London based ex-pat Victoria Mc Grane is Neurotica, but that's not to say she's neurotic- just preoccupied with creating beautiful clothing that is a sensory feast as much as it is a vibrant second skin. Neurotica's new collection 'Week of Wonders' is indeed, something wonderful. Embracing femininity and colour, Week of Wonders embraces that dark, lurking shadow that characterises Neurotica- the hauntingly captivating, perfectly sinister beauty that would be a frightening companion if not but for her wicked wit and girlish mischievousness. I talked to Victoria about Neurotica, the collaborative process of divining her intricate prints and what is like to have a history rooted in the dusty earth of this great southern land...
Who is Neurotica?
Me! Victoria Mc Grane, in detail, Neurotica is a unique, concept driven women’s wear fashion label specialising in original illustration, print and textiles that explore the contrast between the sweet, the sinister and the beauty in the everyday. Defined as someone "excessively obsessed with everyday things" the term Neurotic is derived from the Greek word Neuron- meaning "Over stimulation of the nerves and senses"; combined with an implication of sensuality this definition perfectly sums up the labels philosophy. All Neurotica garments are hand made and hand printed in London to the highest quality using natural custom woven fabrics.
What inspired your current collection?
Week Of Wonders explores a vast kaleidoscope of print and colour inspired by the graceful subtlety of wild creatures, insects and the sheer wonder to be found in the beauty of nature. The prints are all sweet yet sinister with intricate and delicate finishing, cicada wings, winding ivy, dripping honeycomb and bee placements. Kind of like being in a very psychedelic summery daydream like state.
If there was a soundtrack for this collection, what would it be?
Definitely, Heaven and Las Vegas by The Cocteau Twins. This album perfectly illustrates the mood and inspiration behind the entire collection and was a huge influence in the creative process.
Prints are often pivotal to Neurotica's work, tell us about them- do you collaborate with artists or come up with them yourself?
Definitely, I have collaborated with so many amazing talents and am so lucky to have so many inspiring illustrators behind me. Aude Koeing has worked on several illustrations from the Neurotica Black Label A/W 2009 collection, she really understand the vision and we work together on refining the prints and illustrations so that we get the perfect result. Generally speaking, I do all the illustrations and creatively direct those of which I don't do myself. We work off a mood board and brainstorm ideas as a team and everyone gets involved, its really fun this way and everyone gets to be a part of the creative process.
You're an Australian ex-pat; what do you miss most about Australia, and what's the best thing about being abroad?
Australia is amazing and I am so lucky to have grown up in a such a lush, natural and beautiful environment but it was really hard to progress as a designer as the industry is extremely small in OZ. Being in London has offered me greater opportunity to do what I love professionally and there is so much going on all the time you are never without inspiration.
What's next for Neurotica?
Many things actually, in conversations to expand into hosiery and I really want to work on home wares where I can use my love of print in a more flexible way. We shall see what happens!!
Where can we purchase Neurotica online or in Australia?