The designer taking on frills, feminism and teen awkwardness

Taken from the summer 2015 issue of Dazed:

“I am not trying to make a conscious feminist statement with my clothing,” says Molly Goddard. “But I do think being girly is great.” The west London-hailing designer is living proof of the unsung versatility of taffeta and tulle – she's currently wearing one of her signature smocked gowns over jeans and trainers in her local boozer. For her show this season, Goddard’s teen dreamers attended a life drawing class in lieu of a runway, swapping aprons for last night's ballgowns as they sketched a resplendently naked older gent in their midst. As worn by the likes of artist Phoebe Collings-James and stylist sister Alice, Goddard’s dresses are fast becoming the uniform of choice for girls who do, as well as girls who dream. 

GROWING PAINS

“I base a lot of my ideas around the kind of awkwardness that comes with being a teenager. There’s something fascinating about that stage where you're not totally in control and you're still very influenced by your friends. Most of my inspiration comes from children's clothing, actually like, if you see a kid in clothes when they’ve obviously dressed themselves, and are looking a bit mad. Baggy tights, shoes that are two sizes too big so you can grow into them – those silhouettes that happen when you're growing too fast. You're not defined yet as a person and that’s what interests me.”

MEASURING UP

“A few people said to me after the show that they thought I was making an amazing feminist statement because my life model had no penis. Actually, he had the smallest penis you’ve ever seen but I wasn't aware until he stripped off. I thought it was hilarious that this was my big feminist statement, because what the fuck does that mean? It’s just silly. All my collections are very personal to me and I am incredibly girly, but also the exact opposite – I'm a bit of a lout, I think!”

See all the images from Molly Goddard’s AW15 presentation below:

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Hair Roku Roppongi at Saint Luke using Kiehl's; make-up Ninni Nummela at Streeters using M·A·C; models Poppy Okotcha at Select, Nicky Payne, Sunshine Caulker; photographic assistant Lee Whittaker; styling assistant Peghah Maleknejad; hair assistant Delphine Bonnet; make-up assistant Shelley Blaze.