Sculpting the Female Form – Sadie Clayton
14-06-2025
Curating sartorial garments as individual and idiosyncratic as the designer herself, Sadie Clayton is taking the fashion sphere by storm. Her unique architectural approach equates to avant-garde silhouettes and the creative construction of industrial materials and shapes to enhance the female body.
A fundamental and frequent metal that transpires as Clayton’s signature fabric – copper, additionally translating as an element that delivers good luck, appears unremittingly throughout the British designer’s aesthetic.
Pioneering unique British design, Sadie Clayton represents the utmost innovation amid her luxury sculptural womenswear label, an eponymous line which was initially established in 2015. Achieving an accumulation of catwalk appearances, the designer graduated from Kingston University in 2013 and has since extended her name onto the runway platforms of London, Berlin and Shanghai. Brand awareness has also descended at the Royal Academy of the Art, London’s Café Royal and Sanctuary Hotels and has exhibited at M&C Saatchi.
Acknowledging herself as a maker and a creator, it undoubtedly is Clayton’s aesthetical release to construct sculptures to fit the womanly form, which at the centre of it all, metamorphoses as pieces of armour to defend and empower the wearer. Attaining an incessant passion for copper, the fabric which undergoes a series of hammering and heating for a radical appearance – possesses more depth than many other materials, accords the designer. She explains, “how it transforms into many different colours and can be molded and hammered into beautiful textures. I have a very holistic approach on life,” she continues, “and copper is the element which brings not only health and good luck, but is symbolic of speed and technology and change, all concepts which inspire me and my collections.”
Evoking a striking, sculptural style, Clayton refers to her most recent Autumn/Winter 18/19 collection as her best sartorial offering to date, an aesthetic that depicts our journey through life, considering the multiple roles and layered emotions that naturally occur. Encompassing constant evolution, her collection that was presented at AltaRoma transpires as twice the size of her previous presentations, and exemplifies the progressive direction that her label is heading – “a luxurious brand with a unique sculptural identity.”
Images from the AW 18/19 collection
A lavish colour palette comprising of copper, burgundy, sand, nude and grey tones are seen sumptuously rendered in satins, suedes, corduroy and velvets, which conceal and reveal the female form. The bevvy of colours and fabrications ultimately signify the emotional and mood-related layers of the wearer. The designer’s signature shapes are seen embedded within architectural enhancing and powerful silhouettes that include her high waist trousers, complimentary albeit voluminous skirts and ethereal feminine tops. Following on from her bespoke pinstripe embroidery success amid last season’s line, Sadie has injected a Clayton edge on her tartan pieces for Autumn/Winter, illustrated on her signature bomber jacket and additionally infused via subtle embroidered accents amongst the collection.
Inclusivity with regards to model casting was an integral element amid the catwalk process for her current presentation. It is Clayton’s fundamental objective to represent a diverse sector of women to ultimately advocate equality, a concept that resonates deeply with the upcoming designer, who was raised in a society where being mixed race was a minority (she’s half Jamaican half white British).
Honing her craft with the application of using alternative materials, Sadie Clayton designs for women who radiate an air of profound confidence and empowerment, regardless of her shape, size, disability or ethnic origin.
Words by Kate Farley
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