Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Designer Joseph Turvey – Part 2


Joseph Turvey S/S 2013 by Gemma Cotterell

Joe’s MA collection: vibrant orange and magenta lace with transparent panels and translucent trenches was a massive hit. Fake Tokyo completely sold out and they’re backing him again this season, amongst many others. I sense that Joe is pretty busy minded. He’s conquering Asia step-by-step. He opened Shanghai Fashion Week with said MA collection, an experience he’ll never forget. ‘The catwalk was MASSIVE!’ he tells me, ‘it was like a Madonna tour!’

Joseph Turvey MA collection

We take a look through the current Spring/Summer collection – a range of dazzling neon hues married with white t-shirts and his synonymous illustrative portraits. Joe demonstrates the heat-sensitive technique he’s pioneered for spring/summer, so the model’s face becomes clear when worn. I ask if the faces we’re now so familiar with are based on anyone in particular. ‘Not really,’ he says, ‘I merge a few faces together. A bit like Frankenstein’, he laughs. Joe tells me that people always ask the story behind his personal interpretations and influences on his collections. ‘People always look for hidden meanings,’ he says. ‘Maybe I should be more like Taylor Swift and feature exes.’

What else is in the pipeline? ‘I really like collaborations,’ he says, ‘I like the juxtaposition of things.’ Joe’s currently collaborating with Hush Puppies, pioneer of the men’s comfort shoe but currently undergoing a massive relaunch under the creative direction of Jack Hemingway. He’s excited to work with established brands and put his stamp on menswear staples.

I ask how S/S 2014 is going. ‘I’ve nearly finished!’ he says, excitedly. I ask what we might expect. ‘It’s very colourful,’ he tells me, careful not to reveal too much. ‘There’s a central figure, again, and it’s very illustrative.’ He’s obsessed with the aesthetics of fabrics and innovative textures and his ethos is to always move things forward: lace, vinyl-peaked caps, laser-cut florals; the contrast of gloss spots on a black bomber. Joe works closely with acclaimed London textile company Insley & Nash in his constant endeavours to advance fashion techniques.


Joseph Turvey S/S 2013 by Karina Järv

I take a few photographs of both collections as we chat about everything else. What other brands does he admire? Baartmans and Siegel (who are ‘amazing’) and close pal Domingo Rodriguez are high on his list, as is Christopher Kane, who manages to make clothes ‘sellable but with his stamp on it.’

What advice would Joe give to current graduates looking to follow in his footsteps? ‘The best thing I did was the MA,’ he declares. With Savile Row tutoring and free reign on his future, Joe developed his unique approach we’ve become so quickly familiar with. ‘I’d say – don’t rush in to anything. I spent a lot of money doing it, but it really helped me focus. It’s about developing your skills. Make it exactly what you want it to be.’

Categories ,Asia, ,beyonce, ,Fake Tokyo, ,fashion, ,Gemma Cotterell, ,interview, ,Joseph Turvey, ,Karina Jarv, ,lace, ,ma, ,Matt Bramford, ,menswear, ,Shanghai Fashion Week, ,SS13

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