Kate Alexander Design is a studio based inside 3rd Rail Print Space specialising in original yarn dye plaid and stripe designs for menswear, womenswear, childrenswear and home furnishing. Kate has worked with some of the world’s leading fashion brands, including, American Eagle, DKNY and French Connection, amongst many more.
Can you tell us about the studio?
The studio specialises in original Woven Designs. I design and sell world-wide, my client base is hugely varied so I am designing with Mens, Women’s, Kids and Home in mind. I travel regularly to the USA where I’d say most of my customers are based with an expanding number of connections in the UK and Europe.
Whats your main source of inspiration?
Colour is key! Luckily I’ve managed to source a hugely extensive range of yarns, unlike painting or digital printing you cant just mix to an exact Pantone shade. Many of my clients come to me purely for colour inspiration and is often the starting point for their new season which I find hugely satisfying.
There have been a few over the years, one of my favourites was a project I did with American Eagle working with their design team in New York. I designed a huge range of woven checks and stripes for their Spring/Summer season a year in advance. As a textile designer you never really know how many designs will actually get to production. On a following trip I walked into their NY flagship store and the place was adorned with pretty much everything I’d designed, it felt great to see so many designs and as an end product.
