We speak to Steven Bakewell about his inspiration and the best part of working for T.M.Lewin

What was your first job in design?
My very first job was unpaid working for Paul Vogel in his Camden studio where he designed stripes and checks on PCs and took the designs to trade fairs to sell them to people like Paul Smith, Polo Ralph Lauren etc.

I was there on work experience as he was a visiting lecturer at Central Saint Martins College. I did 3-3½ days mounting up work and 1½ to 2 days actually using the design programme which was great!

My first paid job was teaching students how to use their weaving programme at the Royal College of Art as a visiting lecturer.

I then moved to Italy to design for Cotonificio Albini Spa, an Italian shirt fabric mill, working as part of the “Exclusives” team, designing exclusive collections for Etro, Polo Ralph Lauren, Faconnable etc.

Where do you get inspiration from for your designs?
Everywhere! It could be anything that inspires me, for example the latest Jacquard spot fabric I designed for a ladies’ shirt came from the frosted glass on the stairwell of the bus I was on!

I take a quick picture of things on my phone or note them down in my notebook. I look at other companies sometimes too and adapt ideas from that.

What are the most popular selling colours/styles at T.M.Lewin?
The core patterns sell best - Edinburgh checks and Bengal stripes and plain dobby weaves - classic fabrics in classic colours. Mostly blues, pinks and lilacs but recently grey and green have taken off. That’s more seasonal though whereas the classic colour shirts sell well all year round.

What’s the best part of your job?
The creative freedom! I’m solely responsible for designing all of the shirt fabrics. I love the variety of products I get to design – handkerchiefs, scarves, socks etc.

When I started at T.M.Lewin, I was just designing shirts but the business has changed a lot since then. This has given me the opportunity to express my ideas in other areas, as well as expanding the shirt fabric range.

What do you do when you’re not designing shirts?
Sleep lots, KFC Fridays, snowboarding and shopping.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to become a fabric designer?
Find a specific niche market. Become computer literate (especially on design programmes) and be very focussed on exactly what you want to do. I always knew I wanted to do men’s fabrics specifically.

Apart from TML what other designer/retailer do you admire the most?
Herringbone, an Australian company that produce English style men’s and ladies shirts and Breuer, a lovely little French shop in Paris that produces the most fantastic men’s clothes. I love the quality of their fabrics and their styling - British with a French and Italian twist.

What would you be if you weren’t a shirt designer?
My dream is to own my own small boutique in St Ives selling hand-woven scarves, cushions, throws etc – a lifestyle brand.

There would be a weaving studio at the back of the shop and then the shop floor at the front, and I’d sell stuff made by some of the designers I’ve worked with in the past.

What is your proudest achievement?
Graduating from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Constructed Textiles.

What’s your worst ever fashion mistake?
Six inch platform boots or my Tinky Winky backpack!

What was the last fashion item you purchased?
A zip-through cardigan from Massimo Dutti.

What is your favourite shirt style from the current T.M.Lewin collection?
I love our causal New England button-down shirt range.