An Interview with Philip Grisewood

Philip Grisewood works for some of Britain's most edgiest Rock 'N' Roll labels:- House of Gods and Horace who recently held a inspiring womenswear catwalk show of interesting prints and tailored pieces at London Fashion Week named ’Espirt de Corps’. Between working as a graphics designer in both Bali and London, Philip is also has a fantastic portfolio of illustration work and art. Between trips from London to Bali, Miss Regenerate caught up with Mr Grisewood in an exclusive interview, this guy can seriously jump high!

Miss Regenerate 'How long have you been a designer for ‘House of the Gods’ and ‘Horace’?'

Philip 'I have been a designer for both HOTG and Horace for just over three years now. I worked with Adam Entwisle and Emma Hales at ‘Buddhist Punk’ before it became HOTG.'

Miss Regenerate 'What have been your highlights?'

Philip 'My highlights for Horace was when we got the cover for SuperSuper magazine and when Adam and Emma launched the Horace ’Espirt de Corps’ ready to wear collection this season.

Miss Regenerate 'What inspires your work as a designer each season?'

Philip 'I get inspiration from everywhere, from art and advertising to simply watching characters whilst on a tube journey. I get a lot fashion inspiration whilst searching through old photos of bands and pop stars such as David Bowie and Blondie. And of course I get inspiration from the nightlife in London. I try not too look at fashion designers too much, I think films are a good source especially 80s ones!
Also subcultures are a big influence, I have been a skateboarder since I was eleven so I am used to being surrounded hip-hop kids, punks and heavy metallers.'

Miss Regenerate 'What piece of advice would you give to a young designer who is just about to start a label?'

Philip 'My advice to a young designer who is just about to start a label would be to make a commitment to working for another design company for a few years to learn from there mistakes. It is about running a business, which means you need social and management skills as well as creativity.'

Miss Regenerate 'What other art forms take your interest?'

Philip 'Illustration, photography and fine art are other art forms that interest me. I studied fine art at John Moore’s University before graduating with an illustration degree from Camberwell college of Art in 2005. My illustration work is heavily influenced by the techniques I learnt while studying fine art. I was fascinated with texture and the traces left behind from everyday life like tea rings and cigarette burns. So I started layering paint and using different printing techniques over the top to make highly textured illustrations. I mostly use screen-printing, collage, and photocopy transfers, carbon paper and rubber stamps.

I started to use a computer more when I began producing graphics for fashion. This seemed like a natural process to me because my illustrations always had a graphic sensibility. Although my illustrations appear on my textiles and T-shirts, my graphics for garments are more inspired by fashion. And recently my illustrations have become more about fashion.

Something I want to expand on in the future is printing onto textured fabrics in the same way as I layer my illustrations.

Miss Regenerate 'What's the story behind your illustrations?

A lot of the stories behind my illustrations are about Capitalism and pollution. I worked as a temp for many years in big corporate banks, which made me think about these issues. My main source of inspiration was Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’. The movie portrays a futuristic vision of industrialization. The workers run the machines, the machines seem equally to run the lives of the workers. This idea is very closely linked to Karl Marx writings that describe the worker as a commodity. This is why I draw vacant robotic office workers and lines of bosses with comb over’s.