Infinity reflections

Creative universes collided in an East London studio when designers Hector Maclean and Sarah Regensburger collaborated to tell a story of two friends, two design approaches, two models and many reflections. The resulting photoshoot captured the essences of their unique styles, staged within the confines of Hector’s tight mirror cabinet, and embracing their shared fascination with light and shadow. The featured outfits showcase Sarah’s mastery of fabric manipulation with a punk-infused perspective, alongside Hector’s elegant and romantic dresses. The mirrors reflect their mutual admiration and their collaborative vision while also highlighting their distinct paths.

Beyond the creative synergy, Sarah and Hector’s collaboration is underpinned by a genuine friendship and respect for each other’s work. They are kindred spirits bound by a desire to challenge industry norms and create clothing that tells a story. As compassionate voices in the fashion world, they are determined to make a positive impact and encourage collaboration and support in an industry known for being cut-throat at times.

Sarah’s label, based in London and part of the British Fashion Council’s family of independent design houses, stands out for its dedication to sustainability, employing vegan and alternative materials like cactus leather. Having been named Designer of the Year by the PETA Fashion Award in 2022, Sarah’s commitment to ethical fashion is evident. Her designs draw inspiration straight from the materials she works with, as she allows the fabrics to spontaneously help guide her creation. With experience working and studying in her native Germany, China and her current home in London, and drawing on her own Iranian heritage, she is also inspired by shapes and patterns from cultures around the world. Armed with these goals and tools, she aims to create looks that represent different characters within each season’s story.

With a robust background in the fashion industry, including working with renowned brands like Vivienne Westwood, JW Anderson and House of Holland, Hector carries a vision of empowering strong, independent women through his clothing. He draws his inspiration from his family of origin and the stories he grew up hearing in southeast England, as well as his own life (and near-death) experiences. His creative universe is a dark modern Victorian wasteland, blending opulent glamour and determination. With a focus on ethical practices and zero waste in production, Hector aims to create garments that foreground women’s strength and beauty—scars, and all.

Focussing on the mirror reflections, leading makeup artist Jo Sugar and renowned hairstylist Tim Furssedonn masterfully worked in bold block colours for make-up and a ’70s shine vibe for hairstyles to create bouncing light for Lauren Cremer’s camera lens. An up-and-coming photographer based in the UK, Lauren showcased her talent in capturing the elegant rebel looks in the mirror box. Her degree in interior architecture and design came in handy as she built the mirror cabinet on set:  “I’ve done set design for a couple of different short films, so I’m used to… making things where you can DIY on the spot so it wasn’t a problem. It was just quite challenging to try to navigate it and also make sure it was safe for everyone.”

Sarah and Hector on their friendship…

Hector: We met because I created the fashion event in London called Hackney Fashion Wick and the amazing Sarah showed her fantastic collection and we became almost instant best mates. We both have a dark romance to our fashion, done in very different ways but I think we just love the light and dark within each other.

Sarah: … I just moved to London and got to meet [Hector] and present my collection to showcase it at the Hackney Fashion Wick show. Over the years we became really good friends and just share the same values. We believe fashion can be kind, and kindness is not a weakness. Over the years we always helped each other out and wanted both of us to strive. With this collaboration we just wanted to share that to the wider audience to get the message across.

On the photoshoot…

Sarah: It was a very spontaneous idea [while] going out for lunch. Hector talked about organising a photoshoot and [asked] if he can use some of my pieces…Then Hector came up with the idea to do a whole collaboration as we do that all the time anyways. So the idea was born. We wanted to have two models where we have always one wearing my designs and one model wearing his designs. It is kind of a duality project in a way as it’s always in two.

Hector: It’s hard to find a best friend in life, and someone whose work you also respect is also rare. This photoshoot is a combination of two romantic people who live in different universes but have a love and understanding of each other.

On their artistic vision…

Hector: My creative universe is a dystopian modern Victorian dark wasteland full of opulent glamor with a big spoonful of grit. A very Blade Runner–meets–Pride and Prejudice–meets–Over the Garden Wall.

Sarah: Mainly I get inspired by fabrics so whenever I am surrounded by fabrics the ideas just flow. It is very much about buying fabric and just starting with it with no plan: just the fabric, my creative mind and my hands. A few pieces for my last LFW show have been created that way. Love to get inspired by different cultures and what they are wearing as well. My inspiration Bible is “Before they pass away” by Jimmy Nelson.

On sharing and collaborating…

Hector: What I want to share with this collaboration is a bit of me but also that you can make beautiful clothing from fabrics you would never expect.

Sarah: We want to share that a collaboration is a good way to strive for change within the fashion industry. Designers don’t really work with each other as they don’t want to get copied or [for] their work not to shine. This kind of competition is already happening in the fashion universities. We should embrace each other’s designs and collections and rather work together then against each other. We can achieve much more in this than in competition!

On complements and compliments…

Hector: I love her use of fabric as well as her very punk view on fashion. Her aesthetic is undeniable and I am a huge fan.

Sarah: I love that our collections are so different even though they share the same inspiration in a way. We have a very different point of view. My collections are a little bit more sharp and Hector’s are more dreamy, and the combination of both is just absolutely stunning. We always push each other and this is why the collections really complement each other.

Hector on what inspires him…

My crazy heritages is a huge inspiration, my dad talking about growing up in Zimbabwe, my grandma and her fight to escape the working camps in Poland during the WW II. My mum partying with Bridget Bardot in the ’70s. They all give me inspiration because I am a part of all of their experiences and they all have impacted the way I see the world and the people in it. Because I need to contextualise this experience with, of course, my love of sci-fi, it becomes a strange blend of all those things. Like every human we are a blend of everyone before us and everything we are to become.

Hector on fashion and architecture…

Architecture is a huge part of my work, always trying to push the human form and see what a human can become. Fashion and architecture have always had a very semiotic relationship because it’s all about transporting someone into or to somewhere else.

Sarah on vegan fashion…

I am vegan myself, so creating a completely vegan collection is my core life value. Even though there is a debate about it, I strongly believe vegan means more sustainable and better for the planet. Hopefully we won’t associate animal materials with luxury fashion any more; that would be a big breaking point. But at the moment I still have the feeling that leather is more seen as “wealthy” than non-leather pieces. If we change that, we are taking the right step to the future of not exploiting animals anymore.

On empowerment through fashion…

Hector: I want people when they wear my clothing to feel powerful and themselves but the strongest most confident, beautiful version of themselves.

Sarah: I want people to feel good, powerful, positive, they should feel like they are not only wearing something good but also feel good in the clothes. I want everyone to feel included wearing Sarah Regensburger. The brand is all about inclusivity. It is made for everyone.

Sarah on her slogans “rebels with a cause” and “be a badass that does good”…

My clothes represent this as the collection is vegan, so everyone wearing Sarah Regensburger in my opinion does something good and fights for something good. The rebellious fact comes through changing the perceptions of beauty and the fashion industry and rebelling against the norms. The pieces I design are always designed having this in mind. They are different, unique and sexy and give you the feel of changing the world.

 

Sarah on the imperative for diversity…

We can make it beyond “more diverse” if we are authentically including everyone. Living in a city like London, there are so many different cultures represented, which is the beauty of it. Why don’t we showcase more of that in the fashion industry? The industry has a very bad reputation for not being inclusive enough, which dramatically needs to change. Diversity is not only important, it is absolutely necessary. Personally it is important to me: When I was younger I never felt included due to my [Iranian] background. Which no one should ever feel!

Hector on his clan slogan “Bàs no Beatha” – “Death or Life” …

My near-death experience just showed me more how hard life is. We are all dealing with so much every day. Life is hard and I don’t think we need to take that hardness out of the clothing we wear. We should all be proud to make it through every day, dress more boldly, dress like this might be your last day, and what do you want to say?

On the process of designing a collection…

Hector: I usually start with a story. Either from literature or a story I invent in my mind, often involving a strong-willed protagonist. I get the mood but am also heavily influenced from the fabrics I can source and then I start designing and creating the collection’s mini world. Every look is usually a different character within that season’s story. I then begin draping and see where the fabric takes me, make the pattern and construct the final piece.

Sarah: It really depends but I start with a mood board with inspiration images, quotes a little handbook for myself on what inspires me and what the new collection is about. Then I would start to research materials and order sampling fabrics for the making of the pieces. The next step would to sketch and explore with the material. Sometimes I will sketch my design and start making them; other times I would just grab the fabric and create something. In the end the whole collection comes together.

On their labels…

Hector: The collection coming out in September at London Fashion Week is the collection that most encapsulates my aesthetic as well as using all deadstock fabrics. Its the closest thing to a view into my mind and where I am wanting to take the brand. But any of my dresses with a long train I am obsessed with. Sucka for a train.

Sarah: My favourite piece is definitely the Catsuit. When I started making these catsuits no one believed in them. There were comments like “who would ever wear these”? You should do more commercial pieces! Till this day I am still doing catsuits as I really believed in them, and they have become the celebrity go-to as well as our bestseller. Sometimes you got to believe in something you create so much as it can take time to pick up.

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On the highs and lows in the fashion industry…

Hector: Mostly I find determination to keep going and staying compassionate within the fashion industry—something I am so proud of. Me and Sarah trying to be the kind voices within the high fashion sector of the industry.

Sarah: The challenges are definitely the difficulties to change the industry in all certain ways. It is easier to follow the rules as they are, as we have seen fashion like this in centuries. But as we know there are a lot of people challenging these rules at the moment and I would count myself as one of them. Very proud to have found alternative materials which are completely vegan and more sustainable like cactus leather. As well as dressing celebrities in vegan fashion. But most proud, I would say to have been named PETA Designer of the Year.

On ethics and respect for the planet…

Hector: For me and the brand ethical practice and our impact on the environment is one of the most important parts of the brand. We manufacture and source everything within the UK. We try to avoid using synthetic or animal-based fabrics because of the impact on the environment and animals and usually most garments we try to make zero waste from the fabrics we do use.

Sarah: My biggest and most important [consideration] is that my clothes are vegan. This is the core value as this is a very personal value to me as well. Also striving to find the most sustainable alternative and always striving for innovation (Bamboo Faux Fur, Cactus Leather, Nettle and Hemp Yarn,…). Also the fact that mostly our pieces are locally made is key for us as we believe no one human or animal kind should be suffering for fashion!

On fabrics and how to source them…

Hector: When choosing fabric, I am always looking for luxury but with a strong moral thought behind fabric choice. As previously stated the whole next collection is all fabric byproduct and avoiding throwing any fabric away to end up in landfill.

Sarah: The clothes are manufactured mainly in London, UK or in Germany at the moment. The fabrics I source mainly visiting trade shows all over the world. There is specific sustainable sections where I spend the most time in finding new and innovative materials. Also I have been working with specific fabric suppliers that I just revisit and see what new collections they have to offer. I look out for quality, sustainable factor and look and feel of the materials.

On their career paths…

Hector: I have worked in the fashion industry for about 13 years, previously working for brands like Vivienne Westwood, JW Anderson, Mark Fast, Jonathan Saunders as well as being head of design for ARCMINUTE and senior womenswear designer of House of Holland as well as running my own self-named fashion brand Hector Maclean.

Sarah: I started in my mums Children’s Shop as a side job and always joined her going to trade shows, selecting the new collection. I decided then to study fashion design in Munich with an exchange in Beijing. The first job after my studies was an internship at Adidas Originals, where I stayed as a full-time designer doing Womenswear and Kidswear. I decided in 2018 that it was time for me to move on and decided to move to London. In London I started my brand as well as working as a freelance designer on different collections.

Hector on the future…

My plan for my brand is to keep growing, expanding, inspiring. I think I have realised I truly have to be a designer. I never and will never stop trying to take people into the crazy world inside myself. Because just maybe… someone else needs to know that world really does exist. If only in the imagination of someone else.

Hector on his family and being bold…

Hector: My family is the craziest most artistic bunch of wonderful people I have ever met. Sadly real life made me realise that’s not what most people are like. But that actually in all reality people really are. Just people are scared to express their crazy; scared to be bold. Scared to show themselves as they really are. My beautiful family showed me that its very dangerous to be openhearted and full of passion but even though people won’t like you and not understand, this is your life! So be as bold and as crazy and as opulent as you want to be. As you should be.

Sarah on her biggest inspiration…

My mum, she has told me stories of her fighting for the women’s rights in the Islamic Revolution in Iran in ’79. She was fearless going to the streets fighting for what she believed in. She did not care if it was dangerous. This spirit of rebelliousness is very deeply woven into me as I have been growing up with these stories. My mum always taught me how to fight for my rights as a women. Women are so powerful and badass. They are strong and fearless. I love to design for them.

Some advice to young designers…

Hector: Advice I would give a young designer is really research and see before deciding if this is your passion! I often meet designers now and don’t realise the emotional, mental and financial investment it takes to get into fashion. But if they know it’s the one for them then I would hugely encourage a designer to create the world they are trying to make a reality within this one. SKETCH, PAINT, EXPRESS! Get what’s in your mind out on paper and on fabric. Be daring, be different, be impactful. Be you.

Sarah: Believe in yourself because if you don’t do why would someone else? Listen to feedback from others. Listen not to answer but to understand.

Sarah Regensburger, fashion designer

Sarah Regensburger, a German-born designer with Iranian heritage who calls London home. After starting in her mother’s shop and studying fashion design in Munich and Beijing, Sarah worked as a designer at Adidas Originals. In 2018, she relocated to London and launched her brand. Sarah stands firmly on the values of veganism and sustainability. Local manufacturing in London and Germany, alongside careful sourcing of fabrics from international trade shows, reflect her commitment to quality, sustainability and the well-being of humans and animals.

Passionate about challenging industry norms, Sarah is proud of her vegan and sustainable materials, dressing celebrities and earning the title of PETA Designer of the Year. Inspired by fabrics and diverse cultures, she strives for inclusivity and empowering designs. Locally made and focused on quality, Sarah’s brand emphasizes sustainability and innovation. Sarah works to create garments that empower individuals and instill a sense of confidence, positivity and inclusivity.

@sarahregesburger_official I www.sarahregensburger.co.uk

Hector Maclean, fashion designer

Hector Maclean, hailing from the charming border of Kent and East Sussex in the village of Groombridge, is a seasoned fashion industry professional with over 13 years of experience. He has worked for brands like Vivienne Westwood, JW Anderson, Mark Fast, Jonathan Saunders and House of Holland, as well as heading his own self-named fashion brand. As he explains it, his creative universe merges a dystopian modern Victorian aesthetic with opulent glamour and a touch of grit, drawing inspiration from Blade Runner, Pride and Prejudice, and Over the Garden Wall.

Hector aims to empower individuals, allowing them to embrace their strongest, most confident and beautiful selves when wearing his designs. Ethical practices and concerns for environmental impact are central to his brand, as he prioritizes manufacturing and sourcing within the UK, avoiding synthetic or animal-based fabrics, and minimizing waste.

@hectormacleanlondon I www.hectormaclean.london

Edited by Michaela Doyle.

To boot…

Check out more from hair stylist Timothy Furssedonn and makeup artist Jo Sugar in our throwback to our print days, London Calling: Petticoat Lane.