A GLASGOW design duo want fashion lovers to let their clothes do the talking.

 

Iain Macdonald and Anna Thorn, who started their label Naromode earlier this year, have come up with a new concept for design.

The city-based pair are telling stories through their garments - literally - and their debut collection, based on the Brothers Grimm tale, The White Snake, launches this Saturday.

The rising stars, who share a flat together in Pollokshields on the city's South Side, decided to combine fashion with storytelling soon after graduating from Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, where they studied textiles and surface design.

The pair, who graduated in 2012, started doing designs inspired by fairy tales and realised they wanted to go further with the idea.

They work by doing several colourful illustrations in sketch books before scanning them into a computer.

They piece the layers together to produce the designs before they are digitally printed onto fabric. After that, the pieces can be cut into shape and manufactured.

Iain, 27, from Cardonald, said: "The first collection comes from the Brothers Grimm, a story called The White Snake.

"We tell a story across the whole material so when we cut it all up there's a narrative throughout all the garments.

"It means none of the garments are exactly the same, they all tell a different part of the story.

"We're getting a lot of people who seem really excited about it.

"They're saying there's nothing really like our prints on the market.

"The fashion we're doing isn't the same as others', it's different."

The duo have produced a collection for spring/summer 2014, which includes scarves, dresses, tops and trousers.

It will be showcased at the Arlington Baths, in the West End, at a catwalk show this weekend.

Naromode's pieces are aimed at the mid-market.

Anna, 24, said: "At the show, the theme will be based on stories.

"The first models that come out will be the beginning and the audience will see the story from start to finish.

"We'll be leading on to the next story that we've already got for winter."

Naromode, which is Latin for narrative fashion, is already selling silk scarves, priced from £90, on ASOS Marketplace.

Aberdeen-born Anna, who also works part time in a restaurant, said: "It's going really well on ASOS.

"We'll now start looking for more stockists.

"We're aiming for the Scottish Fashion Awards next year, too."

The flatmates say that they have no problem with living and working together.

Anna said: "It works for us because this is what we really want to do.

"We took some time out after graduating to make sure we really wanted to work together and give it a go, but we always knew it was the right choice."

Iain, who has interned with major fashion house Alexander McQueen, added: "We are very similar - people sometimes can't tell who has drawn or designed what.

"Someone said to me: 'Did you draw that bee?' And I didn't even know because we think in such similar ways."

The pair moved to Glasgow in May to be in the fashion capital of Scotland and are now working on finding more stockists.

"I think there's a diverse range of styles in Glasgow, everyone looks very different," said Iain.

"There are so many talented people here - we wanted to be in the centre of it."

They say their biggest influences are the cult London designers Antoni and Alison.

Iain said: "We love them.

"He did fine art and she did fashion.

"They have really nice drawings but also messy squiggles and writing on their garments.

"We were reading about them and how they started off in a council flat and they didn't have anything and we thought we were just like them."

Anna added: "It makes you feel a little bit better and like there's hope.

"They came to our art school and did a talk and we were really inspired."

The duo said they would love to see singer Florence Welch wearing their designs.

"She wears a lot of interesting prints and flowing shapes so she would be our ultimate customer," said Iain.

The designers say they have no regrets about putting everything into their growing business.

To start up they raised more than £2000 from supporters through Bloom Venture Catalyst.

Iain said: "We knew we'd regret it if we didn't do it now.

"It was now or never for us.

"We just want to give people luxury prints which are affordable."

Visit: https://marketplace.asos.com/seller/naromode