“I always wanted to explore a creative career, and fashion was a vehicle that I relied on heavily to express myself and my identity growing up,” says designer Supriya Lele. Raised in the West Midlands, as a teenager Lele favoured wearing dark colours and listening to Black Sabbath while annual trips to visit family in India included visually inspiring trips on her uncle’s motorbike.

Initially studying architecture before switching her attentions to fashion - she studied her BA in Edinburgh and her MA at the Royal College of Art - Lele subsequently settled in London. She showed her first collection with Fashion East during London Fashion Week in 2017 and her designs have since appeared in museums (MoMu in Antwerp), magazines (The Gentlewoman, Vogue, New York Times) and have been worn by the likes of Rihanna and FKA Twigs. How does she describe her personal aesthetic which has emerged from her ongoing exploration of a cross-cultural identity? “Minimal, cerebral, sensual - a modern interpretation of identity,” she says.

1. Do you have an early memory that you think connects to your creative path now?

I’ve always been heavily influenced by my experiences growing up in the UK while being of Indian heritage, and the tension and interplay of those dual identities. Memories of travelling to India from an early age have really shaped my creative language. I can remember getting off the plane in India as a child and being so mesmerised by the difference in the visual landscape, the colours, the senses. Everything was completely different to what I was used to. I think that's really shaped my creative process, as exploring that tension is now the basis of my practice.

2. Where have you been finding inspiration lately, and how is that playing out in your work?

I often find inspiration from various sources. That can be through my friends and creative collaborators. Recently, repurposing items and garments has been an exciting process for me. Taking vintage pieces and reinterpreting them, for example reworking an old leather coat into a dress, or creating a tracksuit out of carrier bags. For a new body of work, I’ve taken a different approach and explored this world but in more depth.

3. Whose wardrobe would you most like to explore and why?

Miles Davis, [it’s just] perfect. I think his sense of style was chic, playful and sharp, everything that I would want to represent. The coolest.

4. Is there a quote or particular philosophy you live by?

Simply staying present.

5. How would you define beauty?

I think beauty is just to do with how you feel inside.