Italy Falls For Some Scottish Romance

A Scottish designer, and former intern to Alexander McQueen, has been tipped by Italian Vogue as one to watch. Following a recent visit to Judy Clark´s Edinburgh studio, the magazine's culture and travel editor, Federico Chiara, called her collection "romantic art".

"Every market has its own particular character and the Italian one is no exception. We're a bit conservative, maybe," Chiara told us. "That said, sometimes we need and love a touch of the British eccentricity that fuels Judy's imagery. Her clothes are not for everyday life, and they don't try to be simple, but her theatrical twists - combined with a taste for tailoring, and the use of Scottish fabrics and lace - makes her fashion appealing to me."

Judy Clark: Up and Coming

Decreed the Scottish Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Scottish Style Awards, Clark revealed her first ready-to-wear collection at a fashion show in Edinburgh last week - and plans to take her designs to Milan Fashion Week next month for the Pitti Immagine Fashion Fair in a bid to attract Italian buyers.

"I was delighted to welcome ItalianVogueinto the studio," Clark said. "They were particularly impressed by the Scottish textiles that I used throughout my collections and studied the textured linings and hand-stitched embellishments in my bespoke ranges. They liked that the handwriting I've established as a bespoke designer could be carefully documented through an innovative ready-to-wear line."