Wayne Hemingway
Wayne Hemingway founded the fashion label Red or Dead with his wife and business partner Gerardine. Together they built Red or Dead into a label that received global acclaim resulting in winning the prestigious British Fashion Council’s Streetstyle Designer of the Year Award for an unprecedented 3 consecutive years in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
In 1999 Wayne and Gerardine sold Red or Dead and founded HemingwayDesign specialising in affordable and social design. Wayne has finally managed to make use of his degree in Geography and Town Planning undertaking high profile projects such as The Staiths South Bank, an 800 property mass market housing project on Tyneside.
What can you tell us about how you got into the fashion industry?
When Gerardine (my wife and business partner) and I were teenagers, our main interests were clothes, clubs, music ....we made and customised clothes and I guess we were always dab hands at spotting a second-hand bargain. Red or Dead started by chance, we ran out of money to pay the rent on our flat and the only thing we could think of to do was to empty our wardrobes onto a market stall and start selling ...that was the spark
What is the one piece of advice you would give someone wanting to get into the fashion industry?
Make sure that you understand style / trends / culture. Work damn hard and be a decent human being, because you will need lots of support from manufacturers, retailers and the many other people who make the fashion industry tick.
What do you think that young people can do to help develop the sustainable fashion industry?
The more that young emerging designers, buyers, manufacturers and retailers take on board sustainability and fair trade principles, the quicker the industry and the consumer will react.
