail brands. She established her own venture, named design, and currently mentors, startups, sustainable fashion brands, to design make and produce saleable garment collections. Hello, and welcome, Deborah. Deborah, what inspired and attracted you to become an entrepreneur in the fashion industry,

Deborah Lewis:

I think as a little girl, I always had aspirations really to just be my own person and not really follow the crowd. You know, working in, and just being interested in fashion. And my mum used to take me shopping in the school holidays. And I used to really get enthralled with like, all the colors and the textures and everything that she was buying, you know, and I was a classic kind of like, trying on my mom shoes, you know, as I was growing up, and like being really like, imagining myself when I was growing up growing up, what was I going to wear, when I was going out what was I going to do here, there and this set the other and I think that meant to me, freedom. And that meant to me being independent, which is always something that is part of my character. So, you know, I never saw myself as working for somebody else. I always felt I was creating from an early age, I mean, I was really into art school had all my paintings and drawings all over the, in the building, from like a young age really. So, you know, it kind of meant that this kind of artistic way of life was always to do with creating your own things, you know. So when it came to business and work, I just applied the same kind of ideas to that as well.

Roy Sharples:

What does being an entrepreneur mean to you,

Deborah Lewis:

it means that I can inspire other people with my skills and what it is that I'm creating for the world. It means that I can live into something that's bigger than myself. And it just means that I can be a contribution as well to the to the people that I am actually creating what I've created for if that makes sense.

Roy Sharples:

Yes, it absolutely does. So in terms of your creative process, how do you make the invisible visible by dreaming up ideas, developing them into concepts, and then bringing them into actualization?

Deborah Lewis:

Well, that's a really, really good, a good question. And, well, the processes really, I mean, for me, it's really important to work with other people. So you know that there'll be an idea that I have as a concept, but in order for it to be realized out there in the world, it's really important that I brainstorm that concept, and speak to other people about it. You know, I've kind of got over myself with regards to kind of keeping all my days close to my chest. So, you know, the first thing that I would do would be to just sort of have conversations with my team around certain ideas. And get just going backwards, the first thing I do is actually write something down, or I draw something, I mean, that's the first thing I do. And then I kind of analyze whether it's a good idea or not. And then that's when I then talk to a team or approach, somebody that I think would be really good to speak to about what what kind of idea I've got, and then that's when it starts growing, evolving, or it's like, no, go, I'm not gonna work on that anymore.

Roy Sharples:

Excellent. And what was the inspiration behind your business initiative, and no name design?

Deborah Lewis:

Um, well, really, I had quite a number of years, around 15 years of working in the fashion industry by that stage when I actually set the company up. And I wanted just to encompass again, when we're looking at having a team of people Pull with you really wanted to encompass a name that would include those guys, I say like that. And at the time I set up the company, it was really primarily to do with working with print design. And I was working with different freelancers. And generally speaking in that industry, there was a lot of studios because I set up a print studio, who a lot of these studios, they would just randomly or they have a team of designers, but they wouldn't really name check them. So I kind of wanted to have this studio where actually Okay, when you say no name, it sounds quite anonymous. Yeah. Again, it's kind of also encompassing, it can encompass anything of anyone.

Roy Sharples:

Yes, that's very much the image that evokes being a lifelong resident of London, where there is a constant cultural exchange, diversity of people and international trade. It is a magnet for the creative industries, especially in design and, and fashion, also film media and music and technology in an array of other industries. But that must have been an inspiring and opportunistic environment to grow up in.

Deborah Lewis:

Yeah, I mean, it was absolutely amazing. I wouldn't change it for the world. I mean, I've traveled quite a bit. And I was, at some point, I was going out a lot in clubbing and with the friends that I had at the time, it was like, make an outfit during the week, and then you just show it off on a Saturday, and I'd get into clubs free, because I was just, you know, parading in these, like amazing outfits, you know, so it was a really, it's a real, it was a real fun time in different areas of my life actually, being in London,

Roy Sharples:

what are the key skills needed to be an entrepreneur within the fashion industry,

Deborah Lewis:

I think you need a very, very strong commitment to what it is that you've created, okay? You need to really have that enthusiasm. And again, I don't want to come across as being a bit cheesy with what I'm saying, but is kind of a typical things that you kind of hear, really, and you need to be able to trust yourself in the process. I think for me, that was really key, not, you know, the areas of times in my business where it wasn't moving it was because I didn't believe in myself. And I have done a lot of work around a lot of personal development work around that as well. In order sort of, to get me to that point in that level, have been able to trust myself enough just to step into what I need to step into to create my business. Yeah, those are the main main areas, I would say,

Roy Sharples:

you're in a time machine, and it's going backwards, based on your lessons learned to date, in terms of the pitfalls to avoid, and the keys to success. What would you say to a younger Deborah,

Deborah Lewis:

have a mentor, you know, have somebody this this idea, again, of trusting the process is like also trusting. If I don't trust myself, I can't trust other people. So I think having somebody along the way, who's going to be able to who's gone through this entrepreneurial process, he's going to be able to contribute to me, that really would be in a really good help. For me, I think from from the outset.

Roy Sharples:

Yeah, never underestimate mentorship and as definitely a strong pattern that comes through with almost all of the creatives and entrepreneurs that we've had on this podcast series, in that standing on the shoulders of giants by seeking counsel, from people that you trust, respect and admire, and finding those positive role models, who are willing to share their skills, insights and expertise to help nurture your ideas. And also understanding and respecting history and infusing best practices and to finding the future by truly innovating and not reinventing the wheel. Deborah, could you share a couple more stories from your entrepreneurial journey in the fashion industry, and some of the, the insights and learnings from along the way,

Deborah Lewis:

I started out working with designing for the UK High Street retailers. And I did that through suppliers. So I used to basically work directly with the buyers from just the big names. I mean, you know, you go to the high street, I mean, it's out the landscape has changed now obviously in the last you know, year, two years, it was very fast pace. It was you know, the beginning it was very exciting because it was just sort of like actually just you know, working through the whole process, which is all the stuff that I teach now. So from initial concept and trends right through to actually designing the range, and working out all the different elements of the product development. So liaising with the factories, going to see the factory, so it's a whole, you know, this whole process is what I got trained in. But the problem is, is that after X amount of years, it's very exhausting. And I just got really jaded with the industry. Because the process is very much the big guys squeezing the small guys, next, let's put it that way. And I saw a lot of very unethical practices happening. On all scales, it's not even just the big guys, it's also what was happening in the factories with the workers and that kind of thing, really. So I got really clear that I didn't want to do that anymore, because it was sucking my soul, it was very, you know, if you're doing something that is not aligning with your beliefs, you know, your core principles and beliefs, then it's very difficult to sort of carry on it on a kind of day to day basis with with, with what it is you're doing. And obviously, in business, as we know, we spend most of our time and again, it's a bit of a cheesy line, isn't it, we spend most of our time in business. So it's got to be really and at work. So it's got to be really important what you're doing. And I've always, always believed that, you know, it's to follow your passion. And, you know, another story is kind of like actually getting through that muddy bit as well, of just, you know, following a creative path. But, you know, I decided that I was going to my passion was really helping other brands or other designers that were looking at a more ethical and sustainable way of being able to produce their garments and starting to look at a kind of more of an in a transparent supply chain, as it were. And there were lots of people that were working in that area that have been for years, when I was deciding to sort of look at that. And for me, it was about networking with other designers, or, you know, other people in the industry. And I learned a lot in that sort of interim period of when I left the fast fashion world to actually stepping into mentoring other designers, it was kind of like a two, three year period, you know, and I learned a lot about what sustainability could mean for new startups. Because, you know, I was kind of in the learning process in the beginning, so I kind of was coming from that perspective. And also, I was on a leadership program for two years. And that was teaching me really around kind of cementing what it is that I what was important to me, for other people, and how I could apply that. And I was coaching alongside with the leadership as well, I'm creating, learning how to create teams, and to do that in communication. So after I left that program, it was a case of right, okay, what I love coaching people and really seeing, assisting and helping them seeing what it is that they're up to in the world. So if I can put that together with kind of my experience of, you know, going through the design process and setting up brands and understanding how to sell to a particular type of customer, and to do it sustainably with the garment range that you're creating, then that would just be like a winner. So that's how I have pivoted in the last year and a half, with my business with the with mentoring staff designers. So I do that in a number of different ways. We have a five day free challenge, where people can come in and for a week, there's a task that they get given over a five day period. And they get to basically learn and have a breakthrough around starting and building their own sustainable brands. And if they want to continue the journey during the week, then they are able to enroll into the paid program, which is a great mentoring program that I have. And the other level of what I give all my services a one to one private mentor. And

Roy Sharples:

so in terms of the entry points for the people that you can mentor, and coach, I mean, are those all aspiring, like fashion designers and entrepreneurs within the fashion industry? Or is it more broader than that?

Deborah Lewis:

Yeah, it's generally speaking, I have two camps. I have people that are at the stage where they're just thinking about setting up a brand. And they just have no idea where to go, Yeah, what to do. And then I have another camp who may have started and when I say started They might have produced one or two garments or some products. And they're totally lost in sort of like the next steps because it kind of hasn't worked with this the actually trying to launch

Roy Sharples:

that time machine is now going forward. What's your vision for the future of entrepreneurship within the fashion industry.

Deborah Lewis:

So my vision is really to support other world just to support fashion businesses with regards to what it is that they want to create for their brands. And just in you, it's really important for me that they have everything they need to be able to set up, be able to understand how to create their garment range, and do it sustainably and also be able to sell.

Roy Sharples:

One of the sources of insights that I recently came across was a staggering statistic. Around the fashion industry produces more carbon emissions than all international flights and monetized shipping combined. 20% of global wastewater comes from textile production, and more than three fifths of clothing ends up in incinerators or landfill within a year of being produced. Is this a mega trend that fashion designers and retailers are trying to address head on?

Deborah Lewis:

Yeah, I mean, I definitely see where, you know, obviously, what we've been through the last year, year and a half, I do see that, that has had a major impact on that conversation. And I am seeing from the conversations that I'm having consumers really starting to wake up to what it is that they have been bought in and actually question how much they've been buying as well. And, you know, it's up to us, as in the people that are forefront in industry like myself to mainly be creating more product that fits into that category. Because, you know, when we're looking at the world and how everything is structured, and and also what we're leaving behind, and that was what was really important to me when I started this journey sustainability was really looking at what are we leaving behind the generation to inherit? So, you know, when I'm thinking of it like that, it's incredibly important.

Roy Sharples:

Well said, our outputs are the next generations inputs that comes with accountability and responsibility to pass the baton to the next generation by leaving the world in better shape than you found it. Make it count. You have been listening to the unknown origins podcast. Please follow, subscribe, rate and review us. For more information go to unknown origins.com Thank you for listening.