Molly Goddard
The Molly Goddard brand is quintessentially British. How has growing up in the bustle of Ladbroke Grove in London influenced your aesthetic? It’s a very vibrant, exciting place to
live. Growing up a few steps from Portobello Road Market and Notting Hill Carnival have been a big influence especially when it comes to craft, colour and scale. Despite gentrification, I do think it’s an area that celebrates individuality and interesting clothes!
As a brand how would you describe the girl who wears a Molly Goddard dress and what does sheem body? Someone who doesn’t get
FOMO (fear of missing out)!
Rei Kawakubo, Rihanna and Edie Campbell are among the girl gang of women who have supported you over the last few years. Why do you think your clothes have made such an impact on the fashion industry?
That’s so difficult to answer! Perhaps the fact that the shows convey a whole world which is something we work on from the very beginning, even thinking about what our muse would smell of! I also think people appreciate the craft that goes into the clothes.
At EW we were thrilled to see you had cast Ikram Abdi Omar in you’re A/W18 show – how important do you think it is for designers to represent a scale of ethnicity, shape sand size son the cat walk today? It’ s
super important. I love working with models who are excited by the clothes and who you can build a relationship with. Shows are intense and quite personal so you want the people wearing the clothes to be someone you can have a laugh with.
Do you have any childhood memories that resonate with your creations today? I always
enjoyed dressing up and made clothes for my sister and myself from bed sheets, tinfoil, anything I could get my hands on. I was also quite a tomboy so I think that may have influenced the way in which I like to dress up.
Winning the Vogue Designer Fashion Fund is an extraordinary achievement. How has it impacted your brand? It is very exciting;
financially it gives us the freedom to take a few more risks creatively and take on some more staff. The mentoring is also going to be a big help as it’s spread through every aspect of the company. It does however add a certain amount of pressure but that’s always a good thing too!
What top three items do you have in your wardrobe that you could not live without?
I have a large selection of my black cotton smock dresses which I can wear anytime, anywhere and some long sleeved mesh tops I wear under everything. I also have an old Commes des Garçons skirt that is too big to wear but the way it’s constructed is a constant source of inspiration and excitement.
Fashion is an extremely demanding industry. How do you keep up with the pace and stay true to your creativity? The biggest battle
is making what you want to make and not thinking too much about what other people want to see. When you start trying to please everyone it becomes impossible to stay focused.