It wasn't billed as a monumental 10 year anniversary show but perhaps that was intentional on Sophia Kokosalaki's part seeing as the 'young' Greek, London-based designer still feels she has plenty of new ideas to give. So although the language in her A/W 09 collection was a familiar combination of the pleats, drapes and cuts, she strove to do it in a new way that manifested itself in curved black and flesh tulle dresses, strctural scrolls that graced the shoulders and cropped decorated leather jackets.

Dazed Digital: As it is your ten year anniversary, it felt like there was an element of a "best of" collection there?
Sophia Kokosalaki: I don't want to say the "best of" because that sounds lazy and it was really hard work. Especially to bring all the techniques and my designer DNA and show them in a new way. The challenge was to make what I do newer.

DD: Was there a starting point at all?
SK: It veered towards London, where I live and what I'm about - beautiful but tough. I don't like the cute/pretty things.

DD: What are your favourite places in London?
SK: I live in the East End and there's a reason why I live there because I I refuse to go anywhere else. It's really inspirational. I don't think I could be the same designer if I lived in Paris, Athens or New York. I started there, all my DNA as a designer and my style were forged there.

DD: Where do you see Sophia Kokosalaki in another ten years time?
SK: If I haven't collapsed, I hopefully will still be doing the same thing except less stressful hopefully!

Backstage photography by Chiara Santarelli.