Obscurus Magazine, a digital publication ‘for all your dark needs,’ have just published their first issue and they featured me and my label Sanctus!
Note: I absolutely love that they dubbed me ‘Lulu Spice!’ Is my childhood dream finally realised??
Featuring my lovely friend Katelizabeth‘s photography.
They also interviewed me! The text is a little tricky to read so I have transcribed it here;
So first off Lucinda, tell us a little about yourself and the brand!
Sanctus was established in November 2012, and the brand is actually a little more autobiographical than people realise. Sanctus means ‘saintly’ in Latin, a loose translation of my own name, and the logo features a mouse skull – I guess you could say mice are my spirit animal… Right now the range is exclusively black and white but I’ll be introducing colour soon!
What initially inspired you to create Sanctus?
Sanctus was a direct ‘descendent’ I suppose, of my original brand Fawn & Faith which was my graduate collection while I was studying at University. I guess Fawn & Faith really embodied me as a designer and I was so in love with doing it that I had to carry on doing it after I graduated, however I felt the name, the brand and the way it was inspired was holding me back as a designer and I wanted to start anew with the same aesthetic, lower price points and a new brand identity. And so Sanctus was born!
What do you think puts Sanctus in it’s own when so many people seem to be popping up online shops right and left now a days?
You’re right, there are a lot of online fashion brands, however I don’t necessarily see them as competition. I really push for quality and originality, and having only 50 of each piece and numbering them really takes Sanctus to a different level I think, because exclusivity is so hard to come by these days. I’m also not keen on ‘slogan’ tshirts and the generic graphics that are being slapped on by a lot of brands and try so hard to produce something that is really considered and more unusual.
Care to share with us some of the brand’s biggest achievements so far?
I think getting our first stockists was great, as well as the brand being published in Glacier Magazine and The Ballad of… Magazine online. However I have so many great collaborations coming up that I can’t talk about until they happen! I congratulate and remind myself every day, that I built Sanctus from the ground up and every bit of feedback, every purchase and every photo of a beautiful girl wearing Sanctus reaffirms that I’m doing exactly what I should be doing!
What are your future plans for the brand? Could we possibly see this or some of your own work on the runway?
There are some collaborations coming up with some amazing people that I can’t wait to share. I’m shooting with Sohui and my good friend Katelizabeth next month so I’m really excited to see how that comes out. Right now I’m in the process of designing the SS 13 range which I hope to be out in February and it’s going to be so nice working with new prints, new silhouettes and… colour! And absolutely, in the next couple of years I would like to develop Sanctus into more of a high end label and I’d love to show at fashion week.
And now for a few fun questions!
If you could create your own private island, where abouts would you put it? (I.e: in the middle of the Atlantic, off the coast of Madagascar, etc. etc.)
In the bermuda triangle so no-one can find me… I know not everyone is like me but a lot of us who work in the creative industry are total hermits. I work best in solitude!
Which do you prefer? Coffee or tea? And how do you like the chosen?
Coffee, with milk and sugar! A staple of my working day, although I’m very fond of a Chai latte with soya milk…
Have any pets?
I actually inherited a cat(!) and I’m very fond of him. His name is Apricot and he keeps me company (a.k.a. sleeps) in my mini studio while I work.
And last but no least, what’s your advice for any one who wants to break into the fashion business? I heard that you covered a few of the shows from LFW for Noctis magazine. Like myself, I can’t afford to attend design school, but my brain and body constantly buzzes with fashion and designs.
As for advice, going to University/fashion school is not necessary as long as you spend that time you would have spent there on gaining experience. It’s hard for me to give people advice on this as I am in two minds about the fashion industry. Of course I work in it, and have worked for free as we all have to, but unfortunately, the industry is incredibly unfair on interns – you can end up working for a company for months doing 10 hour days while they don’t pay you a penny – but it’s expected of you to have that experience. If you do go and get a fashion degree, spend all of your holiday/time off doing internships as you will never be in a better financial position to do so.
Go and give them a follow on tumblr! www.obscurus-mag.tumblr.com