Master class
As he celebrates his inauguration as professor at Leeds Beckett University, international designer Matty Bovan talks to Stephanie Smith how he inspires his students to push boundaries.
IT is not every day that you nip out to the city centre for a spot of shopping only to find yourself suddenly surrounded by models and photographers, caught up in a photoshoot masterminded by a world-famous fashion designer. Yet this is exactly what happened when Trinity Leeds shopping centre was taken over last month by Leeds Beckett University’s Fashion Class of 2023, showcasing their avant-garde graduate collections in a grand temple of fashion commerce, supervised by their teacher, the internationally acclaimed fashion designer Matty Bovan. “It’s always been exciting for me to work with fashion students in the North,” said Bovan, “inspiring students to push their own expectations of their creativity and their own selves.” Pushing expectations, boundaries and possibilities is what Matty Bovan does. This week he celebrated his investiture as Professor of Fashion at Leeds Beckett University with a day-long performance, deconstructing the traditional inaugural lecture format while transforming his space and himself throughout the day. The general public was invited alongside students, and anyone could ask him anything they liked as he metamorphosed.
Having this ground-breaking, York-based, young British fashion designer on the teaching staff is an undoubted coup for LBU. Known for his elevation of craft and his commitment to sustainability, Bovan’s late grandmother, Joan, introduced him to knitting. After Millthorpe School in York, at 16 he went to York College for a diploma in Fashion, followed by a foundation at Leeds Beckett University, then to Central Saint Martins for a BA, graduating from there in 2015 with an MA in Knitwear Design (eight years in education made possible through scholarships). And after this, he surprised the fashion industry by leaving London and moving back to Yorkshire (The Hepworth, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Leeds Art Gallery are all sources of inspiration).
Bovan is a polymath, bringing design, creative directing, styling, make-up artistry, filmmaking, teaching and modelling all within his dizzying sphere of work. In 2021 he won a double Woolmark International award and was praised for working with local suppliers and manufacturers, including using roll-end cloth from AW Hainsworth. He launched a thoughtprovoking installation at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, inviting visitors to try on his sculptural designs. In 2020 he brought London Fashion Week to Yorkshire when he created his own locked-down show at York Cemetery Chapel. And last year he made his debut at Milan Fashion Week with the help of Dolce & Gabbana, which supplied him with fabrics and materials.
Being based in the North is important to him. “As a designer, I feel fortunate to have my studio in Yorkshire, but be able to work across the globe, and still be able to work on my own collections, and teach in the North,” he said.