"Beauty is terror." It’s an emotion that Matty 

Bovan, whose own rainbow-daubed appearance provides the smiling face to his teeming, dazzlingly coloured world of design. 

 

Bovan is a graduate in MA Fashion Knitwear from Central Saint Martins. He received the Graduate prize 2015 LVMH which followed with a stint as a junior designer at Louis Vuitton. He has collaborated with AV Robertson on a print used in Marc Jacobs S/S16 collection whilst contributing in different magazine campaigns such as LOVE, iD and Man About Town.

 

From his rainbow fringe to his equally colourful 

eye shadow, the growing fashion designer, stylist and make-up arti­­­st is demanding to be heard. But, as the young designer pushes an already rebellious take on glamour to new places, his revolutionary mode of self-reflection does begin to border on the sinister. “The most exciting thing about being a designer today is doing something exciting with energy and showing your own vision,” says Matty. “You have to be quite brave to be a creative in this climate. It’s a risk, and I see labels go under every week, but people are still pushing themselves and pushing boundaries.” It is clear that Matty Bovan is doing just that. 

 

Bovan has an extraordinary style, commonly seen 

wearing a hi-vis jacket over a white mini-dress or a mustard velvet tunic over a pair of tie-dye leggings. 

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“I always feel she is a female version of myself, it’s definitely someone who has a strong option on what they like,” said Bovan. “I do feel my clothes are not just strictly womenswear though and have never considered it so rigid.” In fact, the designer enlisted him to collaborate with fellow CSM alum Amie Robertson on the look he’s pictured wearing, a glitter-graphitized tracksuit that hit the runway at last season’s theatrical extravaganza. As for the rest of Bovan’s designs, he describes his style as “stretch, lurex, colour, drippy, sculptures”, citing “music, TV, my garage and crap shops” as inspiration.”

 

Matty Bovan’s work demands to be heard. The London-based fashion designer is moving colour and texture into new forms and is inspired by the changing world around him. He describes his work as a ‘bit of a riot’ answering to a culture where being an artist is increasingly difficult. His view, is that this generation are agitators, which informs his work. His thrilling aesthetic which using clay, lurex and neon, is a representation of Bovan’s personal style. His work uses a combination of draping and unique textiles that cannot be recreated. Shredding, knitting, glittering and seemingly alive, these are designs that will continue to be used. 

 

Despite his studio being grounded in Yorkshire, 

Matty has a reputation as one of London's most original and creative new designers; a prime example of the skill and DIY spirit that is making the city's fashion scene so exciting right now. Based out of his hometown of York, Bovan is a leading strength in a generation of designers who have responded to London’s rising expense by doing things their own way, at a distance. But, as he declares, he isn’t done with changing the structure for now. Far from holding onward on the issues without doing anything about them, Bovan in his own very brightly coloured, escapist, dystopian/utopian style is presenting fashion in an alternative way.