From Japan to Strictly Come Dancing: Fashion student looks back on “mad” design experience

A Fashion Design with Business student has been reflecting on a whirlwind few months which saw her work appear on Strictly Come Dancing after being featured by one of Scotland’s leading kilt specialists.

Earlier this year, Katie Chrystal’s Japanese-inspired outfit was selected to be displayed in the window of MacGregor and MacDuff’s flagship store in Glasgow’s Bath Street.

Her design, which combined tartan with elements of traditional and modern Japan, then appeared in front of millions with an unexpected appearance on prime time Saturday night television.

We caught up with Katie, who’s now in her third year at GCU, to hear all about her work and what it means for her future career aspirations:

How did you first hear about the opportunity and why did you decide to focus on Japan?

“We were basically told we had the chance to get involved in a live industry project between the University and MacGregor and MacDuff. We could pick any theme we wanted as long as it related to a different culture.

“I’ve got a family member and half of her family is in Japan. I saw her travel photos and just thought it looked amazing. I also worked at Gleneagles and saw how interested Japanese tourists were in tweed and tartan. They really liked the cultural side of Scotland, so I thought that would be another reason to go down that route with my design.

“Japan is also really well-known for its fashion, so I knew it all tied in well. It’s a very visually appealing place because there’s modern Tokyo but also the very traditional side of Japanese fashion as well. I wanted to focus on women’s clothing because I thought it would be something different to traditional kilts that men would wear.”

Clearly a lot of thought has went into your design, tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind it?

“The first step was to make a white shirt and that really got me thinking about all the different styles. I had to really think if I wanted to go contemporary or more traditional.

“Some of the design has Japanese lettering symbols and I used that for the cape part because it’s quite structured. I really liked the contrast between nature and the city and wanted to reflect that in the design.

“I actually looked at one of the fastest crossings in Japan for the pleating. I wasn’t thinking of doing a kilt-style because I thought it would be too close to what MacGregor and MacDuff already focus on, but it made sense because of the sharp movement all moving at one time and then stopping; which is exactly what happens when you wear a kilt.

“The whole design was a really long process – it took me the whole term! The sewing part was a lot of trial and error. I was actually millimetres out with the kilt so I had to go back and re-do it all at one point. There was a lot of back and forth and making little changes. It was so frustrating but it was worth it in the end.”

How did you find out your design had been selected as the winner of the live industry project?

“We had an interview with a couple of people from MacGregor and MacDuff where we got to talk about our designs and explain what the images meant to us, rather than them trying to interpret it.

“We then had the GCU Fashion Show as well, which let them see it live on a model. Unfortunately I missed it because I was on holiday, which was such a shame because I really wanted to see it! In saying that, I actually got photos back from the event and it was really good to actually see it on someone, especially getting to see how it moved – it made a big difference.

“MacGregor and MacDuff then selected their favourite design on show that day. I basically got an email from my lecturer Laura Hardingham saying mine had been picked as the winner.”

How did that feel?

“I didn’t think it would be me, I really didn’t. It made me feel like it was worth all the hard work. It was definitely a big confidence boost for me because I feel like I’m not the best sewer – I always have ideas but I’m not the best at completing it! It’s really spurred me on to keep improving.

“It’s definitely given me a taste of the real world and I’m also really grateful for that experience of something going out to the public.”

To top it all off, your work then appeared on Strictly Come Dancing! How did that all come about?

“I didn’t actually know about it! It was a massive shock because it wasn’t part of the competition or anything like that. Laura Hardingham had emailed me and told me they’d done filming at the shop and they had a few shots of the window which focused on my design, so that was really nice!”

“I’ve been down to MacGregor and MacDuff to actually see it and they’ve put on such a good display. They’ve put up a temporary wall with some of my inspiration boards so you can see the process behind it all. I feel really proud every time I walk by it.

“It’s pretty mad to look back on it all. I would never have thought something like this would have happened.”

Has the experience helped you decide the specific area of fashion you want to focus on in future?

“I would say visual merchandising is quite a big thing and something I find really interesting in terms of attracting consumers. I do also really like the design part of fashion because it’s such a satisfying process when everything all comes together.

“A lot of the opportunities tend to be in London or abroad, so I’ll just have to wait and see. I do definitely think I need to visit Japan though after this whole experience!”

Find out more about GCU’s BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business programme here

By Ross Clark    
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter