Ahead of his official LFW debut as part of the BFC’s NEWGEN initiative, Yaku Stapleton explains his approach to his work.
The London-based designer from St Albans, Yaku Stapleton, has fast become one of the city’s most innovative and exciting creatives. A 2023 MA graduate from Central Saint Martins, Yaku’s debut collection won the L’Oréal Creative Award. He has since released three mainline collections, collaborated with global brands such as MSCHF and Nike, received the Swedish Fashion Council’s Challenge the Fabric Award, and joined the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN cohort- compiling an incredibly impressive portfolio of experience in just one year. His collections form part of a series titled ‘The ImPossible Family Reunion in RPG Space’.
This series draws from Yaku’s research into perception and sculptural form, infused with fantasy and viewed through the lens of Afro-Futurism. Each piece is representative of a member of the designer’s family, only fictionalised and reimagined as an RPG character. This approach enables the designer to transform conceptual fantasy into wearable reality, featuring 99-Strength Jackets, Disguise Capes, and heat-textured “Zilla-skin” techwear from upcycled nylon jackets.
In your own words, how would you describe your design philosophy and your own personal approach to creating clothes?
For the past few years, my process has revolved around cycles of continuous expansion and refinement. My main body of work explores self-discovery through the lens of Afro-Futurism and envisioning my family in a limitless world. So the approach ends up being a lot about finding a balance between fantasy with practical applications of garments in the real world.
“I’ve come to realize there’s much more to discover about them as individuals. So the characters’ complexities and my understanding of them have both grown and presented new design challenges. “
How does your sense of individuality and imagination inspire your collections?
I still design based on character profiles based on my family, but have recently started to understand that these characters aren’t necessarily who they truly are or what they genuinely present, but are shaped through my understanding of them and that this view is unique to me. And over the last two years, while engaging with my family, I’ve begun to see them — and as a result, their characters — in a completely new light. I’ve come to realize there’s much more to discover about them as individuals. So the characters’ complexities and my understanding of them have both grown and presented new design challenges.
How did it feel to receive L’Oréal’s Professionnel Creative Award at the Central Saint Martins’s MA fashion show last year? Do you intend to infuse similar themes from that runway collection into your forthcoming show? Has your creative process changed and progressed in the last 18 months?
I was shocked and didn’t expect it at all. I was mostly just overwhelmed by the emotion that comes with completing and presenting the largest body of work I’d done to that point, for the first time.
The themes of the upcoming show will remain the same as in the MA collection, however, the creative process has definitely changed — when working alone, I was only communicating with myself and the tutors at school. Now, guiding a team requires me to explain the critique and my feelings on the work so far to the team so that we’re on a level mindset when designing, developing, and creating together. So this requires a lot more communication and co-creation compared to before.
How do you think the financial and advisory support from the British Fashion Council will make a difference to your LFW show in September?
It will hopefully allow us to present the work in its complete form and explore bigger ideas and concepts more freely.
What else do you think can be done to assist the young emerging designers of today?
More programs that focus on emerging designers – NEWGEN, Metallic, The Smithfield Foundation. These programs really allowed me to dedicate myself entirely to my practice for extended periods, which I believe is crucial for young designers to explore and refine their creative voices. The opportunity to fully commit, knowing you can use all your available time to pursue your dream, is incredibly valuable.
Do you have any upcoming projects or future aspirations that you would like to share?
I really enjoyed doing the upcycling workshop that we’ve just put on, and it’s definitely something that we’ll continue. It was exciting to show people that you can turn waste into something new really easily. I’d love to carry on with those.
What do you hope people will take away from your designs – how would you like your brand to be perceived?
The experiences I’ve had, the media I’ve consumed, and the activities I’ve done all contribute to my work and the way that the characters are brought to life. So, it might be less about wanting the brand to be perceived in any specific way, and more about hoping that those who resonate with the work explore it further and see themselves within it.
All imagery courtesy of Yaku Stapelton.
