Name: Hayley Scanlan
Age: 28
Hometown: Dundee, Scotland
Alma Mater: Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
Claim to Fame: Won Scottish Young Designer of the Year in 2012
Interned for: Jeremy Scott, i-D magazine
Designer Icons: Holly Fulton, Alexander Wang, Versace
Clothes Seen on: Erin O’Connor, Jessie J., Little Mix
Sold On: StudandStud.com
What’s Up Next: Launching a sister label called “HS” at the end of July
Click through the slideshow to see some of Scanlan’s designs, plus, hear about how she got her start and her run-in with Bruce Willis.
On getting started:
“My Gran was a dressmaker, so when I was growing up, I was constantly surrounded by her making clothes. That’s just something I’d always done since I was a little girl — I was always making clothes for my Barbie dolls, or knitting things.”
On her first celebrity client:
“Erin O’Connor (top right photo, in the center) was the guest presenter at our graduate show and she ended up buying one of my jackets. Since then I’ve never had to contact anyone, all stylists now contact me.”
On interning for Jeremy Scott:
“Scout Willis — Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daugher — interned with us two days a week. One day, her sister couldn’t pick her up so she had to call her dad. Her dad came to pick her up and I was so starstruck. It was like being in a Die Hard movie.”
On winning big at the Scottish Fashion Awards:
“There were so many talented people in my category and I just thought, well there’s no chance I’m gonna win this. Because I’ve done, like, one collection. And I’ve been on maternity leave. [Ed note: Hayley is a mother to six-month-old twins.] And then I did! So that was pretty amazing.”
On studying textile instead of garment design:
“Well for one, I’m not the best pattern cutter. I know the basics, but I’m not so good with structured shapes and things because I’ve never been trained in that. [But] I want it to be about the detail and the embellishment, and then I keep the silhouettes really simple so that [the print] does all the talking for you.”
