Monika Meets ~ Kirsty, Founder of Ornate Revival

We briefly introduced you to founder of Ornate Revival and all round creative cowgirl, Kirsty, last week. This time round we caught up with her more in depth to chat all things retro, setting up a slow fashion business and the importance of encouraging a more sustainable fashion future.

Hi Kirsty ❤ Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

I’m 26 years old and live in the North East of Scotland. I’ve always been a creative soul at heart. I pursued a career in Marketing after studying Media at University and sort of fell into Graphic Design. I’ve always loved art and creating and found that design came naturally to me and I enjoyed it more than other aspects of the job. I now work in a Marketing & Design role for an indie cinema (which is a total dream) alongside freelancing my design work on the side and running Ornate. It’s quite full on but I like to keep myself busy so it works well for me! 

How did Ornate Revival come about?

I’ve always adored fashion with a particular love for retro styles. I also have a strong entrepreneurial spirit so my head was always full of ideas for businesses and still is. OR is a passion project of mine really, I was keen to create Tees that didn’t follow trends. I wanted to create slow fashion pieces, ones that you’d wear through the years and pass down. I also really care about a piece that was created with care and attention. There’s plenty of graphic tees on the market from fast fashion retailers but they never captured that retro feel I love and if it did it always felt like it was missing the soul. That’s what I hope to bring to the market. 

Kirsty at home in the Camille Maxi Slip Dress

What inspires you when it comes to your design process? You have such a strong and cool aesthetic!

That’s so lovely of you to say. I seek inspiration from all around. My head rarely stops but music has always been my biggest inspiration for the brand. Music was my first love and it makes me inspired to create. I also love borrowing song names and lyrics and incorporating those into my pieces. Apart from that of course I love all things 70s, western and a touch of the contemporary too!

As a fellow fan of the seventies, what do you love in particular about that decade?

Of course I am a HUGE fan of the music. Zeppelin, Bowie, Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, so many of my favourites. That’s definitely what first caught my interest in the era but the fashion is truly something else. The colours and silhouettes felt so free and creative. I’ve always felt a nostalgic yearning for the past, although It’s not a time I lived through I really connect to the lifestyle and music of that time.

What inspires you when it comes to your design process? You have such a strong and cool aesthetic!

That’s so lovely of you to say. I seek inspiration from all around. My head rarely stops but music has always been my biggest inspiration for the brand. Music was my first love and it makes me inspired to create. I also love borrowing song names and lyrics and incorporating those into my pieces. Apart from that of course I love all things 70s, western and a touch of the contemporary too!

As a fellow fan of the seventies, what do you love in particular about that decade?

Of course I am a HUGE fan of the music. Zeppelin, Bowie, Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, so many of my favourites. That’s definitely what first caught my interest in the era but the fashion is truly something else. The colours and silhouettes felt so free and creative. I’ve always felt a nostalgic yearning for the past, although It’s not a time I lived through I really connect to the lifestyle and music of that time.

And as a fellow slow fashion brand, why do you think it's important we slow things down and focus on a more sustainable fashion future?

We can’t underestimate that our choices impact the future of our planet. Nothing makes me more sad than to see how nature and the wonderful creatures around us are starting to crumble from the actions of mankind (I absolutely recommend watching David Attenborough’s recent documentary ‘Life On Our Planet’). We need to make sustainable choices to ensure our future. It is vital and necessary. We need to think differently and make positive choices in the right direction. Also with instagram there’s always such pressure to keep up with trends. There’s definitely less of a focus on being ourselves. It can be fun to play around with trends but I much prefer putting my own spin on things to ensure I don’t lose my own personal sense of style. There’s nothing better than pulling out an old tee or dress that you’d forgotten about and styling it in a new way. Slow fashion is just more fun to me!

Who would you love to see wearing one of your tshirts?

This is a hard one! I totally idolise musicians so I’d love to see Julia Jacklin or Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood) wearing one of my tees! They are 2 of my favourite contemporary artists.

What does the future of Ornate Revival look like?

It’s hard to say, for now I’m just loving the support and seeing customers wearing my designs. I’d love to bring out another few designs in the near future. I’ll do that when the moment feels right. I’d also love to organise a shoot with my new designs. The current situation meant I was unable to do so when launching them so I did something homemade instead but still I’d love to create something bigger. 

Quire Fire Round

Three things you can’t live without?

Music, My loved ones & my cats for sure.

Where is the first place you'd like to travel once its safe to again?

Italy! Siena to be exact. We had to postpone a trip there this year so I am very much looking forward to going next year if all goes well. Gimme all the pasta & wine pls.

Death row meal?

I am obsessed with food so this changes daily. For the moment I’d say… Starter: A super fresh Caprese salad. Main: Some sort of white wine, creamy tagliatelle with chanterelle mushrooms. Desert: Tiramisu for sure. If I got a drink too I’d choose a Fitzgerald cocktail which is my favourite thing EVER.

What have you been listening to recently?

A lot of Jefferson Airplane, Courtney Barnett & Deer Hunter

One person, dead or alive, who would you say is your style icon?

Oooh this is hard, there are many but I’d have to say Robert Plant!