LONDON — What would occur for those who interpret the softness of floral Victorian-inspired bonnets through the harshness of leather?

Central Saint Martins textile designer Meg Dennis’ graduate collection explored exactly that, through a method she pioneered and termed “suede bonding technique,” which allowed her to transfer the feel of suede onto the grain side of leather. 

“The most important focus for my final collection was seeing what qualities leather and only leather can create. I’m eager about brutalist mediums and materials and seeing whether or not they could be manipulated in a fragile way,” the designer said.

The fruits of her labor were three bonnets, two in red and one in cream, which featured various floral motifs derived from ’60s interiors and Victorian women. 

“For the beige leather bonnet, my initial development was drawing delicate floral imagery from the Victorian era and ‘60s with staples. Then I extracted those drawings and engraved them onto leather,” she explained.

Trimming the hats were layered flowers made from boiled leather, allowing their edges to stiffen and curl, and pistils were emulated through white beading.

Dennis’ passion for textiles lies inside her love for working along with her hands, although her design ethos wasn’t at all times linear. 

“I’m really eager about craft and I learn loads by making,” she said.

“After I first began art textiles, I used to be an enormous perfectionist. When it got here to drawings or any form of creating, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to appear like, and if it didn’t appear like that I’d feel I’d let myself down,” she added.