A few months back, we linked up with Bentley Motors and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London to put together a design project. The project saw five BA Fashion graduates tasked with reimagining ‘Black Dandyism’, inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” with reference to Bentley’s “Bentayga Atelier Edition,” the brand's newest design-led model.
The winner is Ella Douglas, a London-based designer with a focus on auto aesthetics, who created a dress made out of chevron claret bow tweed, reimagining Black dandyism through a contemporary lens. Douglas was selected as the winner by the founder and CEO of Culted, Pavel Dler, BA Fashion course leader at CSM, Sarah Gresty, Head of CMF design & bespoke, Andrea Jensen, Designer Supriya LeLe, and stylist/content creator Wisdom Kaye.
To mark the end of the project and Ella’s success, we met up with her to talk about how Bentley’s philosophy played into her design process, why she’d love to see basketball OG Dennis Rodman in the fit, and her advice for emerging designers.
How did Bentley's design philosophy influence the final garment?
"I wanted to create a garment that was very professional, traditional, but also showcasing new innovative designs. In particular, the design was inspired by the Bentley Bentayga and the sculptural elements around it. So I wanted the garment to be very sculptural and have that classic design that was part of the modern twist that you see with the Bentley."
You ended up creating a dress. How did you reframe black dandyism through a different lens than a classic suit?
"When you think of Black dandyism, you think of a classic tailored suit, and I think I looked at it through a female lens as a way of really challenging the fluidity and seeing how I can create a garment in the modern era. Dandyism is about fluidity; it's about dressing to impress, and dressing how you feel best represents yourself. And so, for me, I represented the theme through more of a feminine silhouette."
What/who was on your mood board? Any particular trailblazers of the Black Dandyism movement?
"I was looking at the Black Dandyism movement through the female gaze, in particular the female queer gaze. So I was looking a lot into churchgoers and how women dressed in their Sunday best. It wasn't any one person, it was actually a collection, a movement of these women and how they present themselves and how they really dress up, and I wanted that to be shown throughout the garment."
If there were any famous person, dead or alive, who could wear this design, who would you choose?
"It's a hard question. I'd probably have to say Dennis Rodman. I feel like he would look really, really cool in this garment."
Did you hit any roadblocks (no pun intended) during the design process? If so, how did you overcome them?
"I hit a few roadblocks. It's quite a hard garment. I tested myself. I think the hardest thing was probably that the fabric arrived later than planned, and we ended up only having eight days to create the whole garment. It was really chaotic but really fun, and I learnt a lot."
The creative industry is notoriously tough at the moment, particularly when it comes to funding for young creatives. Is there any advice you would give to aspiring designers?
"It's a hard time right now, and I think the advice I would give is to look after yourself. The industry is a really tough place, and I think it really creates this message of “don't sleep, don't eat, just keep working,” and actually, you have to look after yourself to create the best work. So my advice would probably be to look after yourself, get as much sleep as possible, and then just do your best, and do what you can every day of your life."
Hit up our YouTube channel to follow along the full journey of our design project with Bentley and Central Saint Martins, from briefing the five BA Fashion graduates involved and finding out more about the Bentley Bentayga Atelier Edition to breaking down our winner, Ella Douglas’ piece.
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