Patrick Garvey is fashion designer from Liverpool currently studying at Central Saint Martins. This year he was one of the winners of the AnOther Portfolio Review Day.
I sat down with him this December for a phone call about studying in one of the most prestigious art schools in the world, finding inspiration during lockdown and his plans for the future.
We spoke about the term 'self-made' which has entered the popular vernacular recently as more and more people claim to have built themselves from the grown up.
"There really is no such thing as being self made" Patrick explains "It always takes other people's help: friends, family, teachers, everyone around you."
"If I stayed at home, I couldn't do what I do." Patrick notes about moving to London for school.
Patrick is one of the very few Northerners on his course at Central Saint Martin, it means people hold preconceptions of him before they meet.
"They don't expect me to work as hard or be as nice as I am." He admits "But I use that to my advantage and it makes me stand out more for the right reasons I think."
Patrick explained to me how important it was for him to move to London to further his career.
"Every single house that is British is in London. if you went to somewhere like Manchester it is very fast fashion dominated but that's not what I want to go into."
"Its very centralised.If I wanted to loan clothes to a stylist for exposure they will always be in London. It's much harder if you're not in the city."
This year, many students across the country returned home, as school was interrupted in March and modules were moved online.
"It sounds bad but lockdown was really a blessing for me." Patrick admits on the phone to me "I was able to be my most creative and take inspiration from everything around me at home.
Patrick's plans for the future are still undecided but next year he will be taking a break from studying to work in the industry.
He wants to make connections, learn more about the field and gain a better idea about what he wants to do once he graduates.
To hear more about the working class creatives working in the fashion industry look out for our radio documentary coming January 2021.
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