Thinking Like a Designer: My Journey from Radnor to Fashion School
Pippa Mallinson’s love of fashion, and design began at an early age, and when she joined Radnor Prep, her creative talent was quickly recognised and encouraged by her teachers. Now pursuing her passion for fashion, Pippa recently returned to Radnor to share her work with pupils and reflect on where her interest began, the teachers who helped nurture it and the creative path she is now following.
During her visit earlier this term, Pippa caught up with former teachers and spoke to pupils in their Art lessons. Here, she shares her journey in her own words.
“I joined Radnor in Year 6. I remember visiting the school beforehand and being particularly impressed by the Art department. I had already started experimenting with making clothes at home, but coming to Radnor gave me an environment where that interest was really noticed and encouraged.
“I had begun sewing almost by accident. When I was younger, I couldn't always find the clothes I wanted to wear, so I thought, how hard can it be? I'll just make my own things. My gran had a sewing machine and showed me how to use it, and from there I largely taught myself. I watched tutorials, cut up old clothes and put them back together, experimenting until I worked out what I was doing.
“I didn't use patterns because nobody had taught me how. Instead, I would work directly onto a mannequin and judge where I thought things should go. Interestingly, that's still the way I prefer to work now. My designs tend to be quite sculptural, and being able to see how something sits around the human form makes much more sense to me than designing it flat.
“One of my first memories of Radnor sums up my approach quite well. We were given a homework task to review our favourite book and could either write an essay or create an artefact. Writing wasn't my favourite thing, so I decided to make a dress.
“I printed pages from the book directly onto fabric using our printer at home, sewed them together to create a corset and skirt, and then made tiny butterflies on which I wrote my book review. Looking back, it was probably quite an ambitious response to a Year 6 homework task, but at Radnor that creativity was embraced.
“As I moved into Senior School, the Art department became incredibly important to me. Mrs Robinson, Head of Art and Photography, knew how interested I was in fashion and would give me my own projects to work on during breaktimes or after school. She didn't have to do that – these weren't part of our normal Art lessons – but she saw something I was passionate about and gave me the opportunity to explore it.
“One project was simply to make something out of paper. I ended up creating a dress covered in hundreds of individual roses made from toilet paper. I would make the roses whenever I had a spare moment, carry them around in a bag and then go home and glue them onto the dress. I was only about 12 at the time.
“Those individual projects continued through Years 7, 8 and 9, and when I took Art at GCSE I was able to incorporate more textiles into my work. I loved experimenting with texture, structure and unusual materials. For one project inspired by natural forms, I explored flowers and spines; for another, based around layers, I created a piece using mushrooms and real tree bark.
“Miss Clegg was also hugely influential. She introduced me to techniques that I still use today. One was shibori, where you manipulate fabric by tying objects into it and heating it so that it retains a particular shape and texture. Miss Clegg initially showed me how to do it using marbles, but I started experimenting with twigs and other objects. Years later, I used that same technique in my final major project on my Art and Design Foundation course.
“That is what stands out when I think about my time at Radnor. The teachers didn't simply help me produce something that would get a good mark. They helped me develop my own ideas, experiment with different approaches and become more confident in my creativity. It was about developing me as a designer and an artist.
“I think that mindset has stayed with me.
“After A Levels, I completed an Art and Design Foundation at University of the Arts London, formerly the Central Saint Martins Foundation, where I was proud to achieve a Distinction. In September, I began my Fashion degree at the University of Westminster.
“Looking back, one of the most valuable things Radnor gave me was the confidence to take my own creativity seriously. Teachers went above and beyond to help me explore my interests, while developing the skills and mindset to think independently, experiment and challenge my own ideas. Those foundations have stayed with me into higher education, where the emphasis on developing my own creativity and identity as a designer felt familiar – it was an approach I had already experienced in the Art department at Radnor.”
You can explore more of Pippa's incredible creativity and follow her fashion design journey on Instagram: @philippa_grace_official_
