Stephanie Uhart is the CSM grad whose fluffy fantasies are being worn by the likes of Bimini and Lil Miquela
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…
Designing clothes for anyone who’s happy to wear a bit of fluff (in delightful shades of lilac, slimy lime and candy apple red no less), Stephanie Uhart is the CSM grad making self-proclaimed ‘wearable soft sculptures’ inspired by the emotional baggage we carry around.
Courtesy of @stephanieuhart
NAME STEPHANIE UHART
AGE N/A
LOCATION London, England
STAR SIGN Taurus Sun, Gemini Rising, Pisces Moon.
Phoebe Shardlow: Hey Stephanie! How are you and what have you been working on today?
Stephanie Uhart: Hey hey, I’ve been working on a custom piece that I am absolutely in love with for about 35 hours straight now. I am very happily exhausted.
PS: How would you describe a Stephanie Uhart look?
SU: Wearable soft sculptures.
PS: Where did you get the inspiration for the silhouette of your signature designs from?
SU: I got this idea of trying to give a volume to the invisible things that we all carry around, so I guess these would be my own interpretation of my emotional baggage.
PS: So far, what’s an achievement that made you really proud?
SU: There have been so many moments in the past year that are beyond what I could have ever dreamed about, but I think what I am most proud of is actually pulling through and making my collection by myself at home without all the help and resources that I would have had at university.
PS: Do you have a specific person in mind when you are designing? Who do you think you make clothes for?
SU: I really don't, I try to work with pieces that will work around the body and that can work for different body types and sizes. I hope my clothes can be for anyone that wants to wear them. Throughout my time at CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS I was asked if I was making womenswear or menswear pieces but I have just never made that choice.
PS: Who would your dream client be?
SU: I think anyone who loves the pieces as much as I do is a dream client for me, I love being surprised by how different people will wear the pieces and put their own energy into them.
PS: You’re a Chilean, London-based designer - what’s one food in Chile everyone needs to try?
SU: Yeah, okay so I would say sopaipillas with pebre. It's the best!
PS: What was the first piece of clothing you ever made?
SU: I actually didn't really grow up making my own clothes or anything like that so I think the first piece I ever made was for a shirt project in Foundation at CSM. It really wasn't great at all...
PS: What’s the last movie you watched?
SU: El mismo amor, la misma lluvia, an Argentine film. It's my absolute favourite and it just brings me so much peace of mind.
PS: How would you like to change the fashion industry?
SU: There is so much that should change; sustainability, treating workers fairly, giving credit to designers etc… I would really love to have fashion be more inclusive. I know this gets said a lot, but it’s such an issue, with high fashion especially, being made in only a few sizes and leaving so many people out. I am just so sick of it.
PS: What’s your star sign and do you believe in horoscopes?
SU: At times I do. I think knowing the sun, rising and moon can tell so much about who someone is. I am a Taurus sun, Gemini rising and Pisces moon.
PS: You studied at CSM, what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you in a crit?
SU: I think at CSM you kind of develop a very thick skin when it comes to your own work because every single tutor is going to have a different opinion and their own things to say about whatever you're doing. That being said though, one of my tutors in first year told me that I had absolutely no personal aesthetic and that my sketchbook looked like a book made for children. Yeah, so I went home and cried.
PS: What music video do you wish you did the clothes for?
SU: Recently, I think DOJA CAT and SZA’S Kiss me more was such an incredible aesthetic and I would have loved to have made some fluff for it.
PS: What’s the last thing you do before going to sleep at night?
SU: Somedays I meditate, others I just worry about everything - gotta have a balance, I guess?
