Young Auckland designer Katie Davison has an ultimate goal to start her own label that incorporates sustainable practices and produces clothing that is timeless – and she is on target to achieve this. Unlike many young designers, Katie didn’t grow up around fashion but she always had a strong interest in art and believes this is where her passion for clothing design came from.
It took her to Auckland’s Whitecliffe College where she graduated with an art and design degree majoring in fashion design. Currently she is on an industry learning curve spending half her week in the well-known Taylor Boutique workroom and the other half in the showroom of Icon Textiles.
At Taylor, she spends a lot of her time in the design area cutting and preparing samples, while over at Icon her role as a showroom assistant means being on hand for interior designers and trade clients.
“I love being a part of what goes into producing a collection at Taylor and I’m really enjoying learning about interior design at Icon,” she said of the diversity of the two very different roles.
At the beginning of this year, Katie was chosen to travel to India on a Whitecliffe scholarship where she researched sustainable fashion. “The trip really opened my eyes and cemented the path I’d like to take in the fashion industry,” she said. To Katie, the concept of sustainable practices is very close to her heart and hopes it will lead to practices that can make her designs timeless and contribute to beating the current fast fashion trend that is polluting the environment.
