Fashion: The collection inspired by Suffolk’s countryside

When Suffolk fashion student Lorna Banham began sketching her graduate collection, there was only one place to look for inspiration: home. Grandad’s Garden is the result, as Alice Ryan writes

From a jacket lining printed with childhood photographs to cuts and seams set ‘sloughy on the huh’ - Suffolk for ‘a bit on the skew’ - Grandad’s Garden is a tribute to fashion designer Lorna Banham’s roots. Written with fabric and thread, it is, she explains, a love letter to the people and places that shaped her.

“The concept is ‘home’,” says Lorna. “To me, Suffolk is home: no matter where I go, wherever I live or travel, it will always be home.

“My fondest memories are of my Grandad; in many ways, he was home to me. He passed away eight years ago, but the memories I hold of him are precious.

“Grandad’s Garden is based on his garden: the veg beds, the greenhouses, the shed where he and I used to sit and eat tomatoes before dinner. . .”

Lorna’s graduate collection, the culmination of her fashion degree at Norwich University, Grandad’s Garden takes classic country clothes - a tweed jacket, a quilted gilet, a pair of Oxford Bags - and gives each garment an imaginative twist.

The jacket features off-kilter lapels; the gilet ties with a plump knot at the neck; the Bags are both vastly voluminous and ground-skimmingly long.

Unbutton the jacket and the photo-printed lining is revealed: “From photos of me as a baby to more recent ones of me and my grandad, it’s like a trip down memory lane,” says Lorna.

“The idea is that we hold memories so tightly to us, that in time they fade and change - as do we. The jacket’s tailoring was also inspired by the Suffolk expression ‘sloughy on the huh’; the way it is constructed, everything has a slight wonk to it.”

Having loved fashion for as long as she can remember - “I was always fascinated by the fact you could turn a piece of fabric into an outfit for someone to love and cherish” - Lorna decided to train in design following a gap year Level 4 in art, design and media. The place at Norwich followed.

Growing up on “a farm in the middle of the countryside, nothing but tractors and miles of fields and blue skies”, she has always channelled her personal history into her pieces.

“Every item of clothing holds memories and messages for people to interpret in different ways,” adds Lorna, who graduated this summer. “This helps fuel my drive in my designs.”

Her goal as a designer is to produce clothing with purpose; perhaps to move into sportswear. As Lorna concludes: “Clothing choices can act as a conduit for self-expression; it has the power to shape how we feel.”

View the full collection and find out more by following @lorn.afashion on Instagram.

Meet the Team
Clothes and styling: Lorna Banham
Photography: Molly Mutter
Models: Jess Smith and Morgan Kidd