Mark Fast: New Fashion Rules

Knitting isn’t just for grandmothers anymore thanks to Canadian Fashion Designer Mark Fast. Fast has gained popularity for his handmade knitted ensembles. He makes everything from short and casual mini dresses to long couture gowns. His designs are form-fitting and some can even be considered risqué but there is still an air of sophistication in his work.

Fast is a design school graduate, He earned his Bachelor and Masters of the Arts degrees  at Central Saint Martin’s College in the United Kingdom. The 30-year-old designer creates all of his couture pieces using a domestic sewing machine and commonly blends lycra fiber with materials like wool and angora within his knitting. He has collaborated with scores of other fashion world giants including Christian Louboutin and Swarovski. His most recent collaboration is with Danier, a leather good company, for which he designed several designer pieces to be released later this year.

Fast’s traditional lines are expensive, but he decided to collaborate with Topshop, a retailer in the United Kingdom, to produce a lower priced line called Faster. This line will also  be Fast’s first time using a machine besides his regular sewing machine. The trendsetter was prompted to create Faster after guests at one of his London Fashion Week shows reacted positively to a pair of tights that he  placed in their goodie bags.

“Beautifully crafted sleek dresses. I got my inspiration from exotic birds and the sheen of their feathers,” Fast said of his line to Interview Magazine. “There is such beauty in the details of feathers and how they are constructed. They are dresses for partying and shimmering in the night.”

Like many designers, Fast isn’t a stranger to controversy. He caused a stir at London’s Fashion Week in 2010 after he decided against using thin models in favor of plus size models. This decision caused two of his workers to quit three days before his show. Despite this issue, the show went on. An appreciation of the female body aided Fast in his decision. “I think that women have such beautiful attributes, and there is so much beauty there,” he explains. “There shouldn’t be so much pressure to rearrange your body to a certain body type to feel happy.”

This is not the first time Fast used untraditional models for his work. That same year, he participated in a photography exhibition using models as old as 65 and clothing sizes ranging from 16-18. He also generated a buzz when he declined to dress Pop Star Lady Gaga who is considered to be a fashion icon by many. Fast considers himself a fan of her music but he isn’t one to clamor to dress a famous person.  “My work is about a lifestyle. It’s not fast-food fashion. It’s not about trends, it’s about classic, it’s about the body, it’s about beauty,” he said of his decision. “Maybe that gets lost in the picture with certain celebrities.”

-Ashleigh Atwell