Many designers are moving back to London from New York to show their collections for Spring/Summer 2009. Iranian born designer Afshin Feiz did just that last season bringing his eclectic feminine style to a British audience. Despite being born in Iran he is truly international spending most of his life in Europe but also studying French Literature at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

He spent many years in London and Paris where he studied at the prestigious avant-garde fashion school, Studio Berçot. His travels and his vast studies have obviously inspired his designs. We caught up with him to ask about his latest collection, his influences and the difference between showing in London and New York.

• What was your inspiration behind this collection? This collection is called COCOON. My first ever Winter show at New York Fashion Week had been inspired by the same theme, that of Persian poet Rumi whose references to butterflies being attracted to candle light and getting their wings burnt were synonymous to lovers risking giving their hearts to their beloved. Since it was my first Winter show at London Fashion Week I found it interesting to revisit the same theme but to see how my vision had evolved since New York, particularly taking into consideration the fact that London is such a polar opposite to New York Fashion.

To read the rest of his answers and to see images from his collection read more

• (cont.) What gives colour to butterfly wings is not pigment but rather the reflection of light on thousands of tiny scales. So when they are in their cocoon they are all black but with varying textures on their wings. I played with this idea by using a lot of black for the first time, but playing with details and textures, mixing fabrics such as wool, tulle, metallic silks and rope embroideries, sometimes embellished with little metal disks that I found in the hardware store. Then as the butterfly is born, there are touches of very bright candy colours that appear in the collection. One interesting fabric I used for this was 100% silk that looked like plastic.
• What is your favorite piece from your Autumn/Winter 08 collection? My favourite piece is Look number 1. It has a sort of origami structure that has a shiny black jacquard striped surface, mixed with a plain black wool surface creating a textured effect on a little black dress.
• Many designers are now returning to London to show their collections, you have shown in both New York and London, how do you find that London differs? London and New York are very different. New York is all about money. London is still about creativity yet the designers have more business savvy than in the past and are not only worried about being different anymore. They are different but they have learnt to hone their differences into real businesses. Its very exciting because you feel less constrained by rules. At the end of the day, its all about expressing yourself and making clothes that will appeal to people who actually want to wear them but its more exciting to see people wearing clothing that are more special than just the typical American sportswear. Having said that there is a new breed of exciting new designers coming out of New York now that are more interesting. But London remains the capital of creativity.