Frances, The Maker's Atelier's founder, likes fashion because it is continuously evolving, renewing, and challenging our perceptions of what is attractive. But she likes style more than fashion; while fashion is a trend, style is a way of doing things - it is how you put your outfit together.
She recalls how difficult it was for her as a youngster to locate clothing that she liked. Her mother would end up creating them for her since the cut, color, and feel of the cloth were all wrong. Frances learned to sew by seeing her mother cut out the parts and put the outfits together.
She studied Fashion and Textiles at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art before going on to design for major companies in the UK, Italy, and the United States. The proprietor of her local fabric store then recommended she publish her own designs one day while she was perusing. And thus The Maker's Atelier was born.
She uses major forms informed by current fashion trends and refines them into pared-back, wearable designs while designing my patterns. Frances feels that the most effective outfits are made from the simplest forms in the correct materials. She explores how each of her designs may be carried further in the Journal, using alterations in fabric or structure to modify the completed outfit.
