Charli XCX designer brings Welsh myths to London Fashion Week

A fashion designer who has created outfits for stars including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Charli XCX hopes her mythology-inspired outfits at London Fashion Week will showcase Welsh heritage to the world.

Jayne Pierson, from Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, said it was a “blessing” to work with celebrities and turn their visions into a reality.

Her show tells the story of Rhiannon – the goddess of rebirth, the moon and fertility – unfold in Annwn, the otherworld in the ancient Mabinogion stories.

This goddess has a special link to Ms Pierson, as her four-year-old daughter who died from cancer in 1999 was called Ruby-Rhiannon.

“All the collections really evolve around my daughter,” she said, adding she imagines Annwn is where her daughter lives as a goddess.

“She is still here, you know, very much part of what I’m doing,” she said.

London Fashion Week, which takes place from 13 to 17 September is the place to be, Ms Pierson said.

“Everyone is running around. It’s pretty much a hot mess.”

After four months of sewing, 30 looks were showcased at London’s Adnaz Hotel on Saturday.

Models took to the stage in her version of Annwn, a woodland-themed room with “twisted willow, dried flowers and the haze machine creating this lovely effect of candles”.

The show is also an opportunity Ms Pierson to parade Wales and its heritage on the stage.

“Wales has been know for magic, superstition and the powers of the Middle Ages,” she said. “There were thousands of women persecuted as witches across Scotland and England and Europe – but only five in Wales.

“They were really proud of these women in the community and really valued what they were doing as healers and midwives, and herbalists,” she said.

In Wales, people saw Annwn not as a heaven or hell, but a world parallel to ours, said Ms Pierson.

“You could visit it – that’s what King Arthur did. He sailed there to visit Rhiannon for blessings. He took several guardians with him who didn’t return because as soon as you eat the food you don’t come back.”

She said she worked this temptation into her garments, with many gold-coloured items that “look like jewels” and a jewellery collection called Gwenllian which launched on Saturday.

“It’s using 24-carat Welsh gold which has all the Welsh motifs,” she said, adding “it’s meant to be worn to adorn the wearer as a sort of Amulet of protection”.

Ms Pierson’s work has caught the attention of a number of celebrities.

“I’ve known Charli XCX for years, when she first started I was doing looks for her. She’s so cool, she’s had a Brat summer,” Ms Pierson said.

“The people that get to be really successful deserve it, because they are actually really good people and very talented.”

She said her bespoke pieces make up part of the performance for the celebrities she designs for.

The designer added it was “a blessing” she gets to turn their visions into a reality, and when seeing behind the curtain she sees just how “much thought, research, time and planning” goes into their final outcome – be that show, premiere or wedding.