Interview with Cassie Holland from Hades Wool
You would have been hard pushed to not notice Hades Wool last year. Their first collection entitled "Some Girls are Bigger than Others" dominated the high street and anyone who was anyone owned one of their bold, slogan band knits.
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Alexa Chung at Glastonbury
I was interested in our sense of inner privacy and the fact that we all live at least as much in our heads as we do in the world.
I caught up with Cassie Holland, owner and designer at Hades to ask about her new 2017 collection.
V&P: Hi Cassie! Can you start by telling me how and when you started Hades and what your inspiration was?
CH: It started in early 2016. I actually began just making jumpers for myself and friends, I wanted to make something that celebrated my favourite bands which were also beautiful and more urbane than a regular band t-shirt. I shared these online and the reaction was positive which encouraged me to keep designing. We're now on our second collection, "Inner Privacy".
V&P: Where are the jumpers made and how did you source them?
CH: They're currently made in Scotland and embroidered in England. The all pure yarn we use is sourced from Italy. We've used a merino wool this season that is suitable for all weather conditions. It's an active fibre meaning it reacts to your body temperature and helps regulate it, so it’s breathable in summer and is insulating in the winter. It's also a pure yarn meaning it's soft against your skin.
V&P: What was the inspiration for the new collection?
CH: The collection takes influence from my favourite writers such as Virginia Woolf and their writings on the inner self. I was interested in our sense of inner privacy and the fact that we all live at least as much in our heads as we do in the world. I wanted the collection to acknowledge the melancholy and minor joys of our inner lives. The phrases are all nods to this, we have Melancholy, Bonjour Tristesse, Unrequited Love and La Douleur Exquise.
V&P: What's your vision for Hades?
CH: In the immediate I'm working on the launch of our winter collection now, we're introducing new kinds of pieces this season. HADES is a knitwear brand so they will be wool garments.
I really enjoy developing the concepts behind the collections and the collaborations that come about through this. This season I commissioned writers with the brief to write a short piece exploring the theme and created a booklet of writing to complement the collection. I'm excited to do more of these things in the future.
Shop the full collection here
