Australian born fashion designer and founder of the sustainable workwear brand L.F.Markey, Louise Markey speaks to Crash about her beginnings in fashion, founding her own brand and her advice to young entrepreneurial designers.

Sydney and surfwear to London and Burberry – How did you make that transition?

It was quite a leap going from surf to luxury in one job move! I got my foot in the door at Burberry by being technically very good on design software and managed to work my way up.

Over my career I have had very varied experiences and each opportunity has fed into L.F.Markey. Working in surfwear I learnt how to build a great culture within a company and the importance of building a team of wonderful, talented people. In Burberry I learnt about luxury finishing and to design by incrementally building and improving upon your existing styles. In addition I worked for very small and large companies, and learnt more things there too.

You were taught by the late Louise Wilson, one of the most prolific figures in the industry, how has her legacy gone on to feed into your brand, do you see her influence also in the work of your fellow alumni?

Louise Wilson was such a genius of design and her legacy I think can be felt in anyone who studied under her leadership. Her exacting vision extends beyond just garment design and into the world around us. I think you look at design completely differently after being taught by her and I will always be grateful for it.

Can you tell us about your time working with Christopher Bailey at Burberry? It was such an iconic time for the house?

I was working on the more commercial line, Burberry London, at that time so I had only a few dealings with Christopher but he was an impressive individual, as was the CEO Rose Marie Bravo. I was only 22 then so I tried to soak up as much from them as I could during my time at Burberry.

Your press release says you followed him to Paris, did you continue working with him then?

No, in fact I didn’t follow him there- I left Burberry and went back to my hometown of Sydney with a view to starting my label there. When I got back I realised that Europe was still calling for me so I packed my bags again to Paris with a view to finding a Paris design job. The plan didn’t quite work out and I ended up working in a wonderful pub called The Bottle Shop in the Bastille for the period. It was a fantastic year of my life! It was after this I went back to the UK and started my Masters at CSM.

You started LF Markey ten years ago and now you’ve launched another label, Meadows, what is your favorite part about creating a label? What is your least favorite part?

My favourite part is always the beginning as it’s all about new ideas and nothing about problem-solving and logistics! Though that has it’s pleasures too. If you’d asked me 6 months what my least favourite part is I would have said the finance, but I am finding some creativity in that side too now. I love learning and am always up for adding some  new strings to my bow.

What advice would you give to young designers about starting their own label? What is a brand you would like to do a collaboration with?

I have so much advice to offer! The biggest advice is to create a product which is uniquely yours, and to carve out your own path for that product. If you follow the beaten track there is too much noise and you won’t be discovered. Actually we have a dream collaboration coming up in homewares but I will have to wait to reveal who it is.

Ethical manufacturing is a big part of LF Markey and seems to be in constant development, what are your current goals for the brand in terms of sustainability?

The climate crisis is a huge concern for us as it is for most people. I’d like to achieve as much as we can in this field, perhaps even becoming a B-Corp in the near future.

London or Paris? Coffee or tea?

I would say Paris now, I adore London, but I’ve had my fill of it after 20 years there. Definitely coffee.

Interview by Roisin Breen

Discover the L.F. Markey Spring/Summer 22 collection below.