From the initial idea to the chaos of composition, the inspiration behind the collection, and finally, reflections on what’s next. A lot goes into making sure the 15 to 20 minutes of runway magic live up to expectations.
The pressure of a debut is crushing, no matter the arena, no matter the field, no matter the time given to preparation. For Naomi Hart the stage was the largest in British fashion and the time to prepare was negligible, but this is where the true greats rise to the occasion.
Just over a year ago, for AW24, we hosted an event to run alongside London Fashion Week for some of the magazine’s favourite up and coming designers. This was where I first met Naomi. In the succeeding year a lot has changed and as I started compiling my schedule for this year’s AW season, I received an email from I.DEA with an invite to Naomi’s show.
I am constantly fascinated by the unimaginable levels of work, dedication - and some would say obsession - that is necessary to make these events a success.
As Naomi came down from the high of what was a truly glorious debut showing, I spoke with her about the experience and what had transpired in the year since we had last met…
The turnaround between seasons is shockingly short, something many designers have railed against for some time. Even for the larger brands this is difficult to maintain. Naomi was afforded even less time.
“My friend and I, at the beginning of this year, set up a networking business for fashion and the arts.
“We just wanted to support and promote artists. She suggested that a good way to start would be to have me as the first artist we promote—let’s try and put on a fashion show.
“So I started putting a collection together early this year.”
Although just a personal project, this in itself would have been a grand undertaking, but a few weeks out from the show this pressure was heightened.
“I started working with I.DEA PR, and they just blew the whole thing up, which was really good”, she explains, “but at the same time, what was originally supposed to just be me putting a few pieces together and doing a little show became a much bigger deal.”
This daunting prospect seemed to prove a catalyst for Naomi to unlock the show’s full potential, it may have required “a lot of all-nighters”, but she told me how these solid deadlines are often beneficial.
“Everyone is telling me next time not to do it so last minute, but I think it is better than not doing it at all, and I always work much better that way.
“If I have a solid deadline, I can usually just go on overdrive and get it all sorted.”
The show itself was a kaleidoscope of contrast—structured tailoring clashing against fluid silhouettes, glossy marbled leather against matte quilted textures. The collection, built upon her signature fusion of youthquake rebellion and surrealist dreamscapes, took shape in elongated flares, hyper-feminine panelling, and the deep, moody hues of burgundy and black, punctuated by jolts of canary yellow.
The varied inspirations were something that really stood out. Hart explained the necessity of this, “I can get quite tunnel-visioned and obsessed over one thing if I stick with it for too long.
“You don’t want to start going down the route of potentially copying something because you have become so obsessed with it. It is nice to be able to mix different inspirations to make something new.
“At the end of the day, it all comes down to making people feel strong and empowered in the clothing—bringing it back to the flattering fits, and focus on panelling, to keep it cohesive. Then using these varied inspirations to inform the core ideas.”
The theme and name of the collection, Unproductive Thinking, was inspired by the song Strange and Unproductive Thinking - famously composed by the late great David Lynch.
Although this work became the centrepiece of the collection, it was more of a cherry on top than an early foundation. The collection had already begun to take shape when a friend played the song for Hart in her studio.
Naomi explained, “When she put that song on, and I kept hearing it saying unproductive thinking, I thought—that's it, that is the name of the collection. I feel like I have been doing so much unproductive thinking recently, it just fit too well.
“The collection came about first, and it just felt like something was missing—then that song came along, summed it up and brought it all together.”
Another central inspiration to the AW25 collection, and Naomi’s work as a whole, is a lifetime's love of motorbikes. There was the occasional ‘biker ensemble’ in this season’s offering, but the heart of this focus goes much deeper.
Hart explained, “I think just being on the bike is very freeing—you feel alive, everything is just fun.
“That is the main way it inspires my work. It should be fun, it should be freeing, and not be taken too seriously.
“Just trying to capture some of those feelings in the collections is important to me.”
The stresses of this whirlwind debut seem to have left Naomi undaunted, with her eyes firmly set on the brand’s future success.
“I think now that I have done all this in a month, coming back for next season doesn’t seem as scary. But maybe that is wishful thinking.
“I think I definitely need to delegate more next time but I am hoping to do a much bigger collection.
“I would definitely love to do some bits in Paris. I love London, but to take the collection outside and travel with it would be a dream.”
Naomi Hart’s AW25 debut was a testament to the unending benefits of taking risks—both in design and daily life.
If this collection, her ability to thrive under pressure, and her capacity to find clarity within last minute frenzy are any indication of the future, this was just the beginning, and we will be seeing the products of plenty of unproductive thinking on London runways for years to come.
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