At Work with:

Teagan Pharoah-Green

Photography by Nicola Montfort

With great experience in costume design for performance, Teagan- Pharoah-Green could have gone anywhere. But, instead of being tempted by London’s West End, she decided to move to St.Ives, Cornwall, to open her own fashion boutique - FierceFlora.
With a rich history of art and design, St Ives is famous for it’s light, and Teagan finds its ever-changing nature endlessly inspiring.

How did your early years define your career path as a designer?

My mother is an artist, who works predominantly with textiles. Looking back, although
I hardly noticed it at the time, she would talk to me constantly about colour,
illustration and design. I think being encouraged to observe the world with
a creative eye has definitely stayed with me. I think it’s also important to see
people around you, using their creativity to form a career. It was never really
a question whether or not I would work in the arts, in one way or another.


What was your first experience as a designer and how did you get into the

profession?

I started studying fashion at college, aged 16, and fell entirely in love with the combination of technical, methodical pattern drafting and sewing, versus the
imaginative, freer design process. I went on to study Costume for Performance
at the London College of Fashion. But it was my part time job, as Lauren Shanley’s assistant, which I kept alongside my studying, that gave me my first real taste of design. This is also how I got into the profession, through a combination of a bit of bravery and good timing!

Having just moved into a student flat in London, I walked down the river and saw
Lauren’s studio. I just walked in and asked for a job; being bold can pay off.

She took a chance on me and, working for her over the next few years, shaped
my skillset and business philosophies strongly.

How did your training in Costume Design for Performance and later
working in the arts industry separated you from other clothing designers?

Training in costume was lovely, because you have to diversify into so many
different disciplines. It was so fun to get to work to character briefs that focused
on translating a character’s personality into cloth, and then on to the
audience of the performance. It gave me a great opportunity to work with
things that fashion may not have encouraged, such as wild, exaggerated silhouettes
and breaking down garments to look worn and old.

After studying fashion, it was refreshing and forced me to shift my perspective
on what I was aiming for when making clothing. I think studying costume
set me apart from other designers, as I was lucky to study so many techniques,
from tailoring to dancewear. Creating ballet costumes taught me how
to make garments that move with the body, practical without compromising
on their aesthetic, a philosophy I definitely still use today!

Whose design philosophies do you most respect?
I love listening to Stella McCartney speak about her approach to sustainability.
I find her voice vital and inspiring. Some areas of the costume industry actually have unexpectedly
wonderful, sustainable design philosophies.

So many of the smaller theatres work on such minimal wardrobe budgets that
I got very good at scouting markets for second-hand gems. The National Theatre in London
also invests brilliantly in costume, through a combination of working with
vintage pieces and making garments, using ingenious techniques. For example,
only working in cotton fabrics and threads, so all garments can be dyed;
or leaving large seam allowances, so each piece can be repeatedly altered for
different performers.

What else inspires your creative process?

I find that I need to be outside a
lot when I’m designing a new collection, whatever the weather! It’s so important
to me to read widely and visit exhibitions, but I have to be careful to
not overdo the research and allow for some thinking time, too. I love watching
art-based documentaries; they are my perfect balance of switching off,
while still keeping the creative side of my brain ticking over.

Your recent work focuses on the traditional techniques of pleating.
Can you tell us more about the method?

Pleating goes far back in history; some Ancient Egyptian garments of long,
translucent, pleated skirts were found and thought to have been worn by
Queens and Pharaohs in the 7th-15th centuries AD.
I was inspired to begin specialising in pleating when I saw an exhibition
by the Spanish designer, Mariano Fortuny, in the Palais Galleria in 2016.
Fortuny patented his own pleat and created long dresses that were all
the rage, and worn by many influential celebrities of the day, including Peggy
Guggenheim and Marchesa Casati. Pleating can distort the silhouette and
give fabric a whole new appearance. I find everything about it fascinating!

What inspired you to specialize in pleated collars? I first started my brand
with a small range of dresses and jackets. I made a huge effort (and still do)
to use only sustainable fabrics, such as tencels made from recycled wood pulp.
However, once I started to sell my clothing, I realised that the other sustainability
issue to address in the fashion industry was persuading people that
investing in a few key pieces, made to last, was exciting and worthwhile.
I started then creating pleated collars that can be bought with or without their
matching dress, meaning buying a new piece of clothing breathes new life in
to your existing wardrobe, rather than simply adding to what you have.

The collars can be worn over jumpers in winter and over blouses in summer.
It’s also so lovely to flex my embroidery muscles and work in some other antique
methods, such as smocking.

For my pleated collars, I use an antique machine that was originally created
to make christening gowns. It took a lot of trial and error to work out the best
method for adapting it to create collars, but it was worth it. I find them immensely
satisfying to make and am so happy that they have been well received.

You recently moved to your new and first retail studio. Can you describe the

experience and change?

It has been so exciting to move into a new space, especially
one that I can sell from too, as I was working from home before, which
was a little all consuming. I completely underestimated how much healthier
it would make my work/life balance. I work early and late a lot, but locking
the door and walking away at the end of the day has been hugely beneficial!

It’s also lovely to have a space where my clients know they can find me, and
pop in to see the new collection and have fittings in peace.

What’s the design community like in St Ives / Cornwall? We are so lucky
in St. Ives to have such a rich history of art and design. I have found it so
very welcoming as a fashion designer, too. I worked part time at the Belgrave

St. Ives gallery for a couple years, which was wonderful, as I got to be part
of the arts industry and I have definitely benefited from that in my work.

St.Ives is famous for its light. It’s sharp and clear all summer and then hazy and
bright silver all winter; even if you don’t work directly from the landscape, the
benefit of good light is endlessly inspiring. Having an active and fresh artistic
community, built on the history of the St. Ives artists of the 1950s, is both
inspiring and intensely encouraging.

For all my photoshoots and new collection launches,
I use the Porthmeor Studios, (usually the studio of the lovely and very talented Felicity Mara).

My friends, who are also artists themselves, model for me and the wonderful
Nicola Montfort takes the photos. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such talented
and generous women I can work with.

How are you trying to achieve a better work-life balance? I’m trying hard
to be more aware of when I’m starting to feel too tired and out of ideas, as

this is a sure sign I need to take a step back for a couple of days. I think it will
always be a hard balance to strike when you’re a one-woman band, but I’m
slowly realising that rest is as vital as the productive late nights!

This article appeared in our Vol O1 print issue of.