Martine Rose (born 24 November 1980) is a British-Jamaican menswear designer and founder of the Martine Rose label. Her designs draw inspiration from her experiences and interest in

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

subcultures.

Early life and education

Rose was born in Croydon, South London in 1980; her family is British and Jamaican. Rose's mother was a nurse and her father was an accountant so she spent much of her time in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

with her grandmother and her cousins. After a year at

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

she enrolled at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

and graduated in 2002 with a degree in fashion design.

Career

Rose first started a label LMNOP with now-stylist Tamara Rothstein, a friend and frequent collaborator. The line folded in 2005. In 2007 she established her

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous label focused on menswear. Since its inception, Rose has been known for showing her collections in non-traditional spaces, including a street market, a community climbing gym, and a

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

Camden, London The London Borough of Camden () is a borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancra ...

. She has been known to disregard fashion's seasonal calendar and expectations, sometimes because of financial constraints. Some of her collections have been released via short films, digital lookbooks, and Craigslist. In 2011 she was supported by new talent showcase Fashion East during London Fashion Week. She also collaborated with workwear boots manufacturer

CAT The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

on a limited line of boots. In 2015, when fashion designer Demna Gvesalia joined

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

as creative director, he hired Rose as a consultant, elevating her profile in the fashion industry. In 2018 Rose released a collaboration with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. The release included Rose's take on the tracksuit and Nike's Monarch model. She was inspired by English and American sports culture. The collection was released on

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and later sold at retailers. Her AW20 show took place at Torriano Primary School, her daughter's primary school in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

Design

As a designer, Rose counts her upbringing around her older British-Jamaican cousins who were into

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

Lovers rock Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

, and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

as formative. Rose has been influenced by her own experiences at 90s London raves and her awareness of different subcultures in the city coming together around music. Overall, she considers her Jamaican upbringing as a major influence in her attitude towards fashion design and style. Rose's label developed a cult following, with her designs featuring exaggerated proportions quickly becoming characteristic of her collections earlier on in her career. While considered a menswear designer, Rose designs her pieces with a broad spectrum of people in mind. Her interest in nightlife and music scenes has led her to use fabrics in menswear that are typically more common in womenswear, like fur, satin and lurex.

Awards

2023: British Menswear Designer of the Year at the

Fashion Awards Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Martine 1980 births Living people Alumni of Middlesex University Black British fashion people English people of Jamaican descent English women fashion designers Fashion designers from London People from the London Borough of Croydon