Cool Tomboys, Meet Joe Richards

Joe Richards may not be a household name just yet, but his CV is an impressive sight to behold. He started his career interning at Dior and Lanvin and later worked as a design assistant at Celine, before launching his eponymous label in February last year at London Fashion Week and his easy androgyny has already attracted a firm following among the fashion elite.

"I knew early that I loved making things and working through a process," Richards told us. "I was that kid at nursery who rocked up in his own outfit. So I knew I wanted to do this before I knew what fashion was. In many ways, I'm still listening to that voice, 'Just do it and find the way.'"

Joe Richards Collection

Richards had no formal training, and was inspired to pursue a career in design after attending a Chanel couture as a guest of illustrator Marko Matysik. With his starting point always menswear shirting, he describes his work as "a moveable feast - androgynous elegance and upscale easy-to-wear" and made using couture fabrics. His latest collection is available exclusively at Matchesfashion.com.

"I love how women are buying my clothes because they connect to them," he said. "I'm always drawn to confident individual style. For the first season, I thought about Sade and Lauren Bacall, and the last collection was very much about how I imagined Lee Miller to be today - along with Lauren Hill. My latest work stems from thinking of Greta Garbo in personal exile - private and aloof."

The designer is a firm believer in giving new talent the chance to grow, and began working at Bath Spa University in October 2010 and was more recently approached by The Prince's Trust to mentor students from local Somerset schools as part of the charity's Design Quest program.

"I love the process; the community, the challenge and the sense of never standing still and always pushing forward. I think back to the teachers that I had and have and what a key role they played in my life as a designer and being, so I try to give the students what I realise now I needed, which is often to be a protagonist and a distant voice which is coming directly from working within the industry."