Photography Lulia Agnew
Dressed in her uniform of faded jeans, a black cashmere jumper, and Golden Goose trainers in her studio outside of London, Morris simultaneously directs an in-house seamstress on embroidery placement and pins the hemline of a client’s trousers inset with lace panels resembling ivy vines. The suit is timeless, with a cheeky nod to rock and roll. “My style is unapologetically feminine; I think it’s hard to find the sweet spot between trash and mumsy.”
Morris’ demi-couture collections may very well be one of the best kept secrets in the industry as she never desired to mass market or sell to retail outlets. Pouring all her energies into the physical and not the façade, her credo is quality over quantity and consumerism. All the fabrics are selected in small runs and hand printed by Morris, who considers exactly where a pattern will interact with the female form, translating into some of the most exceptionally flattering garments. “I put a lot of thought into everything I make, and the clothing feels as good as it looks,” says Morris, reminding me that most big commercial designers are still men and that there is truly such thing as a woman’s touch in the wardrobe.
A child of the ’70s who grew up around women and clothes in her mother’s designer boutique and often accompanying her on buying trips to Paris, Morris credits much of her own sensibility to a mum who allowed her to be free and creative. “She was amazing, she was a trailblazer, she was married to photographer David Bailey and part of a very glamorous scene in London. Her shop was really one of the first of its kind. I remember she was the first to have Galiano.” Off of the runways, Morris’s own designs have been donned by royals; most recently, you can see India Hicks, King Charles’s Goddaughter, wearing a cream suit she designed at his coronation.
But what Morris is most intoxicated by are her clients. “In a world increasingly devoid of human interaction, people are my biggest luxury. Relationships and authenticity, I hope I bring that to the world.” Working with Morris is not just shopping but rather an intimate personal experience where clients have over 40 styles to choose from in the continuously growing collection. Even the beading is done in-house, and the details make garments very personal and timeless. “Buy smart, and they become modern heirlooms, says Morris with a smile.
While Morris has long been able to flex a business model with 100 percent sustainability and zero waste, REHAB LAB, a new addition to her services, sets the standard even higher. Now, clients can bring in garments and have them reinvented. Recently a client who turned sixty didn’t want to show her knees any longer, so Morris added a flounce onto her favorite frock she had worn for fifteen years. “Faster is not always better, says Morris, who works around the clock and is involved with every order, “I am all about slow fashion, and I think it’s been a good recipe.”
NINA MORRIS
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Email: nina@ninamorris.com
