Natasha Cain

NATASHA CAIN

FASHION BA (HONS)

Named “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit”, Natasha’s collection is based on her own personal heritage, growing up in a little seaside village called Port Erin, on the Isle of Man. The collection title is the Manx motto for the three-legged symbol of the island, translating to ‘whichever way you throw, it will stand’. From here, Natasha developed the phrase ‘we make our own war’, for her collection.

The womenswear designer delved into how the Isle of Man was used to hold internees at various internment camps during WW1 and WW2, with her concept for her collection being Make Do and Mend; using inspiration including photographs, maps and letters from the Manx Museum.

By looking through archived photographs, she looked at the styles of clothing worn by the men in the camps. The collection uses the concept of men’s tailoring and transforms them into womenswear; the idea being that women have upcycled the menswear garments from the camps into their own, before coming together to create their own pack to fight. Small details are also used to bring the island into the garments, including medals and tags used as embellishments and fastenings.

During her time on the Fashion Design course, Natasha spent three months with Whistles in London, in the technical team. She then completed a four-month studio role placement at Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, before spending her final two months at Clare Christian Couture on the Isle of Man.