Olli Hull is a designer and artist residing in London and his work examines the effects of consumerism, social media, quick fashion, and unrealistic beauty standards on the environment and our mental health.
Olli worked in the beauty industry after graduating with a degree in illustration until 2019 when he began working full-time as an artist and designer. Since then, he has amassed over 11,000 followers on Instagram, hosted his own exhibitions and showcased at London’s Fashion Week.
The designer also draws from his own experiences growing up Queer/Gay and the conflicts and pressures that he has experienced as a result of living in a world that is still not fully accepting of people who identify as LGBTQ, or outside of the gender binaries.
All of the designs are up-cycled and hand-painted, and follow that iconic nature within the latest showcase.
Simple clothing is changed, with spray paint and hand-painted motifs for Olli’s AW22 collection anointed “Hungry Ghosts.” The display was made from up-cycled fabrics, with a concentration on office-wear pieces including blazers, button-up skirts, shirts, and ties embellished with graffiti and apocalyptic imagery. Drawing on his personal experiences as a Queer teenager, Olli’s collection represents the discomfort and demands of wanting to fit in, as well as the negative effects this has on our mental health.
Traditional ‘gender specific’ elements are used as a canvas for demonic monsters and skeleton images in this collection. Untucked shirts with school ties made from scrap belt straps are a homage to Olli’s unpleasant school recollections and an urgent yearning for revolt against an oppressive status quo.
Olli Hull is a designer on our radar, Broke Magazine champion him in turning negative experiences into wearable art! We LOVE you. x
