Text by Brian James
London-based demi-couture designer Brian De Carvalho first turned to clothes construction during the pandemic lockdown when hibernation replaced hedonism. That hiatus in our collective lives gave him the opportunity to experiment with fashion design as a diversion from, and also an extension of , the fine art pathway he’d embarked on. Melding these two disciplines to create clothes whose genesis lies at the intersection where art meets fashion, the designer uses that duality to explore contemporary queer narratives through a lens that’s richly informed by the Gothic and by macabre stories emanating from emblematic eras in our history.
That storytelling is evidenced in all Brian’s work and none more so than his latest collection “No 2” which showed recently. A tour-de-force assemblage of breathtaking pieces, it features the dramatic dimensions and stunning silhouettes we’ve come to associate with the designer , while taking that signature aesthetic to a new level.
A level that’s even more impressive given that Brian eschewed the normal fashion degree and fashion house intern route that most aspiring designer’s take as their entry point into the industry. Entirely self-taught, Brian’s fashion schooling has been organic and that’s allowed him to make garments that are free from the constraints that can be imposed by a formal fashion education. Clothes that are more about feelings than the need to follow any formal fashion rules. Clothes that transcend gender and gender stereotypes.
Very much the protagonist in his own fashion story, Flanelle spoke to Brian about his unconventional route into fashion, the influences and inspirations that informed this latest stellar collection and the people he looks to celebrate and empower.
Congratulations on your latest collection “No 2” which we loved. What were the inspirations behind it and what emotions do you want it to evoke in us?
The main two inspirations behind it were 18th century health care and 1950s couture shows. I’m always heavily inspired by the 18 hundreds and with me almost taking a scientific/medical route in education it just felt fitting. The emotions that powered this collection was definitely one of anger, after a very successful year, I just felt mistreated and overlooked by stylists, publications etc. You’ve made me feel uncomfortable this entire year, maybe I can make you feel the same for the next 40 mins.
Can you tell us how these influences manifested themselves in the pieces we saw on the runway and the materials and techniques used to create the collection?
Ohhh, they influenced everything! The colour choices, the silhouettes used, the fabrics and materials chosen, everything linking into one world or the other, for example look 17 is made in the same shade of green as one of the first nurse uniforms. Look 11 is a classic 1950s silhouette but done in this rust brown and a rusty green to give it that aged/hospital edge. And obviously look 1 and look 6 were made entirely out of razor blades, so we were using medical equipment essentially to make those looks.
The macabre is a recurring theme in your work. What draws you to that element of the human psyche and provides such fertile ground for your creative process?
I feel anyone can make a beautiful dress and there are hundreds of brands that do that phenomenally, I just feel that those kind of pieces have no emotion or story behind them. I grew up without too many resources around me, and I always had to make do, even when I started I used old clothes or bed sheets etc to teach myself.
Clothes have a true beauty when there is some rawness to them, I always felt that my pieces were never truly complete or done until they have to go through something or overcome an obstacle, that’s why I used to burn, shred/stain my pieces.
We first came to know you through your signature corsetry. What attracted you to work with that garment and how much is the corset a metaphor for the restrictions faced by those outside so-called mainstream society?
I actually started with corsetry because it was an item of clothing that I personally was really inspired by and could relate to. Obviously we all know how restrictive a corset is/can be and I took that and the restrictions that women faced in the 18000’s and linked that to the restrictions that I personally was feeling in my own life as a young gay man.
And that’s ultimately why I started making corsets for myself rather than others, it was a physical manifestation of my mental and emotional restrictions.
My mother wasn’t super welcoming of the idea and was quite passionately against it, so I didn’t really feel like I could be my true self, have authentic friends or even present in the way I felt most comfortable and I guess my brain made those subtle links between my invisible cage and that of women.
Your background is in fine art. What was the catalyst for changing direction to fashion and how much of a natural progression was that?
Again, fashion was a complete accident for me. I was always drawn to sculpture and paintings and loved working with metal, wood, etc. I guess I took that sculptural element into my designs, and that’s probably why I enjoy exaggerated silhouettes so much.
I was trained to be an artist, not to be a designer, so my brain works very differently and I’m constantly reminded that other designers/individuals in fashion don’t see the world in the way I do. They don’t look at the human body in the same way. I’m more than happy to use unconventional materials because that’s all I had access to, fabric was a luxury for a long time, so I’ll happily use metal, plastic etc.
Those two disciplines are evidenced in sculptural designs that have been described as wearable art. In what ways does your fine art background inform the design process and fabric manipulation?
Ohhh massively, again I don’t think in the stereotypical fashion designer way, I mean I wouldn’t even know what that is, but every time I explain my process to someone in fashion or a new intern, they always struggle to wrap their head around it ( laughs ).
I’ll let different things inspire me each time, sometimes it’s a colour, a shape or even a texture, and from that I build a whole piece, or a whole look, draping for me feels very similar to painting.Sometimes I’ll have a spare piece of fabric and I’ll want to force it to react and respond like a sheet of wood or a canvas, and I’ll do something like pour latex on it or layer it until it’s stiff yet malleable.
As someone who didn’t go through a formal fashion education, how challenging was acquiring the skills to make clothes and how rewarding has it been to achieve what you have?
To be honest the hardest thing I’ve found about not studying fashion is how lonely it’s been, and I guess how unwelcoming people are because I don’t have a fashion degree or went to a prestigious school.Pushing and fighting to teach myself a skill was easy in comparison, being in fine art you’re used to experimenting and failing again and again. This was just a different version of the same. My first corset took me an entire week to make (9am – 7pm days) and it wasn’t even done correctly, now they can easily be made in a few hours.
It has taken me a while to accept my “success” and for a long time I always positioned myself as less than, but this year I’ve really made an effort to celebrate our wins and really be proud and enjoy our achievements.
Little old me would die for the life I lead now, no matter how hard and unglamorous it may be.
Who are the designers that have inspired you and why?
( Smiles ) I’m an old school girl! I’m a 90s baby so I loooovvveee my 90s designers.I love fashion that’s laborious and theatrical so my top three would be Alexander McQueen, John Galliano & Vivienne Westwood.I just feel they were all so unapologetic and boundless that you HAVE to be inspired by them. McQueen saw beauty in destruction, which is something I can really relate to, and Galliano believed in fantasy and creating a world, which I hope I’m able to do with my pieces. And Westwood made do with what she had, she’d make the most amazing things out of a pile of Nothing!
How do you want the person who wears your creations to feel about themselves and the world around them when doing so?
I hope that when people wear my designs, they feel powerful and strong, untouchable almost, I want the BDC woman to be a beast – A goddess, something to be feared yet admired.
Gaga, Munroe Bergdorf, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, and Jade Thirlwall are just some of the icons who’ve worn BDC. Are there any other public figures you’d love to see wearing your pieces and why?
Ohhh gosh! This is so hard, because a lot of these women were dream clients to have and to say we’ve already worked with them is so unbelievable to even conceive.
I’ve always admired strong individuals so I guess if I had to have even more dream clients it would be women like Beyoncé, Catherine Zeta-Jones or Monica Bellucci!
I feel they are such incredible women in their own right and insanely inspiring, I grew up looking up to these women and the fact that they still dominate their industries and also did it at a time when I know it couldn’t have been easy for women makes them even more incredible to me. I’d be so honoured.
We’re currently in Pride month. As a queer designer what does Pride mean to you and how important to you is that visibility when homophobia remains so prevalent and the trans community is under such attack?
This is such a heavy topic even more so now, which feels so dystopian to even say, I feel as a society we are regressing at an alarming rate, I almost feel we were more open and liberal in the 90s/00s than we are now in 2025!
It’s so disgusting and unbearable how much abuse and hatred has reared its head in the last few years, and it’s even more heartbreaking to see what’s happening in America and overseas because it then gives the UK and other countries permission to act the same way.
Yes, it’s hard for gay people and yes, it’s not easy, but our trans brothers and sisters have it at such an unbearable disproportionate rate; all they deserve is protection and care, and I don’t understand why they can’t just be left to live their authentic lives. The thing is being trans isn’t about other people or wanting to affect change, it’s a battle that they face within themselves and that they are working through. The last thing they need is a bigot getting in the way of that and inhibiting them from being themselves.
This is one of the main reasons why we always will dress/help anyone we can from the community and why I am so incredibly proud to always have Dolls walk our shows, always happy to platform them and celebrate them.
Going into the second half of 2025, what are your plans and aspirations for the rest of the year?
To pay my rent! ( Laughs ), While it may look glamorous from the outside and it may give the impression that we are super successful and super established, we really aren’t, I’m still a struggling emerging designer, I’m just booking opportunities with larger press, doesn’t mean I’m being paid for it though.
I’m incredibly grateful for what we have achieved and done so far, and a lot of it I didn’t expect so soon, but I would love to make a living off of this and be able to contribute to my community more.
For Brian De Carvalho, fashion schooling took place at home and the ability to reach this stage in his career without the formal tutelage, connections and opportunities that a fashion degree provides, is huge testament to the creative passion he has for his art.
Building on the success of his previous collection “Tormentum” Brian’s latest body of work, “No 2”, sees him refining an aesthetic that places him simultaneously both under the radar and increasingly in the know. Having dressed some of the coolest humans defining our cultural climate, the BDC profile is becoming exponentially enriched while the designer himself remains cash poor. The sheer beauty of his work aligned with a refreshing awareness that fashion’s a business that requires commercial viability as well as creativity, leaves us confident that this dichotomy will soon be overcome.
Brian De Carvalho not only makes clothes that empower those who wear them but that also tell a powerful story about the society we live in and those communities facing unprecedented hostility from reactionary forces across our planet. Harnessing the transformative and invigorating power of fashion to give a platform to those facing oppression and spreading a message of inclusivity and hope, we hope that Brian De Carvalho is a designer you come to love as much as we do.