2015 Awardee: Louis Alderson-Bythell

I will use the opportunity at RCA to really focus on my passion for new and adapted fibres and technology within fashion.

Biography

Based in Edinburgh, Louis is a fashion designer who is fast becoming an asset to the industry.

During his studies at the Edinburgh College of Art, Louis demonstrated a natural ability for pattern cutting and an innovative and critical approach to fashion design. He produced work of high quality, often employing unconventional working methods to realise his ideas.

Louis is dedicated and meticulous, with a passion and energy for developing his skills. His work is concept-led and makes use of hybrid cloths such as silica, carbon fibre and Vermiculite.

In 2015, Louis was offered a place to study on a masters course at the prestigious Royal College of Art.

https://www.lvboratory.com/
https://www.instagram.com/__l.a.b__

How the Award Helped

Louis received a Dewar Arts Award to support his masters studies. The creative context of the postgraduate course will help Louis to further develop his craft and grow as a designer. He aspires to go on and work in a design or material development position before one day establishing his own brand.

Since the Award

October 2019

Since receiving his Award, Louis’ career has gone from strenth to strength.  He writes:

‘I graduated from the RCA in 2017, since then I have been working on my own brand www.lvboratory.com www.instagram.com/__l.a.b. My work has been featured in Vogue, Hunger Magazine and Textile View to name a few…LAB is a project investigating novel fabrication processes and innovative materials in order to diversify the way we think about and construct garments.

This year I have set up a business with my collaborator Kate Williams called Material Think Space www.materialthinkspace.com. It is an art practice working between sculpture, performance art and experience design. We have shown our work at Fashion Clash Festival and ArtNight London curated by the Hayward Gallery.

I am now also a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art in Fashion.

I couldn’t have done any of this without the amazing support of the [Dewar Arts Award] which allowed me to pursue my studies and take my work and thinking to the next level.’

Louis Alderson-Bythell 6

I will use the opportunity at RCA to really focus on my passion for new and adapted fibres and technology within fashion.