Amid the bustle of the old quarter of Hanoi, the aptly named Silk Street was an explosion of colour: delicate silk scarves wafting in the breeze, pretty ai dao dresses with intricate embroidery packing shop rails and the scent of fabric dye hanging in the air. As Greenock designer Kathryn Carberry took in the sights, sounds and smells of the Vietnamese capital street, the riot of colours and fine stitching on the vintage silks and other fabrics ignited thoughts of home and her grandmother’s finely cut, much-loved clothes. The quality of the workmanship, the classic designs and the ‘too good to throw away’ fabrics – many far older that her – told a story of having once taken pride of place in their owners’ clothes collection.
Back home, she focused her creative skills on finding new ways to use exotic vintage textiles for a new generation seeking an antidote to a wasteful world of fast fashion. A few months later her new fashion brand, Thread Again, which takes vintage Indian silks and patterned fabrics with exquisite traditional embroidery and turns them into clothes, accessories and homeware, had launched. Kathryn Carberry of Thread Again (Image: Sandra Nagel) Almost immediately, it was picked up by high-end online fashion site Wolf & Badger as one of its coveted brands.
Within weeks, she was at an exclusive fringe event at Paris Fashion Week, selected as part of the Impossible Objects’ Incubator Showcase to display her collection alongside brands from the US, .