Clothes for nightclub set

Press, 4 April 1989, Page 16

Clothes for nightclub set

SARAH CHISNALL, nominated in the

Benson and Hedges Fashion Design Awards Bernina Young Designer section, has always wanted to be a fashion designer. It wasn’t until she met with a stroke of bad luck, however, that she was able to indulge in her hobby full time. After leaving high school, Sarah went to work in a haberdashery shop while designing part time. Last year she was made redundant.

“Everyone said it was a sign for me to go full time — so I’ve gone for it.”

Sarah has her own label, Sugoi, which is Japanese for “Wow!” which sells through Savannah and Amaretto. She likes to design for the nightclub set, producing young, fun clothes often inspired by the latest pop videos.

They are the sort of

clothes she likes to wear herself. In fact, she was almost hoping that the black buckled jacket dress with white lace trim which won her the Benson and Hedges nomination wouldn’t get in. She wanted to wear it'out that week-end.

This was the second time she had entered the Benson and Hedges Awards. She had a nomination in the After Five category last year and two garments in the highlights parade.

Sarah has had no formal training in clothing design, apart from an industrial machining course last year. “Anything I’ve learnt, I’ve learnt from my Mum,” she laughs.

She has no immediate intention of doing any further training. “I’ll see how I go without it. I’ll do it if necessary, but at the moment I’m doing fine as

I am.” Eventually, Sarah would like to open her own shop, selling her label exclusively. She is not prepared to attempt that, however, until the money is there. In the meantime, she is looking for more retail

outlets throughout the country. This will mean employing outworkers, which Sarah feels rather nervous about. It will also f mean that she will have to stop keeping her best designs for herself!