Life of Alumni: Faye O'Brien from a BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles: Knit

LCF Stories caught up with Faye O'Brien, a BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles: Knit alum. Faye is the founder of Effluroscent, a London based knit studio.  

Described as "an umbrella of different projects", Faye shares insight into her process, along with a look at themes of dystopia, nature and plans for the future.

What was your thought process behind Effluroscent?

Throughout my degree, Effluroscent evolved into a form of designer identity with themes of dystopia and destruction feeding into a consistent 'Man vs Nature' narrative. This exploration produced the moody, punky aesthetic in my designs today while allowing me to attract clients with aesthetics and brands that I want to design for. 

‘Effluroscent’ is currently an umbrella of different projects, from working on knitwear productions, designing fabrics for brands and developing knit pieces for Gundog Studio’s E-Commerce.

How long have you had the idea of setting up a knit studio?

The name Effluroscent means ‘the action or process of developing and unfolding as if coming into a flower’. It originated from my first project and followed me throughout LCF and into the industry. So throughout collaborations, projects and internships over the past 3 years, it has accumulated to what it is today.

A lot of your work features a heavy emphasis on nature. Where did this come from?

Throughout developing Effluroscent I became obsessed with the high contrast between natural imagery and artificial, structural ones often imagining my own apocalyptic landscapes. I believe this fascination comes from living in outer London growing up, being surrounded by an urban landscape with constant new developments.

What are some of your future plans for the studio?

As I am currently juggling different avenues of the knit industry there’s a lot of potential for it to develop. There are some exciting projects in the works with Gundog Studios, a menswear brand with a strong emphasis on textiles. I’m also in the works of developing a collaborative knit focused brand alongside Corran Green, creating made to order garments and would love to get this kickstarted in the coming months.

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