PROFILE: Emerging designer's catwalk career

Tuesday 12 May 2020

Walking down the catwalk at London Fashion Week with a "model on each arm" isn't an experience that this local designer will forget anytime soon...

After a last-minute change to study fashion and textiles, Kyle Moody had a first class start to his career in fashion – despite never having touched a sewing machine before starting his degree at the University of Portsmouth.

While he cannot pinpoint when he first started dabbling in creativity, it seems it’s always been part of Kyle's life. “I always enjoyed the more creative pursuits,” he explained. “It was a way that I could, not get attention, but express myself and show others what I was all about. I did not find it easy to talk to people, why talk when I could make something they can look at?”

“The main reason I love art is that you can show one painting to 1,000 people and you will get 1,000 reactions,” Kyle added. “Every single person gets to have their opinion. There is no right or wrong answer, there is nothing to understand, it's whatever you want it to be.”

Pictured: Kyle’s graduate collection, titled ‘UNBROKEN', celebrated the resilience of the human mind.

When the time came to pick a university course, Kyle had to make “a head or heart decision” between architecture and fashion. “They both interested me for different reasons,” he said. “Both are very tangible forms of art everyone has to interact with.”

Kyle eventually chose architecture, but soon found himself reconsidering his decision. “Within the first month, I thought 'I enjoy this, but I cannot do this for the rest of my life. Am I still going to love this, 30 years down the line?’ It was too restrictive.”

Even though he had never touched a sewing machine, Kyle went on to join the Fashion and Textiles BA at the University of Portsmouth, which he graduated from with First Class Honours in 2016. “It had always fascinated me,” Kyle confessed. “It was so much more creatively fulfilling. It was more personal, I enjoyed how transformative it could be. Clothes can make someone into something they want to be.

“What I love about fashion is every single person has to have an opinion on it. Love it or hate it, you have to take part in it because we cannot walk in the nude.”

Pictured: Kyle's collection featured in a 2017 London Fashion Week show for emerging designers. 

Kyle’s graduate collection, named ‘UNBROKEN’ aimed to celebrate the resilience of the human mind. It was presented at the 2016 New Designers showcase and featured at the 2017 London Fashion Week during the RAWEDGE show for emerging designers. Kyle, along with five other students, was also picked by the Condé Nast College to have his work shot by Vogue photographers.

“I got to walk down a catwalk at London Fashion Week with a model on each arm and that is an experience that no one can take away from me,” Kyle said. “Seeing my work going on the runway was an experience I will hold dear for the rest of my life. It helped me immeasurably, not just from a career point of view, to think people in the industry thought that much of me has been a boost as an artist.”

Pictured: “Seeing my work going on the runway was an experience I will hold dear for the rest of my life."

Since returning to Jersey, Kyle has collaborated with ArtHouse Jersey and become their first 'Young Ambassador' on a scheme which now sends Jersey artists to month-long residencies with the RedGate gallery in Beijing. He is now working on a small couture collection based on his experiences there, which he describes as “absolutely incredible.”

Kyle is also working with local fine artist, Heather Barrett, on a 'wearable art' collection for ArtHouse Jersey’s ‘Skipton Big Ideas Project'. “This collection - working title Atemony - is a comment on the plastics industry and its impact on animal welfare,” Kyle said. “Four luxe garments will be made with silk rendered from recycled PET plastics and digitally printed with plant-based inks using Heather’s vibrant paintings of endangered animals as prints.”

Pictured: The success of Kyle's graduate collection gave him a "boost" as an artist. 

As if this wasn’t enough, Kyle is also hoping to become a teacher to combine his love of fashion and teaching. He recently mentored students from Hautlieu – where he himself studied - working on a collection that aimed to make mental health more visible.

“Teaching is the ultimate goal,” Kyle said. “But I do not want to fail to continue my practice. I want to keep up with processes and techniques so that I can teach my students.”

This article first appeared in Connect Magazine, which you can read by clicking HERE.