Delia Wade

Delia Wade, 24, is an American designer from Little Rock, capital of Arkansas, inheriting her family’s famous southern politeness as well as a sense of humour. Delia started sewing at the age of 13 for pure enjoyment, but everything changed after a year in France during high school. Free from school uniform and surrounded by the arts, she decided to pursue a designer’s career at Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduation, she moved to London for a Fashion Folio course at CSM followed by Graduate Diploma Fashion.

Her collection is inspired by the concept of the debutantes’ ball. The ball originated as a social event where young women from aristocratic and upper-class families were introduced to society. A traditional debutante has to be dressed in white silk. But Delia’s heroine is different. She calls her “Angsty debutante”. Her designs are inflated, extravagant and bright. Something that she would enjoy wearing herself. Delia’s love for collecting textiles helped her during the lockdown. She bought some beautiful jacquard fabric a while back that became one of the garments in her final collection. The rest was made from white calico painted over with shiny black and pink house paint. She has maintained a sense of theatricality and played with texture, volume and colour to create her modern debutante look.

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Words: Katia Smirnova
Images: Jessica Gianelli & Saoirse Sadeghian