There aren’t many British menswear designers that cause as much excitement at London Fashion Week as Bianca Saunders does. New to the game, she graduated from the Royal College Of Art in 2017, and after making her fashion week debut in 2018, she has now staked her claim in the realm of menswear, bringing something new and exciting to the table.
Identity and how it pertains to men is a key focus of Saunders’ work. Her gender-bending tailoring sees men dressed in what can be perceived as ultra-femme wearable looks. For her Autumn/Winter 20 show we were transported to a subtle dancehall party—where the models danced in peekaboo booths— men wore sheer shirts, cropped tops, and shorter-than-short shorts.
The Catford-born designer is always celebrating her culture, with elements of the Caribbean and London peppered throughout her collections. Working with some of the best black creatives in the game like photographer Joshua Woods, Saunders blessed us with a zine depicting the similarities and gender fluidity of her clothing. Forbes has already spotlighted her as one of the ones to watch within business and fashion, so we caught up with the young designer to get the scoop on all things Bianca Saunders.
Bemi: Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got into fashion.
Bianca: I’ve always known what I wanted to do at a young age. I have been motivated in finding a way to get where I am now. I took a traditional path of doing a foundation at Ravensbourne University. I then went on to Kingston University to study for three years, where I did womenswear for the majority of the course.
Oh wow, womenswear?
Yeah, I was doing womenswear and then in the last 6th months of my courses, my tutor suggested I try out menswear. I wasn’t sure if it was for me, and it was all last minute but it worked out. When I graduated I knew I wanted to start my own brand, I knew I needed to conceptualize what I needed to do and strengthen what I wanted to discover. I think I needed guidance and to study menswear more as there were certain elements of menswear that were a whole new world for me. I didn’t always wear men’s clothing so it was about discovering something new and I really wanted to perfect it. I got a little bit obsessed in a way and I did a two-year master’s at the Royal College of Arts, which led me to a point where I can exist today.
When you first started getting into menswear, as a woman, did you have to look at the men around you to draw inspiration from?
A lot of what I do is influenced by the people I have around me. A man’s body is really different from a woman’s body so knowing how to make my clothes feel sexy on someone else that’s not necessarily me was interesting. The idea of craft and making things of quality comes from my dad—he would always buy shoes and coats that were well made.
I feel like it’s also a cultural thing, right?
Yes, I picked this up from my family too. I feel like it’s something ingrained in black culture. Just to dress well and present yourself nicely.
Yes, it is.
Throughout my life, I have been influenced by the people around me, from going to family parties… it was always a case of making sure you looked your best. So visualizing the people around me has really influenced me.
Do you think there will ever be a time when you would step back into doing womenswear?
Definitely! But, I need to pace myself because I end up having all these creative ideas and saying yes to everything or wanting to do it all at once. I have a long-term plan for that to exist because people do often question if [my brand] is for women… even though I hardly get any women customers.
Would you say your clothing is genderless?
Yeah, people ask me if it’s non-binary clothing. I just say whoever wants to wear it is who it’s for. I love when people tag me on Instagram wearing the clothes and seeing that the people who the brand is for are wearing them.
How does your identity personally impact the way that you create?
I have always been an effeminate woman. So I think the element of trying to create that balance of masculinity in the clothing has been an influence of mine and how I show myself being visible in my clothes. At last season’s show, people got to see more of how I was influenced by my Caribbean culture. I wanted people to see the enjoyment in my clothes, and know it’s about having fun.
Where did you grow up and where are you from?
I grew up in Catford and have been living in Brockley for the past 6 years with my family. All of the family live in the Lewisham borough, I don’t really have any family that lives outside of London. I’m Jamaican, so my grandparents came over from Jamaica, but my parents were born here. I think sometimes when people meet my parents they get confused as to why they don’t have an accent or [why] they aren’t dressed a certain way—I always get questions about that.
Tell me what home is like. How does your culture and heritage cross over into your work?
Home is vibrant. I remember always throwing parties and stuff, so [I] have always been influenced by that sort of vibe. My work is based a lot around the community—around my friends and the conversations we have. I am one of six kids, so I am always used to people being around.
That’s amazing. I can imagine that would have been unbearable during the lockdown. I couldn’t imagine living with any of my siblings let alone five of them.
I really like it! My siblings aren’t the loudest so it’s all quite quiet. They just do their own thing and everyone is in their own rooms.
Are any of your siblings creatives as well?
No, they are all quite young still; the youngest is ten. Everyone is still figuring it out. My mum is a hairdresser and my dad is a plasterer. Whatever they want to do, as long as they try their best at it, is what we are encouraged to be like.
With your parents having the jobs they do, was it hard to explain to them that you wanted to go into fashion?
No, not at all. I’ve always said to my mum that I wanted to be some sort of artist and she’s always encouraged that and saw that I was somewhat good at it. I remember once saying to her, “maybe I’ll just become a doctor” and she said, “No, you should never just do something because everyone else is doing it or if it’s not what you want to do.” The only thing is I was motivated to get results quicker. I didn’t take any gap years out. I wanted everything to happen quite fast. Creating a brand and graduating… I wanted to prove that there is success in this business. I get motivated to show people I can get stuff done at a good pace.
Tell me about the Autumn/Winter ‘20 collection.
I wanted to show more of my culture. I was really fascinated with old school dancehall videos in particular. It’s interesting because in dancehall culture it’s usually the women in front of the camera. So I wanted to create a role reversal with that in a way. Making the guys dance, it wasn’t about being the best dancer, [but] more about them having fun.
I loved the booths!
When you go to those sorts of places, people are in their own world and enjoying their own company. I wanted to have the idea of almost having a peepshow, so we created these booths and it created an environment where people hung around and did not leave the space. Presentations can be a bit stale. I was sick of it being boring and stagnant. I wanted it to be fun.
How has your design process evolved as you continue to grow?
Since the pandemic, I have had a lot more time to think about the collection process. I have been able to go back to old ways of doing things, whether it is being able to play around with a mannequin, to look at a draping, or just taking a bit more time with my research. That’s a part I really do enjoy. It’s nice to be able to connect the dots in my head. I might not be the biggest collection in the world but I think it will make sense to people—once it is done they’ll find it quite intriguing. I try to do things that make people think thoughtfully or make people feel proud. I don’t feel like the references are quite obvious. They are minimal but not minimalistic. I guess it adds a layer for people to interact with my culture, Caribbean culture, and what it’s like being from London.
Who would you say are your inspirations in the menswear world?
When I started studying design I loved looking at Craig Green even though his work looks nothing like mine. It was just inspiring because he did a lot to change menswear and he brought something new. At the time people were either sportswear, tailoring, or some kind of workwear, and I feel like he mixed it up and created art within menswear and made it a bit more conceptual especially for London-based brands. I don’t get inspired by many stylists, however, I do look at my peers, someone like Ibrahim Kamara. I love his styling.
How does London inspire you?
I guess the fast pace of it all. It’s a different experience, as I have never lived anywhere else. I look at the way I navigate around people [who] are not from London. I only realized that when I went to university. People think in London opportunities are thrown at you and they are not. You have to go for it.
You do, London can swallow you up if you aren’t a go-getter.
London does inspire me though, as a lot of references I try to pull are from [my] memories [there]. Then it’s going back over it and going to the library and looking through loads of magazines and books and piecing it together so it makes sense.
Tell me a bit about the recent zine you did with photographer Joshua Woods.
Originally, I was introduced to Joshua through 10magazine. We were going to work on something but the timing didn’t work out, as I was in Paris doing showrooms and he was in London. But we knew we had to do something. Then the perfect opportunity came up when a brand took me to New York. I loved his work. I like to work with people that have a documentary style to their work as it’s almost like capturing a part of the time and the energy not necessarily through fashion. We worked with stylist Matt Holmes, we met on set at an i-D Magazine shoot and I loved the way he styled things.
How did the idea of the zine come about?
The idea came around after having a conversation and liking the idea of similarities and finding the balance between the two. That’s the main point of the brand is—having the balance of masculine and feminine. We shot on a twin boy and girl who kind of look similar. We shot it last year, but I like to be involved in all the creative parts, so I did the layout of the zine. I get obsessed with things.
You have to get obsessed with your own work.
You actually do or it’s not your own vision, and it takes longer to explain things.
How have things changed for you since being mentioned on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list?
It was reassuring. Because at the time I wasn’t enjoying anything. Everyone knows what the Forbes list is so it was easy to tell people what I had achieved. I would be in magazines and tell my parents but [since] they aren’t in the fashion industry, they didn’t get it. So Forbes was a great thing to show them. It was a massive confidence booster for myself just to know I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. It solidified the idea of the brand being here for a long time.
What’s next for you?
We have the show in September and I have done a campaign recently that I am excited to [release]. I just want the house to be a household name. I want to see more people wearing my clothes. I want to pass people on the street wearing them more often.
Photographer: Christina Ebenezer
Stylist: Ola Ebiti
Styling Asst.: Bruno Lachica
Grooming: Billie Mckenzie
Casting: Jonathon Johnson
Models: Mo Ali (Elite) & Asa Andrew (Amck)
All clothing c/o of Bianca Saunders.
Taken from Issue 03.
