Mark Fast (London, UK)
New designer Mark Fast's dark sense of humour is clearly expressed through his work. Hoping to one day design costumes for a Tim Burton film, his knitwear shapes the body like a second skin. Paying homage to female corsetry and house flies of the Elizabethan period, he creates a pseudo body armour with a distinct S&M undertone. Combine, his influences create a youthful elegance, saluting teenage goths everywhere. With such a strong sense of identity coming out of a Knitwear BA It will be very interesting to see where Mark takes his vision next on his MA.
25 year old Mark Fast was born and raised in Canada but decided to pack up and leave for creative exploration in London. He has been studying at Saint Martin's for the last three years and is currently doing a Masters in knitwear at Saint Martin's. http://www.myspace.com/knittingneedle
How long have you been designing?
In East London around Dalston.
What is your nationality?
How would you describe your designs?
Pseudo-metallic knitted body armour.
What inspires you? What was your inspiration for your last collection?
I like making fun of the bad things that happen to us and finding humour amongst these dark things. My collection was inspired by electrecuted house flies from the Elizabethan period. These flies were only used to being swatted from their era, but as they morphed into the 21st century, believing they were out of harms way, they unexpectantly get electrecuted by the electric blue zapper!
What was the last thing you saw that really inspired you?
A painting by Francis Bacon.
What have you been doing since you finished at the Central Saint Martins?
Relaxing in Canada in the forests and exploring the lakes with my canoe.
Are you designing a new collection?
Yes, my fall 2007 collection.
How would you describe your style?
Are you involved in any outside projects in other fields?
Fashion is taking up all my time these days but would love to work with costume in the theatre or movies.
Who are your favourite designersand why?
It's the designers who create innovative garments from unusual techniques that I appreciate.
What are your plans for the future?
Doing my masters at St Martins and designing costumes with Tim Burton.
Photographs by Ben Toms