London Fashion Week designer started knitted looks as ‘therapy’

Knitwear season is officially here, but for designer Shonagh Murray it’s a year-round obsession.

The 26-year-old from Birmingham even took knits to one of the world’s biggest runways this month, making her debut at London Fashion Week.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Shonagh reveals she first picked up knitting needles while struggling with her physical and mental health, so seeing it on the catwalk was an “emotional and beautiful moment”.

Two of her pieces were seen on the runway as part of a collection presented by Fashion Crossover called ‘Ones To Watch’.

When she was younger, Shonagh’s nan taught her how to knit with needles and traditional yarn.

Since then, the designer has learnt a self-taught technique which is done by hand and uses a different material.

For her first London Fashion Week, Shonagh was inspired by an ultra-feminine aesthetic and girlhood nostalgia, pulling references from 1990s films like The Parent Trap and Edward Scissorhands.

“It is all about reconnecting with that inner child and allowing ourselves to enjoy the things that we enjoyed as children,” she says.

“To feel the sense of freedom and a pure sense of happiness.”

But Shonagh’s youth wasn’t quite so carefree.

As a teenager, she was admitted to hospital with several physical and mental health conditions.

It meant she was unable to study at university and take a more conventional route into the industry, such as through doing a degree in fashion.

While she was unwell, Shonagh decided to take up knitting as a way to pass the time and found that it helped her health to improve.

“Starting to knit was just a creative coping mechanism for me,” she says.

“Knitting was quite a therapeutic thing to do, from the cyclical nature to it.

“So it helped me, both physically and mentally, get through that really difficult time.”

Although missing university made Shonagh feel as though she was starting her career “a little bit on the back foot”, she now realises the importance of it as part of her journey.

“It’s a reminder that everything happens for a reason, and to not let adversity get you down.

“Because that’s actually been the thing that’s allowed me to reach my dreams.”

Shonagh describes her designs as “bold statement pieces” and she wants her brand Shone to change how people see knitwear.

“I think a lot of people have this skewed idea of what knitwear is,” she says.

“That it could be quite boring or itchy or not high fashion, which isn’t the case.

“You can achieve so much with just such a simple material like yarn.”

Shonagh’s yarn is one centimetre thick, which is quite large in comparison to standard one to two millimetre yarn, and she says it’s 100% plant-based.

This means that as well as being sustainable, the unique yarn “creates a surreal element to the design”.

And London Fashion Week isn’t the only big stage which has featured Shonagh’s designs.

She also styled The Vivienne for a look on Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

But Shonagh says that getting on the runway is the highlight of her career to date.

Even though she was sat backstage and didn’t actually get to see the pieces go out live, she’s seen loads of videos since and did receive her flowers on the day.

“Walking out myself along the runway was an amazing experience, a little bit nerve-wracking, but it was thrilling.

“As soon as it was over, I just wanted to do it all again.”

And Shonagh has been inspired by this experience to keep going.

“Next up, I would like to be involved in more fashion weeks around the world, including Paris, Copenhagen and New York.”

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.