INSPIRED BY THE COAST
Designer Mark Musgrave on what drives his Cornwall-based coastal clothing business
Fashion designer Mark Musgrave talks about starting his own business producing sustainably sourced clothing in his studio on the Lizard Peninsula, where he finds creative inspiration by walking, swimming and surfing
‘We had so many family holidays here in Cornwall and just going bodyboarding was an immersion into nature,’ remembers Mark Musgrave, who moved from Sheffield to Helston on the Lizard Peninsula with his wife Suzie two years ago. Now, he’s out in all weathers, hiking along the coast path and swimming in the sea. He surfs too. ‘I love the perseverance of it, the hard paddling it takes to catch a single wave, the need to read the ocean – and there’s this space for stillness.’
Having previously worked in high street fashion retail, Mark started his own small business, The Level Collective, in 2014, making sustainably sourced Merino wool beanies in the first instance. The range has evolved to include organic cotton graphic T-shirts, sturdy walking books, tools and backpacks, with many of the colour palettes inspired by Cornish coastal scenery. ‘Our Stone Winnats Roll Top backpack comes from the soft greycoloured cliffs at Rinsey. Many of the ink colours for our T-shirts reflect the ocean’s variety of deep blues and greens, while our Fin T-shirt print features a simple surfboard fin and topography from the Godrevy coastline in North Cornwall.’
Ethical production is at the heart of Mark’s design philosophy, hence the company’s name, The Level Collective. ‘To “live level” is to be fair to others and to care for our planet – where freedom meets responsibility. This balance inspires every product I design.’ His mission is to rediscover heritage fabrics and to ensure that every product is made sustainably, in small batches. Each backpack, for example, is made