Current position:

David Longshaw & Kirsty Ward own line Longshawward

Lecturer of Fashion at SCAD Atlanta

concept title:

ESCAPING EMILY

Concept:

The entire collection is rooted in David’s passion for storytelling illustration. This is a tale of an abandoned puppet rediscovered by a rather disturbed fashion designer named Emily, who has moved to San Giovanni in Marignano, a picturesque Italian village, a few miles from the seaside resort of Cattolica. Despite the charm of the Italian village, Emily became home-sick. Until one night, whilst rearranging her apartment, she discovered a peculiarly proportioned puppet (dressed in a floral t-shirt and high waisted trousers with exaggerated pockets) slouched in a wicker basket under a puzzling avalanche of watch and clock parts and a book of pressed flowers. Charmed by her discovery, Emily began to tell the puppet tales from home. The tales became ever more wild as did Emily’s re-enactments of scenes from her past using the puppet. Soon, it was thread bare and badly damaged. Left with little choice, the puppet tried to make armour for itself from whatever it could get its paws on. But ultimately what it had to do, was escape Emily.