I Hate My Collection

Oleg Mitrofanov never meant to study fashion, but with only a few shitty photos in his portfolio, he somehow managed to get a foundation place at London College of Fashion and went on to study at Central Saint Martins, which, considering their alumni, is pretty much the only place to be if you want to make a name for yourself. While at CSM, Oleg realized there had never been a film made about the institution, which he thought was a bit of an oversight, considering it's arguably been the most influential college in the world for art and fashion throughout the last 60 years.

Teaming up with his lecturer Judith Watt—who is a respected fashion historian in her own right, as well as being total BFF with Vivienne Westwood—Oleg is in the process of making I Hate My Collection, a film documenting the impact that the college has had in the world of fashion over the last few decades. He says it's a bit of an homage to the college's old location on Charing Cross Road, prior to the move to Kings Cross, and that the name is taken from some bathroom graffiti that Judith saw over a decade ago.

VICE: First off, how did you get access to everyone you interviewed? Were people quite happy to come and talk to you about Central Saint Martins?
Oleg Mitrofanov: It was quite challenging, that’s for sure. The thing is, people like to talk about their youth, share their experiences and success stories, but they don’t really have time to talk about it with someone they have never heard of before, which, in our case, is me. I started with people who I knew already, like Julie Verhoeven, who I met few years ago at an Acne Party at The Ritz. I had long hair back then and she was doing some sort of project with long-haired models, so she asked me to model for her. So Julie was one of the first to agree. Then, I bought some beautiful blue paper from Smythsons and started sending letters to magazines and design studios. I thought it would be a success and I would get everyone, but I didn’t.

So I started asking around. Obviously, Judith helped me a lot and I got a few contacts through my college friends. Then I started sending emails explaining how important and meaningful my project was. My friend Thomas helped me to write that letter and I think it did the trick. I got few responses but then I had to chase people forever. It's one thing to get them to agree on interview and a completely different thing to actually get them to come somewhere and talk to you. At the end of the day, it's just like a snowball—once you get someone important, everyone else follows. And, of course, I would like to believe that people I approach believe that my film is important as it will document this era.

Was there anyone who you realized, while filming, was tapping into the stuff you really wanted to hear?
Actually no, because they all had very different things to say. While not all of it was relevant to Saint Martins, it was all relevant to London—the club scene, the parties, you know, it's all a combination of that. What I'm trying to do is paint a picture of each era. Saint Martins is all about people, so I'm trying to get a feeling of the people who went there and were involved in the London fashion scene. For example, when I asked Manolo Blahnik, he said, "Why do you want to talk to me? I had nothing to do with Saint Martins," but he was there during Saint Martin’s golden age and collaborated with John Galliano, Christopher Kane, and many others. All these stories, when they're put together, create one united piece.

A young Julie Verhoeven around the time she applied for CSM.

Cool. Did anyone say no? 
Of course they did. In fact, the very first couple I approached said no, which was a bit discouraging. It was Gilbert and George. I thought it would be a marvelous love story within the film, because, as far as I know, they met at Saint Martins. Their agent said no due to their time schedule and when I changed the deadline I didn’t hear anything back from them. But that was it, everyone else said yes. Maybe I should try to re-approach them. You never know, maybe this time they will say yes.

What did John Galliano say? Or did you intentionally not try to contact him?
John Galliano was my dream interview, but I truly believe that he is the most protected person in the fashion industry. It is almost impossible to reach him. Camilla Morton, author and John’s friend, was a great help. We almost scheduled an interview in London, but then it didn’t work out. If I get funded I will definitely try to do my best to talk to him for at least 10 minutes. A Saint Martins film without John Galliano is a heresy.

Why's that?
Well, for a very long time, John Galliano was the name that attracted people to Saint Martins. Before, it was Katherine Hamnett, a friend of mine came to Saint Martins just because of her, and normally when you talk to first year students, they're all very excited that John Galliano went there. He plays this very key role in British fashion and had a huge deal to do with the development of Saint Martins as a brand.

A Howard Tangye dress from his time at CSM.

Was anyone particularly bitchy about CSM? Antony Price looked like he had some pretty bad stuff to say about it.
The Antony Price interview is one of my favorites and probably the longest one. He's so terribly intelligent and he just knows everything about the fashion world. The funny thing is that the bit you see in the trailer is practically the only thing he said about Saint Martins, but the rest of the interview is just priceless. He talks about the era when he was a student, London, and fashion, all with his brilliant sense of humor and sarcasm, of course. I won't reveal much, but I can tell you that the brilliant Katharine Hamnett had some fantastic lines. She always was a rebel, I guess that's why she's such an icon. Please don’t worry, though, there will be more when you see the full film.

Can't you tell me any more now?
Ha ha, no. For Katharine Hamnett I'm afraid you'll have to wait. However, Antony Price was great because he was at the Royal College, which was Saint Martins' rival at the time, and he was the biggest designer of his time. His show was actually the first to be shown on TV, directly after the football World Cup and it kept the same audience. I mean, can you imagine?

Ha ha.
So, what he was doing was very important. He styled and designed clothes for so many rock stars, everyone from Bryan Ferry to David Bowie. One thing I can tell you is that he was saying how the relationships between designers has changed. Back then, nobody would go to each other's shows and it was very bitchy, whereas now everyone is trying to be a lot more friendly or, at least, they give that impression.

Oleg and Bobby Hillson.

Did you get a sense that there is a CSM type while you were making the film? Because to know what you want to do for the rest of your life at 16, work fucking hard to get there, and then succeed after three or four years working at uni while drinking and taking a load of drugs, without completely messing everything up, seems like it demands a certain type of person.
Well, of course there’s always a cliché, skinny, insecure gay boy who wants to be the next Christopher Kane and there are lots of people like that, but the most brilliant thing about Saint Martins is the variety. All those gloriously mad people from all over the world come to one place to discover themselves. That’s what Saint Martins is about, at the end of the day. And trust me, people work hard there, design students particularly. Final year's don’t have lives, even though they somehow manage to go out, take drugs, and then produce even more work. It’s extremely competitive. From my own experience at Saint Martins, I know few people would take drugs to allow them to work, because otherwise you just don't have the energy. But, of course, the people I've interviewed are quite conscious about what they are saying so it is hard get any of the juicy gossip, but luckily Judith is really good at that!

Ah, that's a shame. What was the general feeling within the people you interviewed about the college relocating?
Well, Stephen Jones, the milliner, said that when he had a tour of the new building he asked someone if one can’t open the windows. How a student can have a sneaky cigarette? "Our students won’t smoke", was the answer. I guess everyone understands that, regardless of the importance of the CHX building, Saint Martins is about people. I personally don’t like changes and I wish they stayed in Soho, but all the tutors are there and they love the college and their students and I'm sure Saint Martins will do just fine. You know, when Central and Saint Martins became one body, CSM students were all wearing black as a protest. It’s a different time now, students are less rebellious, unfortunately.

Manolo Blahnik.

What did Bobby Hillson have to say about the move? Because as well as having a very strong history in fashion herself, she founded the MA course, right?
I can't actually remember. I was so stressed during the interview because we had a major disaster with the sound equipment. Basically, it just didn’t work and we almost burned Stephen Jones’ studio to the ground prior to that. Bobby and Judith had to wait for hours until we figured something out, but they did an amazing job. That was a really important interview as Bobby wasn’t only Alexander McQueen's mentor, but also a student of Muriel Pemberton, who started fashion at Saint Martins, an art school back then. I mean, she has seen and taught so many fashion superstars and done so much for the college. She started MA at Saint Martins, which I think was one of the first MA courses in fashion in the country.

Did anyone acknowledge the fact that the cultural and creative hub is east rather than Soho anyway nowadays?
When I moved to London, about five years ago, east London was already cool, but Soho was still alive. Secret underground bars full of CSM MA students, G.A.Y. Astoria, and all that. Now, if you go to Soho, it's just tourists and film people. You don’t see all those Saint Martins eccentrics on Old Compton street anymore, but hopefully there's some rebellious spirit left in Saint Martins and I'm hoping that the students will turn Kings Cross into something decent.

Stephen Jones.

A lot of classic British music has its roots in art school and, for whatever reason, people always seem to lump British fashion and music together. CSM definitely has a history of producing musicians, but how do you think the college has represented that unity between the two worlds throughout the last few decades?
Oddly enough, it’s not the case with Saint Martins, I don’t think. Saint Martins has produced some brilliant musicians like Amanda Lear, for instance, or Jarvis Cocker and Glen Matlock, of course. There's a first year tutor, Anne McCloy, who I think is a singer as well. But music and fashion is more relevant to Antony Price and Vivienne Westwood, I guess.

What about the artists you spoke with? It looks like you spoke to a couple of fine artists who haven't had much to do with the world of fashion. 
Well, you see, both of them are extremely important. Howard Tangye, who's a very well-known illustrator and artist and is now in charge of the womenswear course at Saint Martins, is a legend. He was a student at Saint Martins and then became a tutor, like most the tutors there, in fact. His relationship with Saint Martins started in the 70s. His students adore him, he's practically the guardian of Saint Martins. He used to teach John Galliano life drawing and many others, of course. It's because of tutors like him that Saint Martins is alive. We intentionally filmed him doing a life drawing session to remind people that Saint Martins is an art school, that art is the core of it, and that is what is it different from any other fashion schools.

Howard inspired Julie Verhoeven to come and study at Saint Martins. She didn’t get in, but now she teaches MA there and she's very much involved with fashion. She did collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Versace, Mulberry etc. She's practically self-taught—a real talent. You see, Muriel Pemberton, who started fashion at Saint Martins, was a painter. That’s where it all comes from.

Howard Tangye painting Lee Roach.

So how do you think having art as the basis of the school has influenced its fashion graduates?
Well, the fashion course has never been about the practical side of things, like pattern cutting, it's always just been about design. When Muriel Pemberton started the fashion course, she was a painter and illustrator, so all of the students have been taught in that way where ideas, concepts, and design are more important than the practical skills. I don't think fine art at Saint Martins is as good as it used to be. But fashion is thanks to tutors like Howard Tangye, who are keeping Muriel Pemberton’s tradition alive by incorporating a lot of painting and illustrating into the course.

It looks like you interviewed graduates from quite different disciplines within the fashion world—milliners, designers, photographers, etc. How did their attitudes towards fashion differ, if at all?
So far, we have interviewed people who are quite established and they know the reality of fashion. They know that fashion is not just about glamorous parties and free clothes. As for the current students, everything has been recently divided into womenswear, menswear, etc, etc. Before, you would just go to study fashion and then specialize in whatever you liked, but now it's all very segmented and the photography courses and art courses are great, but not really worth talking about because all that anyone cares about from Saint Martins is the fashion. One thing that's notable, actually, is that people studying at Saint Martins now often say they're not interested in fashion, perhaps it’s a new trend—a fashion designer who doesn’t care for clothes.

Katherine Hamnett.

Do you think that the more successful people have different memories to the less successful?
No, I don't think so. Most of the people who didn't make it big commercially are very well-respected in their industry, so it's hard to differentiate between the two. I think the experience is always quite similar, though. Saint Martins is a very free university, you're never forced to do anything, so it's all about you. It's very self-centered, in a way. And of course, it was everyone's youth, so they all remember the drugs, random sex, and partying very fondly.

The closing line of the trailer is, 'The most important thing was that you looked good.' Do you think that sums up the college well? Or, after the whole process of making the film, what would you add to that?
I'm not sure how relevant that is to the new building, filled with all those graphic designers, but on Charing Cross Road that was the most important thing, for sure. I think his statement sums up fashion well. The way you look is practically your business card. In Charing Cross, the first years used to really make an effort to come into college and then, gradually, it would turn into the all black, skinny look of an MA student until some first year would ask you, "Is that a girl or a designer?" Because the looks were so androgynous, you know? Judith actually asked Stephen Jones, "If Saint Martins was a person, who would it be?" He said Issy Blow and I think that's a great way of summing up the college.

JAMIE CLIFTON