
‘It felt very free,’ says Glasgow Clyde College alumna Louise Gray, recounting vivid memories of her student days in Glasgow. ‘It definitely influenced my design style.’ The outdoor concerts and flea markets at The Barras, especially, furnished the designer with her most vivid Glasgow memories. Louise went on to study at The Glasgow School of Art. ‘The weaving studio was in the top of this huge tower, so you could see the whole of Glasgow,’ she recalls. ‘It was amazing.’ Following graduation in Glasgow, Gray studied for an MA in London and was selected by the talent-nurturing initiative Fashion East to showcase her collections. Her bold and brightly coloured hand knits and modern folk collections, adorned with embellishment and detail, won her NEWGEN sponsorship for London Fashion Week after three seasons. A collaboration with Topshop followed.