Scarlett Richards began making clothes when she was seventeen and still at school. “I had an idea of a T-shirt I wanted to make for myself, and when I wore it to school my friends liked it,” she says. “So I made some for them, then other people at school started buying them and scarzzt was born!.” Now aged twenty one, her designs have expanded and her clothing company can be seen on the likes of Holly Humberstone and Savannah Hudson. Inspired by designers such as Mimi Wade and Ashely Williams, Scarlett’s designs combine sustainability and comfort with cute graphics and eye-catching colours to create unforgettably unique one-of-a-kind pieces.
Q: What does creativity mean to you?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: To me, when I think of creativity I think of a brain that functions chaotically. My ideas are always rattling around my head and my brain is constantly working overtime trying to catch them.
Q: What inspires your designs?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: I take a lot of inspiration for my designs from my upbringing. My family is quite spiritual and mum owns a four story antiques shop in Heanor which is very haunted and home to really random stuff which gives me a lot of quirky ideas! I have grown up listening to a lot of spiritual stories and I really feel like it has opened my eyes to different possibilities. I also lived in a forest in the middle of nowhere when I was younger so I feel quite in touch with themes such as fantasy core. I enjoy reading self help books, which inspires me and helps me to add core meanings to my designs. For example, I am in the process of creating a design based on information from a self help book I recently read and the statement “life isn’t an emergency”. I like my designs to all have hidden meanings, even if I’m the only one who gets it – I feel like it gives me motivation to finish the design, makes the piece more special to me, and helps me to group concepts together in my mind. Aside from this, in terms of favourite designers, I have always looked up to designers such as Mimi Wade and Ashley Williams. I hope I can be as great as them someday!
Q: To what extent do you take ethics and sustainability into consideration when producing your clothing?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: All of my designs are made locally and printed on 100% organic cotton using vegan ink and “waterless” printing methods powered by renewable energy! I take ethics and sustainability seriously because I know that I, myself as a consumer, wouldn’t buy something unless I know the life cycle of a product. I am also in the process of creating 1/1 items with my designs on using second hand clothing which will help me to continue being sustainable as a brand.
Q: Do you have a favourite piece or collection which you have created so far?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: My favourite piece is the ‘I love you’ dog collage design. I created it really quickly, and didn’t think much about it, and then afterwards realised the unintentional juxtaposing meanings behind it and the mix of kitsch and grunge aesthetics. I think for a while I was in a bad headspace about the brand, and I was creating items which I would convince myself weren’t “cool”. But when I created the dog collage t-shirt it clarified my confidence in scarzzt, and I felt so much more excited and carefree about it all.
Q: How does it feel to see other people wearing and loving the clothes which you have spent so much time producing?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: For some reason I never think about it or give myself enough credit. But thinking about it now, it’s actually pretty cool! And I should probably think about that more!
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs and young creatives?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: It’s easy to compare yourself to other people, and not want to share your work out of fear for what other people will think. But the most important thing you can do is to release everything you do, and try not to care or think too deeply into whether people will like your work. If people don’t buy it, or if there’s not much reaction, it’s not the end of the world – just try again and maybe next time it will be better received. There’s no point dwelling on past work when you could dwell on future work. At the end of the day, you are creating things because it makes you feel good and benefits you in some way. If you find yourself getting into the habit of creating work purely to get positive reinforcement or a reaction out of a certain person, then take a step back and rethink why you are making what you do. In my opinion it’s better to be authentic and true to yourself throughout in order to continue enjoying your craft and be generally happy.
Q: What are your plans for the future of scarzzt?
SCARLETT RICHARDS: This month I will be offering custom personalised designs. I will also be creating 1/1 items using second hand skirts and scarzzt patches! I also have an exciting collaboration coming up with @uou_cute, so stay tuned for that! In future I want to branch out to creating a wider range of items, and also focus on only printing on second hand Items.
Keep up all things scarzzt by following the brand on Instagram and shopping online.
