North Yorkshire fashion designer pays homage to her family farm

Graduate designer Sarah Thompson took ideas from her North Yorkshire farming childhood to create her collection showed at London Fashion Week. She talks to Abigail Turner.
Sarah Thompson's designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.Sarah Thompson's designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.
Sarah Thompson's designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.

Sarah Thompson does not have to look far for her design inspiration. It’s all around her, within the moorland and coastal landscape of her native North Yorkshire, and especially on her family farm.

“I will always be from where I am,” she says. “Growing up in and around nature makes you creative.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The result is a fashion collection, presented at the recent London Fashion Week, that explores the relationship the British farming community has with its clothing. In doing so, Sarah, 23, has created clothing that is both practical and sentimental.

Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.
Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.

Growing up on a farm “in the middle of nowhere”, 12 miles from Sandsend in the North York Moors National Park, has provided the canvas for her imagination. Her collection is made from repurposed garments collected from nearby farms close to her parents’ farm, Dimmingdale. Read more:Bradford tailor to the stars

“A lot of people would say farmers are old-fashioned, but they love and live in their clothes. My mum still wears the denim shorts she got before I was born,” Sarah says.

It is this love of garments and their purpose that her graduate collection centres on, using the collected clothes in new ways.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Through this cycle of deconstruction, repurposing and mending, she explores the possibilities and lifeline of individual garments, directly addressing the issue of sustainability.

Sarah Thompson backstage with her designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.Sarah Thompson backstage with her designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.
Sarah Thompson backstage with her designs at Graduate Fashion Week Presents at London Fashion Week last month.

“My clothing focuses on practicality, durability, and the ability to mend, alter, and longevity, often becoming sentimental towards particular pieces. I always knew it was going to be based in farming,” she says, revealing that she also has a tattoo of the word Dimmingdale.

Sarah graduated from Sheffield Hallam University last November with a BA Hons in Fashion Design. She was chosen to exhibit at Graduate Fashion Week, after which her designs have appeared on the front cover of a style magazine, been worn by singer Shingai and been seen on the red carpet. She was also approached by Fashion Crossover London and invited to join its Graduate Talent Programme before being invited to showcase her collection on the Graduate Fashion Week Presents stand at London Fashion Week 2020, which took place last month.

Sarah is currently interning in London at fashion brand Self Portrait and says that she wants to learn more about the industry, especially in the field of sustainability.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Connection to clothing is lost over fast fashion. I admire brands such as Mother of Pearl and Gabriela Hearst. The designs are about concept and story,” she says.

Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.
Sarah Thompson's designs showcased at London Fashion Week last month, creating from clothing found on farms in North Yorkshire, plus prints inspired by farmyard objects. Picture by Simon Armstrong.

Her collection, with its strong farming theme, includes a boiler suit in patchwork with pops of bright colour, paired with a bright yellow floral print shirt. Patchwork features throughout her collection in staples such as overcoats and skirts. Sarah has explored the versatility of each item, showcasing the journey each patch has taken.

“I used worn garments to show the wear and tear. The concept of the collection is to mainly show the garments that people keep,” she says.

“From reworking an old garment into something new, to using old objects you’d find lying about to help create a new print, through these processes, I wanted to create an awareness of this technique to somehow establish a silhouette that celebrated these incisions and scars that have years of history, love and wear throughout.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sarah says has always been interested in these themes and didn’t shop on the high street when growing up, favouring charity shops and eBay instead. She never followed trends and would create her own designs from the large bags of clothes she ordered online.

"Fast fashion is taking over, yet it can never beat that overly worn jumper that you just can’t bare to part with," says Sarah."Fast fashion is taking over, yet it can never beat that overly worn jumper that you just can’t bare to part with," says Sarah.
"Fast fashion is taking over, yet it can never beat that overly worn jumper that you just can’t bare to part with," says Sarah.

She puts this creativity down to the make-do-and-mend attitude of her childhood on the farm, when she and her brother made dens from what they could find. Fashion came naturally, she says: “I’ve always known exactly what I’ve wanted.”

Sarah says that wherever she goes she will always take Yorkshire and Dimmingdale with her.

“My dream job would be running my own business with my own label of sustainable, quality-made garments. I know that’s where my passions lie, and know behind any successful brand is a passionate, motivated and enthusiastic designer who is in it for the love of their work,” she adds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I want to make people fall in love again, and build the relationships back between garment and owner – which is why the farmers of the North-East have hugely inspired me. Fast fashion is taking over, yet it can never beat that overly worn jumper that you just can’t bear to part with.”

Additional reporting by Stephanie Smith.

See Sarah Thompson’s designs at graduatefashionweek.com/news/graduate-fashion-week-presents-lfw20

Sarah Thompson’s Instagram: @t.o.m.o.d.e.s.i.g.n.s

Related topics: