Loukia Hay started with a camera, not a sketchbook. Growing up in London's East End, she was shaped by the subculture scene around her before studying fashion photography at art school. Her goal was capturing the rebellious spirit of magazines like Dazed & Confused and ID. During shoots, she found herself creating every garment, obsessing over how colors, materials, and shapes collided. Her tutors saw what she couldn't yet—her real talent was in 3D mannequin work, not flat screen design.
After graduating in womenswear design, Hay stayed in East London, determined to explore every design possibility. Her stint at Paul Smith proved pivotal; his infectious ability to mine inspiration from anything around him left a lasting mark. "I enjoy researching art, music, and culture deeply, or getting inspiration from a napkin on the table," she explains. "Sometimes the best inspiration comes from the most inconspicuous places. I love this sense of juxtaposition—going to a performance at night can inspire me to start selecting fabrics in the studio the next day." Twenty years later, she's built a career across British niche brands including Jigsaw, &Daughter, Toast, and Lee Mathews, handling everything from brand concepts to individual sweater design and styling. Her philosophy is clear: "Well-designed clothing can make people feel their best selves. I love wardrobe pieces with excellent craftsmanship that you return to again and again—items that are both relaxed and modern, yet practical."
Her collaboration with Fabrique showcases this commitment to lasting design. The collection draws from nature through abstract floral prints created with a distinctive fabric modification technique—burning away certain design elements to create transparent areas alongside painted florals on satin, delivering intriguing richness and textural depth. Designed specifically for midsummer, she lowered waistlines and used pleats to create volume, giving these lightweight pieces an ethereal quality. "Some pieces in my wardrobe are twenty to thirty years old, and I've purchased many vintage items," she notes. "I hope my designs can also be passed down and continued, still deeply loved years later. This gives them completeness and long-term value."
