Phoebe Lark originally graduated with a first in History at Sussex before changing tack and beginning a degree at Cordwainers College, the shoe-design stable of the London College of Fashion. Her degree show was sponsored by Swarovski and featured a marvellous array of beautiful crystal-studded heels that were almost – but not quite – too beautiful to wear. She moved to Italy in 2005 to work and is now designing for one of Italy’s top fashion houses.
What do you do all day?
Depends on the season. When we’re working on a collection we’re scribbling designs and making samples all day. When that’s finished there are a few weeks of tying up loose ends.
What will you do today?
Today… a meeting, organising the accessory samples, some graphic design stuff, some translating from italian to english, working on designs for bows. Next week we start autumnwinter 08-09.
What’s your working process?
I fiddle around, look at magazines and the internet, have some coffee etc until I have some kind of idea that I want to develop. Or my boss says “design bows” and I do that.
What’s the best thing about what you do?
Even with the boring stuff, it’s still the best job in the whole wide world.
And the worst thing?
The boring stuff… lately making colour charts for the buyers. And dealing with the egos of some of the Italian male management.
How did you get into it?
It was the natural answer to the question “if you could do any job you wanted, what would it be?”
What’s been the biggest achievement in your career so far?
Seeing my designs made and sold.
Where do you go from here, career-wise?
More creative freedom, more autonomy, more responsibility.
Have you got any advice for someone trying to do what you do?
The only way in seems to be the unpaid work experience, but it’s not enough just to show up. Make an effort to be helpful! Almost all jobs come through word of mouth so everyone you meet has to remember you in a positive light.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a fashion designer, but then I decided that it was an unrealistic ambition and I switched to wanting to be a career-woman-lawyer in aggressive suiting (it was the 80s).
And if you were going to have a complete career change, what would you go for?
I honestly can’t think of anything that would interest me at this point. Can I say furniture design or architecture?
Where do you look for inspiration?
Vintage stuff, various websites mostly for graphic or product design, style.com for the the runway shows.
What constitutes a successful work, for you?
Something that sells. Something that flatters. Something that has an equilibrium of shape, form and colour.
What constitutes an unsuccessful work?
An ugly shoe. They will follow me to my death and trample on my grave.
