The rise of independent fashion: crysanthou
Crysanthou is a London based sustainable streetwear brand founded by 19 y/o designer, Cathy Alexanders. Prints of her own graphics, art and writing make up the fabric in each unique piece along with bright images from 1960s cultural magazines. Through combining her own personal works, and images that express her interest in 1960s art culture, Alexanders has aimed to collage her own personal magazine through the medium of fashion.
Tell us a bit about your brand. How did it all start?
I have always been a creatively driven person and from a young age wanted to have my own clothing brand. My art teachers used to tell me that I have a thousand ideas per minute and they could never keep up with me. In that time period (during my A-levels), I was drawn to so much such as media/magazines,photography, Art, writing and textiles. It naturally clicked at one point without too much thought that I should combine it all together through a fashion brand. I started mixing different mediums together and express these different aspects of myself through the fabric. I firstly began recycling old magazines from the 60s that fascinated me in media studies, and then later began printing my own graphics, photography and words that turned the fabric and later garment into my own magazine of expression.
What are the main sources of inspiration about your brand?/ What influences your designs?
My designs so far have been influenced by the art I choose for the fabric. I am also immensely inspired by 60s/70s fashion.
Why do you think younger people are preferring to buy thrifted or custom clothing from sites like depop rather than high st stores?
So many reasons - I think it is partly because the pieces in thrift stores are unique to each other and younger people prefer to express themselves differently. Another reason is probably because our generation low key wish we were living in the 70s, 80s, 90s or early 2000s before technology and during a period of incredible films and music. Then there are also people that shop from Depop or thrift stores for sustainability. Lastly, it is hard to find an in-between of designer clothes and fast fashion, the quality of fabric can be a lot better both on Depop and in thrifted stores as well as affordable where as fast fashion can be very poor in quality and designer clothes are too expensive for the majority
Do you think DIY fashion has been accelerated during lockdown?
Yes, I think the amount of free time that came with lockdown led to a lot of people either discovering they have a creative side or finally having a chance to pursue something they’ve always wanted to do in DIY. Many new small businesses began, especially in jewellery with the trend of the clay/resin rings
What would you like to achieve with your brand in the upcoming months?
I would like to work on a summer collection and work with more creatives that I haven’t worked with before in shoots. I also hope to work on marketing and grow my brand.
Would you ever want your designs mass produced or would you prefer to keep them as one-offs?
I am not sure I would ever get my designs mass produced for a long time or at all unless it was in high demand to do so but I would definitely want them to be produced in small quantities as that can really help my business grow as I am doing everything myself and would love to have more time to focus on the other aspects of my company.
insta: @crysanthou