About Me
Welcome to my portfolio site! I'm Katie, a fashion designer with a deep commitment to the sustainable and ethical transformation of the fashion industry. My journey in the fashion world so far has been driven by a desire to blend responsible production with impactful visual design.
My first professional fashion design role was with the Saheli Women collective in Rajasthan, India – a truly radical, ethical women’s social enterprise. While there, I co-designed their first namesake collection, while overseeing our client production. This experience, along with my Masters in Sustainability in Fashion and Creative Industries at AMD Berlin, has only further cemented my belief in the power of localized fashion industries, and responsible sourcing.
I love travelling, whether it’s to discover pre-loved materials in markets across the globe, or a weekend trip to the beach. I love life drawing, cooking up new dishes for my imaginary restaurant, and music festivals. I’m so excited to continue pushing the boundaries of fashion with new co-workers and collaborators in the future, to create thoughtful, sustainable designs that resonate with people’s lives and values. Explore my portfolio and please reach out to work with me on exciting projects you think we’ll align on. I’m excited to connect with sustainable fashion brands for full-time roles and am open to freelance projects that align with my values. :)
Creating a personal colour palette
I love seeing a bit of personal development from other designers, and the colour palette I chose for this website was born from a cute autumn evening project photographing my favourite things:
My favourite leather jacket, the jumper I bought on the way to a job interview I didn’t like me outfit for, my favourite house plant and my bedroom walls.
Professional Experience
Design and Event Lead
Saheli Women | Jan 2024 - July 2024 | Edinburgh + London, UK
As Design and Event Lead for Saheli Women, I was part of a close-knit team of five, coordinating the UK launch of our inaugural collection with a high-profile event at Wild By Tart, London. My role spanned the entire creative direction—from conceptualizing the theme to designing invitations that truly captured our brand’s essence.
Together, we cultivated relationships with influencers and industry pros, building a guest list that embodied Saheli Women’s ethos. We crafted social media strategies to generate buzz, using vibrant content and storytelling to boost engagement and excitement around the event.
We also organized a week-long pop-up in London, handling logistics, entertainment, and hospitality to create an immersive brand experience. Our usage of video interviews with the women of the collective, public speeches, collection development books, and impact reports, ensured a seamless and impactful event experience, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the Saheli Women brand while connecting with the story and artisans behind the collection.
Womenswear Designer and Communications Lead
Saheli Women | Jun 2023 - Dec 2023 | Jodhpur, India
As Centre Manager for Saheli Women, I oversaw international client communications and led the full production process, from concept ideation and fabric selection to quality control and timely delivery. I had the exciting opportunity to co-design and launch Saheli Women’s first luxury womenswear collection, elevating the brand's global profile, starting in the UK. My role also extended into business development, where I handled proposals for planning permission, grants, and certifications, and reported on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives to strengthen our ethical fashion mission.
Alongside production, I managed the brand’s marketing, overseeing our Instagram content and engagement. I focused on bridging cultural differences between our international clients and local artisans, fostering clear, respectful communication for both sides. Our international clients would regularly come to visit the studios in India and I would host them and introduce them to the collectives ways of working and socialising. I also hired and trained interns, helping them integrate smoothly into the team and feel empowered in their roles.
A key highlight was planning Saheli Women’s first UK pop-up at John Lewis, featuring a collection of pyjamas, Christmas stockings, and lifestyle gifts crafted from upcycled saris and handwoven cotton. During a sourcing trip to Pushkar with Madhu, our founder, and my textiles design intern Charlotte, we handpicked saris for the collection. I collaborated with our in-house pattern cutter on the product designs and worked with the handloom team to develop unique, handwoven cotton for the luxury pyjamas. This project was both a skills development initiative and a chance to create a distinct colour palette, shaping the evolving brand identity of Saheli Women.
Commercial Model
Tartan Models | Aug 2022 - Ongoing | Edinburgh, Scotland
With Tartan Models, I've had the pleasure of working with fantastic brands like Schwarzkopf, Breitling, and Macallan Whisky. Modelling has given me an inside look at Scotland's creative content and fashion scenes, from seeing a great variety of studios and photography setups to meeting the talented photographers, assistants, and stylists who bring each project to life. It’s been a fantastic way to expand my network and understand the ins and outs of our local industry on a whole new level!
Fashion Design and Manufacture Resident
TikTok | June 2020 | London, England
With the Graduate Fashion Foundation, I won a competition to design and hand-make four pairs of shorts as bespoke TikTok merchandise, which were created specifically for gifting to influencers. This role was an incredible opportunity to develop my fashion design skills—creating detailed tech packs fit for factory usage, perfecting commercial pattern cutting skills, and working with industrial sewing machines and over lockers in a fast-paced London factory. Presenting my final designs to Henry Holland and TikTok’s Creative team was a huge highlight, as was receiving free training in CLO3D. The experience also included factory tours, where I gained valuable insights into commercial fashion production.