Designer Spotlight: Hilary Laing

Printed fashion designer Hilary Laing might draw her inspiration from children's sketchpads, but it's unlikely that your average juvenile artwork comes anywhere close to these divine doodles. A collection filled with playful Crayola swirls set on silk mix fabrics, Hilary's pieces are so sweet that when you're not wearing them, you might just want to hang them on the fridge.

A graduate of Heriot Watt's School of Textiles and Design, Hilary spent time in London working for designers such as Elspeth Gibson and Antoni & Alison, before returning to Glasgow and to her first love: print design. “About a year ago, I decided I had to commit and do this full time,” says Hilary, “I have to be creative.” This creative commitment has clearly paid off, with Hilary's collection of hand-printed silk mix scarves, covered bracelets, ties, and made-to-order dresses generating national press and ever-increasing orders to fill. “It's a really exciting time,” nods Hilary, “ I've had a lot of interest from overseas, after being featured on various fashion blogs, and in Look magazine. Look have also requested one of my scarves to use in a shoot, which is
great.”

The candy-coloured goodies you see here are from Hilary's current, Spring/Summer collection, but for Autumn/Winter, she's giving a key trend the Laing treatment. “I've got a scribble tartan for this next season. It's really mad, and I'm also looking at fringing and patchwork ideas.” We're not sure about you, but we're looking forward to seeing what appears next in Hilary's gallery.