Knitwear designer Mary Callan grew up in a seaside town at the foot at the Mourne Mountains in County Down, and her passion for fashion and design emerged early.
“I became interested as a young child,” she explains. “My mother was an antiques dealer and I was fascinated by the vintage clothes I saw on our buying trips. I remember buying a heavy beaded 1920s dress at age 10 and being entranced by that garment.”
Callan graduated from Central Saint Martins in London, where she specialised in fashion knitwear, and went on to gain invaluable and exciting design experience with internationally acclaimed designers such as Chloe, John Rocha, Lainey Keogh and Knit One. In 2012 she was the winner of the Peroni Moda Awards, gaining an opportunity to work with Italian designer Marco de Vincenzo in Milan. Callan’s work consists of colourful textured knitwear for women. She draws upon influences such as tribal textiles, surrealism, jacquard and intarsia to create a bold graphic aesthetic. The integrity of the product is a priority, from the selecting of the yarn to how pieces are made. Garments are hand loomed in-house or made by family businesses in the UK and Ireland. All designs are made from luxurious natural yarns such as Scottish cashmere, lambswool and Italian Merino wool.
Speaking about her speciality and preferred textile, Callan says, “My specialism is knit and I enjoy the creative control of making a unique fabric from a length of yarn. The technical possibilities for texture, colour and pattern are endless.” As for her inspirations, Callan says she loves, “mid-century style, classic sportswear, tribal costume and textiles. Traditional Aran knitting is also a source of inspiration, and my favourite designers are Christopher Kane, Proenza Schouler and Elsa Schiaparelli.”
But sometimes her inspiration comes from sources outside of fashion, such as music, literature and pop culture. Callan explains that her most recent collection was inspired by Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love album, saying, “I was interested in the narrative about a girl cast out to sea, drifting in and out of consciousness in the water.”
The next few months are hectic for Callan, who is updating her website and displaying her new pieces.
“I’m also working on a capsule collection of knitwear to be shown for Autumn/Winter 2017,” she notes. “I’m still researching, but it’s looking like there’ll be lots of matt textures, tuck-stitch fabrics and knit-on knit pieces.”
You can buy Mary Callan’s stunning knitwear on marycallanknitwear.com. From July onwards, they will be available in Industry on Drury Street, Dublin. Other stockists include Cleo in Dublin and the Kilkenny Design Centre.