Carolyn Cowan - Devotion

Carolyn Cowan is a fascinating woman. An assertive and statuesque beauty who does not baulk at taking risks or putting herself forward, she projects authority and strength. Her work spans different fields and her multi-faceted life can seem hard to pin down but all converge into the notion that individuality deserves to be expressed and celebrated.

 Locating her Camberwell base takes you on a journey. The initial reason to go and visit her with my friend Alex was to see the clothes that she designs under her Devotion label. Finding the blue gate to her fabulous house turned into a bit of an adventure in a foreign land of derelict housing and one-way streets - we'll blame my poor navigation skills. Once we finally got there, it soon became clear that designing clothes is but one of many aspects of Carolyn Cowan's life.

A woman of many talents, Carolyn Cowan is currently exhibiting her photography at the crypt, Saint Pancras' church as part of group exhibition Lingering Whispers. A gifted and adventurous photographer who spent months sleeping rough in Gujarat to photograph nomads, she is a portrait photographer with a particular interest in images of maternity.  Her portrait photography activity is recorded in her Mooncycles website.

 

Whilst body-painting - another field that she has explored in depth has taken a secondary place in her life,  yoga teaching remains important. Until recently, her Kundalini yoga DVDs, her teaching and workshops represented the lion's share of her activity but her clothing line has now taken over. She designs and produces her collection from her converted coach house, an extraordinary island of beauty and energy in an otherwise pretty rough area of South London.

With her living quarters on one side of the courtyard, the shop occupies another side whilst the garden takes up the rest of the space. Bric a brac and creative recycling abound.

Devotion

Carolyn Cowan started her clothing line in India because "she could not conceive it any other way". India suits her esthetics and seemed a good choice as Carolyn felt she did not know enough about manufacturing in the UK. However, she rapidly found that local manufacturers had "no long-term concept of fulfillment" - another designer than philosophically inclined Carolyn Cowan would probably talk of being ripped off and of lousy quality. Sipping delicious cups of tea and munching on homemade flapjacks brought by her lovely assistants, we discussed the "insanity trap" that she describes as "to repeat an action and expect another result".  Keen to avoid such insanity, she moved her manufacturing activity to the triangle of Balham, Camberwell and Elephant and Castle. Forever creative, she managed to recruit her expert Bangladeshi and Sikh master tailors at the local dry cleaners.

Design philosophy
Whilst Carolyn's original motivation was to design clothes that suited her size 16-18, she describes her approach as respectful dressing. Familiar with the body through her yoga practice and teaching, her body painting activities and her photography, Carolyn knows everything there is to know about female curves, the existence of boobs and the issues related to the aging process.  She wants women to be conscious of their individual beauty and to respect the shape and form of their bodies.

Technique
Confident in the skills of her tailors whose couture-stitching ensures a perfect finish, Carolyn often adapts her design to the idiosyncrasy of her clients - a client with a 42DD bosom required a special pattern whilst another might just require slight alterations to sleeve length.  She sources her fabric with care, from Lithuanian linen to hand-stitched Kantar recycled saris such as those used for the reversible "swagger coat" below (£295).

To my rather pat comment that her prices are high for "ethnic" clothes, Carolyn responds that quality, a London based production, the lasting nature of her precise design and the possibility of a perfect fit through alterations are justification enough.
To know more about Carolyn Cowan's activities, log onto her website: http://www.devotion.co.uk/store/index.php

I have no connection with Carolyn Cowan other than my interest in her work and personality. The pictures are mine apart from the (beautiful) pictures of Carolyn modeling her clothes, which are taken from her website.