Q+A with Edith Peony
Central St Martins BFA Menswear ’26
Formula
In Next Gen / No Kill, we spotlight standout fashion graduates whose work opens up new conversations and possibilities. From New York’s top programs and beyond, these are the designers shaping a future of fashion defined by intelligence, creativity, and intention.
What is the inspiration or concept behind your collection?
The collection is about distilling fashion design down into a formula. The idea was to curate research and then randomly select three images from that research to design with. The process involved looking at the three images for a timed three minutes and then drawing a super rough sketch and immediately moving onto the next three images. Repeating the process 100 times in a session and then applying strict design rules such as “all grey” and “fully ecological”. In theory, having strict rules applied to any quick design would provide the designer with an infinite number of designs that all fit into the same collection. The collection is less of a collection and more of a proposal for an ideas machine.
What’s one material or technique you’re currently obsessed with?
Grey jersey will always be my obsession. In terms of up cycling clothing, it is the easiest colour to colour match.
What does fashion mean to you today?
Fashion to me has always been about making what I would want to wear myself. If you wouldn’t wear it, why would you make it?
What’s one thing you wish the fashion industry would leave behind—and one thing it should embrace?
Leave behind one-wear pieces.
Fashion needs to embrace chic sustainability. The sustainable fashion that is not clickbait or falling apart. Real chic clothes that are made ecologically.
Who or what has shaped your design values most?
My mother. She was steadfast in her ethos towards making, eating, shopping, doing etc. No compromises when it comes to morals and ethics.
If you could design for anyone in the world, who would it be—and why?
Dries Van Noten. One of the few brands who make grey jersey high fashion. The craftsmanship is stunning and the clothes are always timeless.
Three things keeping you sane right now
Health, my best friends and thinking about what I want to do next.
One word to describe your design approach: Rules
Where can we find you online? @edithpeony
