Class of 2021: CSM grad Celine Kwan on creating her living room utopia
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Celine Kwan is the Central Saint Martins graduate combining furniture and fashion to create her own living room utopia with “garments that look beautiful while being worn and can also be admired [when] taken off.”
Filter by EMILY JANE SCOTT x CHECK-OUT
NAME CELINE YU HEI KWAN
AGE 24
LOCATION London, England + Hong Kong
COURSE BA Fashion Design with Print
UNIVERSITY Central Saint Martins
STAR SIGN Taurus
DESCRIBE YOUR DEGREE IN THREE WORDS CHANGED MY LIFE.
Jeffrey Thomson: Hey Celine! What was your final collection all about?
Celine Kwan: Throughout the pandemic, we’ve often found ourselves stuck in our living rooms, reminiscing about the small details of normal life that we used to take for granted. In my final collection, I have created a living room utopia; a celebration of the beauty and joy that can be discovered in our immediate surroundings at home. My collection draws influence from famous product design of the 1960s and ‘70s. I have been inspired by the work of Joe Colombo, VERNER PANTON and Eero Saarinen in particular, since they did not sacrifice function for aesthetic value. I have carried this principle into my designs by creating garments that look beautiful while being worn and can also be admired after they are taken off.
In my research, I developed a strong focus on ‘70s futurism and the ‘space race’ style. Films such as Woody Allen's Sleeper and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey provide a rich source of aesthetic inspiration and depict a future where the cutting-edge materials of the ‘70s, such as thermoplastics and PVC, are used in abundance. My goal is to produce transformative clothing that is functional in unexpected and humorous ways, whether it is being worn to an elegant dinner party or proudly showcased in a living room. Garments that dramatically transform, inflate and change shape to create a sense of drama will challenge the norms of functionality in clothing and will allow me to capture the beautiful shapes of furniture that I admire so much.
JT: How did you find CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS? What was the experience like - was it what you expected or completely different?
CK: I found Central Saint Martins when I was reading about ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, I think I was in secondary school at that time… I was like wow, that must be an amazing school for fashion. I made it my mission that if I was going to pursue fashion, that would be the only school I would be going to. The experience was really somewhat expected and somewhat different, I knew it was going to be hard, and to be honest it was at times, but I think it was mostly because I was not very sure of myself even though I had it in me. It takes time to really find yourself, there’s always this constant pressure that you need to find your ‘aesthetic’, your design identity right when you get into the BA course, but honestly it's a journey. For me, if you’re not looking at past work and criticising it, you’re not really making progress. As designers, we need to be our own toughest critic but also we just need to enjoy what we do. But to answer your question, my experience was great and I absolutely loved it, I made lifelong friends and I’ve met the most amazing tutors. It is an experience I don’t think you can get anywhere else but CSM.
JT: What was your journey to CSM like?
CK: My parents are really traditional, they wanted me to pursue law or anything academic actually, but I insisted in applying for fashion. I told them if I am going to do fashion, I will only do it in the best place in the world, and if I didn’t get in that means it was not meant to be. So I guess I always knew I wanted to study at CSM, it has been a dream - it’s surreal that I am now graduating.
JT: When looking back on your first project and now to your final collection, what springs to mind?
CK: CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT! Change in myself and in my confidence, and huge development in my creative process. Looking back at my first project now, I think my work was full of energy and hope but it was still very undeveloped and unsure. But what springs to mind is my pineapple stuffed toy which I brought to class for my presentation for our first project - long story short, it was really bizarre. As I said, if you’re not looking at past work and criticising it, you’re not really making progress. So hopefully in a few years time, I hope I will be looking at my graduate collection and knowingly pointing out the things that I could have improved on, meaning I have developed as a designer.
JT: What’s the biggest misconception about studying fashion?
CK: The biggest misconception is that people often think fashion students are not intelligent. Maybe being in Hong Kong, if you’re not a lawyer, engineer or doctor, people will automatically think you did not do well in school. I hate this misconception so much because my friends in fashion, who I consider artists, image makers or designers, are the most brilliant and intelligent people I have ever met. Also, I think with that misconception, people often think that fashion is very surface-level and vapid, when they do not know how much research, development, time and effort goes into it. Fashion is hard work and you need to work hard to showcase your vision.
JT: If you could go back, would you have done anything different?
CK: I think everything happens for a reason but one thing I would definitely do differently is to take care of my health and mental health first. I think often in fashion, there’s an immense pressure and I think it got to me at points and it led to a downfall in my health. Take good care of yourself, good work will follow when you’re mentally and physically healthy.
JT: What advice would you give to those thinking about studying fashion? Is a formal fashion education for everyone?
CK: The best advice I would give to those thinking about studying fashion is that when you do decide, work hard and make sure you take good care of yourself. Take care of your physical health and mental health because when you’re not feeling great, how are you supposed to make something great? While I do think a formal education is great, I don’t think it is for everyone. I think some people learn better through experience in industry - it really depends on what kind of person you are, what you’re looking for and who you want to be in the industry. There is no right or wrong answer.
JT: What’s your biggest fashion faux pas?
CK: I don’t think there is a fashion faux pas that really offends me that much haha… I had to Google ‘fashion faux pas’ to give me some ideas. I am a true believer in if wearing something makes that individual happy, then they should go for it. This includes socks and CROCS - if that floats your boat, GO FOR IT.
JT: The best thing about studying in London?
CK: I think the best thing about studying in London is definitely the amazing people you meet. People from different parts of the world, different backgrounds and doing different things. It creates this irreplaceable energy that you cannot find anywhere else.
JT: And the worst?
CK: For me, being so far away from my family. I got really close with my family during this pandemic, I spent my whole final year in Hong Kong and made my graduate collection in my parents’ apartment. So not having them around has been the worst thing about studying in London. Also I think London doesn’t have good Cantonese dessert places (if you know, you know).
JT: When you’re rushing towards a deadline, what keeps you going?
CK: What keeps me going is the feeling of happiness when I see my work finished, nothing beats that feeling when you are satisfied with your work and all the hard work has paid off. But good food also keeps me going, you need to fuel that body when you’re rushing for that deadline, my personal faves at the moment are seaweed and apple juice, a weird combo, I know.
JT: How are you celebrating life post-graduation?
CK: I went to Scotland last week, well…it was for a shoot where I collaborated with some amazingly creative people. I guess that is my way of celebrating post-graduation. Work doesn’t really stop for me but it’s not work when you’re having fun! I did have a few pints in Scottish pubs though, that was really good fun haha.
JT: What’s next for Celine?
CK: I have plans to do MA but for now I am going to be making a capsule collection, it will probably come out around November! I’ve already made two new looks, the work never stops for me. Also for my next step, I want to look into more cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing that I could include in textiles for fashion. For my graduate collection I only scraped the surface.
JT: And lastly, what does fashion mean to you?
CK: Fashion is freedom and dedication, and it means a great deal to me as I live and breathe it everyday. It is a platform for me to freely challenge or change the idea of clothing, it is a way where we can freely express who we are and what we want to be. But fashion is also A LOT of hard work. I cannot count the sleepless nights I have had but it doesn’t matter because I love what I do. I think that is why my peers really inspire me a lot because fashion means a lot to them too and it is an amazing energy.
See more from Check-Out’s Class of 2021 here.