How did you start in the fashion industry? I was working as a  freelance caricature artist for The Star newspaper and The Good Weekend. That evolved into styling shoots. I also sold rave gear made of shower curtains to the infamous Bizarre Centre in Rocky steet.

What is the London fashion scene like? It’s fiercely competetive and horribly expensive. Emerging designers are finally cottoning on to the idea that fashion is a business and that you can’t parade rubbish to buyers.

Jacob Kimmie's Designs

What’s your signiture style? I almost always design in black or white. I always use wool crepe in my collections and base my tailoring around that. I like the way it drapes. My tailoring isn’t severe or rigid. Silk tulle has an ethereal quality that has an affinity with my evening looks. In past collections I’ve used it to encase wool crepe on some dresses. The result was incredible.

What kind of woman wears your clothes? My clothes aren’t designed to make a woman feel strong or powerful or anything trite like that. I don’t create costumes, yet my clothes are empowering, they make you stand tall instantly. I also loathe the whole red carpet scenario. I like dressing edgy artists like Ellie Goulding and Kaya Scodelario.

Jacob Kimmie's Designs

What was your inspiration for your upcoming collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa ? To be honest, women’s crotches – those of Azealia Banks and Iggy Azealia. Also the music of Salem and Grimes. This Spring Summer 2013 is a paradigm shift collection. After lots of travelling to amazing countries
like Nigeria, Paris and uzbekistan, I realised how absolutelty bourgoiese fashion has become. Everyone is obsessed with glamour and bows and cinched in waists and those hideous brady bunch colours. No-one appears to be interested in being interesting or individual. I wanted to do a collection that felt a little wild and isn’t ridiculously expensive. I’ve made a point of using nylon and techno-silks (not-%100 silk). I’m feeling uneasy about the word “luxury”. High fashion was never supposed to be luxury. BLACKHOLE, my SS13 collection is for a radical elite, not the bloated wealthy with weight issues. You need that gap between your legs to pull it off.

I prefer casual shoots to over-styled magazine shoots

What has been your best fashion moment ever? My name on a billboard in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. As they would say, in the middle of f-ing nowhere.

Shoot never done before in public square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan