Katie Eary was born in a small town on the outskirts of London, where she lived before attending the Royal College of Art. She launched her own label immediately after completing her MA at RCA, debuting an avant-garde menswear brand with a futuristic bent. Keeping in tune with her literary influences, Eary’s autumn/winter ’10 collection was inspired by Irvine Welsh’s Marabou Stork Nightmares, lending a textured and tribal feel to the darkly obscured colors she used in armor-like jackets, pants and blazers. As international attention increasingly focuses on the young London-based designer, we chatted Eary up about why she loves the British capital, her horizon of possibilities and the artistic merits of a destructive romance.

JC Rerport: What or who inspires your work?

Katie Eary: Books, Books, Books. And interesting individuals within my friendship circle.

JCR: Tell us about your current collection available now.

KE: My spring/summer ’10 collection was inspired by the book Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. It’s the most sinister love story imaginable—it’s about the most-exciting love you could ever have, but the most dangerous. It’s the relationship between a dealer and the abuser, the most destructive relationship, and how one can’t survive without the other. [For the collection], I used fabrics ranging from leather to rope, human hair and crystal. The sky is the limit when it came to the fabric choice. The inspiration was that I could literally paint the pictures of my heroin abused boys with the chosen fabrics and colors (i.e.
red rope for veins).

JCR: What are the challenges in combining such varied materials?

KE: I guess the first challenge is to allow it not to worry or challenge you. I have quite a relaxed approach and tend to let nothing stand in my way!

JCR: What are you trying to change about how men dress?

KE: I’m just manipulating. [laughs] Not really. I’m just showing possibilities, I don’t expect too much—just to show anything is possible and to enjoy rather than worry.

JCR: What has been your best accomplishment in your young career?

KE: That I enjoy everyday! I love creating and making, it’s so satisfying. Getting the front cover of UK Vogue [September '09 issue] was great, but I also have some really exciting collaborations coming up that I can’t tell yet. There are a lot of things I’m proud of. Every time I think I’m on top and my dream couldn’t be bettered, I get an email from Patricia Field’s assistant asking to borrow half the collection for the new Sex and the City movie.

JCR: What makes London such a fantastic place to work?

KE: Everything and everyone is so accessible. It’s lovely! And really fun! Everyone has their crazy thing going on, it’s so inspiring.

JCR: How can people buy your pieces?

KE: I’m on websites and a shop called Machine A. Mostly I have private clients looking for bespoke pieces.