Brand Spotlight : Maltese Designer Sef Farrugia

Our interviewee of the day is *drum roll* fashion designer Sef Farrugia. Sef Farrugia, who I first encountered in Malta Fashion Week last year, has very high standards, lots of skill and a highly creative mind. She is presently breaking boundaries both in London & Malta; she has already won two prestigious awards since graduating from college. In 2011 she was awarded ‘One To Watch’ knitwear award at Ravensbourne university Gala show. In 2012 she was awarded Winner of Runway Malta A/W 12 in collaboration with Mdina Glass & Fashionclash Netherlands.

Sef Farrugia designs breathtakingly original and beautiful clothes

Photographer Kurt Paris at Malta Fashion Week.

Sef Farrugia also designs beautiful scarves and unisex bowties.

When did you first start to get interested in fashion design?

If I had to look back I was always interested in Arts & Design and therefore it was something that was always part of me in one way or another. Fashion Design as a career path was one of the options I had set out to do and even though it was practically impossible back then to even think of it as a career, I still wanted to go for it, not excluding other paths in Arts & Design. However, my first choice was that to do illustration. The good thing about this industry is that you can apply your abilities in different sectors.

When did you actually start?

I can’t properly remember, as I have always sketched from a very young ago, so I am not sure how old I was probably around 4 or 5, I would make up stories and dress the characters, but I was always drawn to arts / design, however I have always shadowed my mother and uncle, who used to work as seamstresses and then started my studies in fashion design, back in 2007 in the UK.

Tell us something about your latest collection. You have recently started designing scarves and bowties. Tell us a bit more about that.

The POPPINS accessories collection was a continuing to my first collection… The scarves had already been used as part of the collection as head scarves and I had already started producing them as I am a big fan of silk scarves, also it was a great way to use my illustrations/artworks… then the Bow Ties came after, as I was looking to expand to various products, it is something that I will be continuing to work on.

Which is your all time favorites piece that you have created?

I really don’t have one, because I try to do the best I can in everything I do. I have to say the knitwear pieces form the first collection was a big challenge and the floral pieces form the second was a lot of handwork and extremely time consuming.

From where do you draw on for inspiration and are there are any other designers that inspire you?

Inspiration is something that just happens and so it could be anything, anyone, and anywhere. It is unexpected and it happens when it happens. I look up to anyone that chases a dream, follows through with it and somehow gets it done.

What was your proudest career moment?

There have been a few moments which I could say I am proud of but I think the fact that I insisted on what I wanted to do and followed through it, is my proudest achievement.

What can we look forward to in 2013?

Can’t give away too much, but, hopefully another collection, collaborations and many more exciting projects tapping into different sectors.