BIANCA SAUNDERS

Since graduating from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Menswear Fashion, the 30-year-old designer and artist has curated trailblazing solo shows for Paris and London Fashion Week, won the Andam Prize and has expanded her fashion brand to an international market. But behind the list of accolades, Bianca Saunders’ journey is a testament to hard work.

Someone once told me that the power of art is to do more than tell it as it is, but to imagine what might be possible. It is within this frame that I have been drawn to Bianca Saunders’ creative practice. Born and raised in South London in a British Jamaican household, her growing archive of statement pieces and collections are an ode to the understated elegance and defiance of Jamaican culture. Commonly referenced under the banner of Generation Windrush, Saunders’ practice shifts the gaze beyond Jamaica’s tourist appeal and iconic reggae band to consider a broader cultural and stylistic map that brings the British Jamaican experience in a new light. “I really wanted to do something that tapped into the parts of Jamaican culture that people do not really think about.”

Described as one of her favourite collections, her Spring Summer 2023 Collection, Hard Food, effortlessly materialised popular staples in Jamaica’s culinary traditions. Anyone that grew up in a Jamaican household would be familiar with the starchy meals comprising boiled yam, dumplings and plantain. For Saunders’, this became a source of inspiration for her collection. “Sometimes it is not only about telling our stories, but just styling and flavouring different themes that can play on the hard and soft. Being able to materialise something that we think of as hard and making it soft.”

Saunders’ ability to spotlight overlooked, yet common everyday British- Jamaican culture norms has given her work a particular edge. Not only is she concerned with materiality and layering, but also driven by a concern for the ways in which clothes can be performed. Her early project, ‘Personal Politics’, explored the possibility of using fashion to speak back to gender norms – an approach that still defines Saunders’ work. “I like the idea of juxtapositions – bringing two things that you wouldn’t usually put together and making it one.”

“I would like to broaden what we do as Jamaicans artistically.” Her most recent collection, Playwork, drew inspiration from Jamaican comedian, playwright and national treasure, Oliver Samuels. Samuels, who sits at the heart of Jamaica’s shifting relationship with the British Empire, brought together political commentary with satirical wit. And yet, while many would not associate Jamaica with theatre, Saunders used this to explore the “malleability of perception”; the layers between ways of seeing and the meaning attached to it. Throughout her catwalk show in February 2023, audiences were taken on a sonic and visual journey through the stylistic and witty records of Samuels’ TV series Blouse and Skirt. “I don’t go to many shows,” sheexplains,“butIknowwhatIwantpeopletofeel when they see my show. And a big thing for me and my shows is music. The soundtrack really changes like how you are able to take in the collection and being immersed in an experience.” Drawing inspiration from the social spaces in Jamaican households, the set became a spatial backdrop of Caribbean life.

“I really wanted to do something that tapped into the parts of Jamaican culture that people do not really think about.”

Saunders has been shaped by a hands-on approach from concept to delivery. Despite her growing team, she insists that she is involved in every aspect of her brand; a legacy of her rise to recognition. During her early years, she describes, “I had to become my own PR person. I knew there was so much I wanted to learn, and I would reach out to people who would be able to push my clothes out there. Sometimes it is about not taking no for an answer.”

“From a young age, I always knew that I wanted to have a career in the creative industry and was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to pursue my passion, but I knew I needed a plan.” Her experiences navigating the industry is a stark reminder of her visibility as a Black woman. “There are not many examples of people who look like me. I am creating my own path and it comes with a lot of responsibility.” With limited access and networks in the creative industry, in 2018 she became a recipient of R.O.O.M., Kenya Hunts mentorship programme. Founded in 2015, the scheme is a grassroots mentoring initiative aimed at diversifying people working within the fashion and media industries. During her time at the Royal College of Art (RCA), the scheme became a strong pillar of strength. “RCA is not a very diverse institution” she explains, “so there were times throughout my course where I felt lost and had to seek guidance... It is so important to have that support system, not just from your family, but also from the outside world.”

And yet, her experience in higher education taught Saunders something that money couldn’t buy – the power of being yourself. While her tutors at her university advised her against setting up her ownbrand because of the level of hard work, connections, and investment, Saunders continued to defy the odds. “I feel like I have been given opportunities and most people say it is because they like the fact that despite me having small resources, I am able to create and produce innovative pieces of work. I realise that I can only be myself. Many other designers are allowed to tell their story about their background and who they are. I want people to be seeped into my work and what represents me.”

“From a young age, I always knew that I wanted to have a career in the creative industry and was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to pursue my passion, but I knew I needed a plan.”

Although she started a business in her home, Saunders now has her own office, a growing team including her own in-house PR team. Since winning the Andam prize in 2021, she has confidently moved from being seen as an emerging designer, to an established designer with international store presence. Her most recent Karl Lagerfield-inspired suit designed for Usher at the 2023 Met Gala has reaffirmed Saunders’ position as an international powerhouse. And with all the success, she now feels that she is in a position to understand that good things take time. “I have a lot of dreams for the brand. I used to be determined to do everything and open at once, but now I am okay with the time of things. I have achieved a lot in the short space of time and now understand I have time to space things out. I’m like, you know what, I have enough time to slow down.”

Saunders’ hopes to develop more inclusive designs, focusing on unisex wear, accessories, and fragrances. In asking her what advice she would give to someone who is in similar shoes as she was 10 years ago, she asserts “do not focus on what anyone else is doing, do what you want to do.”

BIANCA SAUNDERS

BIANCA SAUNDERS

“I really wanted to do something that tapped into the parts of Jamaican culture that people do not really think about.”

“From a young age, I always knew that I wanted to have a career in the creative industry and was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to pursue my passion, but I knew I needed a plan.”

TIRINO YSPOL

Dan Sablon