SMorandini: When did you discover you wanted to do fashion?

Flora McLean for House of Flora: I wanted to design clothes like Claude Montana and early Pierre Cardin when I was 14 /15. I made lots of sketches and planned costumes in books and made my collages clothes. The first collection that I was proud of was at Middlesex University in 1993.


SM: Where did you find your inspiration for the last collection?
FML: For the “Bamboo Queen” I was looking at Japanese gardens and materials. I looked at combs and hairstyles from ancient Japanese paintings and architecture.


SM: What are your influences - artistic movements, muses, and icons?
FML: I love looking at surrealism. Also I love the Russian constructivists and German Bauhaus movement. I am a big fan of Oskar Schlemmer and Moholy Nagy.


SM: What monument?
FML: I really like the British Telecom tower in central London and the Westway in West London.


SM: What fascinates you?
FML: I love music all kinds - from disco to Brahms. I also try to speak other languages. I love going to the ballet and seeing what people can do with their bodies. So many things fascinate me; it’s hard to list them all.


SM: Are there any new materials you will work with or would like to experiment with in the future?
FML: I would like to work with enamel.


SM: I give you 5 keywords. Could you comment each word?
Light?
FML: Mirror.
Geometry?
FML: Constructivism.
Fairy?
FML: Fantasy.
Fashion?
FML: Sharp.
Tradition?
FML: Be aware.
Religion?
FML: I like the music but I don’t bother with religion as it always causes trouble/wars.