Matty Bovan: “Designers Are Polymaths”

In the mere four years since he completed his MA in knitwear at Central Saint Martins, York-based designer Matty Bovan has worked with major fashion brands—not to mention presenting four of his own shows at London Fashion Week. “It’s amazing to have recognition from the industry, and at the same time you’re on such a personal journey,” he says. “You want to challenge your own ideas of taste, of fashion, of creativity.” Last year he also launched ecommerce on his website with limited edition zines and customized t-shirts. 

Bovan’s earliest inspiration came from his mother and grandmother. “They were both very glamorous, they were both quite together, both quite specific about their clothes.” His mother’s creative projects around the house deeply influenced him: “I realized there’s such enjoyment in the process… with the internet, people never see what goes behind everything. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work; it’s not a quick outcome, you don’t suddenly just arrive at that. The process is way more enjoyable because you might sometimes not even like some of the things you’ve made but to get there was so fun, or you learned so much.” 

The value of making something without focusing on the end result has underpinned Bovan’s career, beginning with his formal education. “It was really creative studying at Saint Martins, it really helps you shape your own identity and your own vision… They want you to just be very much your own person and your own self and that takes quite a long time to actually realize.” Operating from a strong sense of self and grounded viewpoint allows Bovan to take the creative risks he sees as necessary to succeed. “You want to challenge your own ideas of taste, of fashion, of creativity. It’s difficult to get perspective and see yourself from the outside. So each season I have to challenge everything.” 

Bovan’s website is “an incredibly important tool” because 20 years ago, designers didn’t have the ability to display their complete back catalogues in one place. Consumers, critics, and fans would have had to hunt down coverage in publications or fashion shows on VHS. “I like to have the record of the work, because if people are interested in the brand, they engage with the website and then they see the progression. Each season is a very different character for me.” The site also gives him flexibility to show off his work in different media and formats, like his independent ‘zines and catwalk videos. “Designers in 2019 are much more like polymaths doing a lot of different things, so it’s incredibly important for people to see it all in one place. With Instagram, it’s more of a zeitgeist, it’s more of a moment, it’s more “now”, so you have to scroll through quite a long way and even then it’s hard to understand whether what you’re looking at is a project. People’s attention spans have also gone, so they’re not necessarily engaging.” 

Bovan’s attention moves quickly, too: “Your latest collection is always the most exciting thing you’re doing, your latest piece of work is always the most compelling, like: this is it!” He still values the early creative process for each collection: “It’s the most fun bit and you never know where it’s going to go, this could just be terrible, this could be amazing. It should be on the knife edge in between. A lot of things don’t work, and you maybe get them out next year, or the year after. It’s all learning and it’s all building up.”

Matty Bovan participated in the 2019 Art & Fashion Summit in London presented by Frieze Academy in partnership with Squarespace, where changemakers, polymaths, and visionaries explored what “making it” means to the brightest creatives in contemporary culture.

To learn more about Matty Bovan’s work, visit mattybovan.com or follow him on Instagram. To create your own record of your creative process, visit squarespace.com to get started.