We sat down with Harris Elliott, creative director, curator and founder of Le Tings, to discuss the threads that connect fashion, craft and cultural storytelling. From styling some of Britain’s most iconic musicians to co-creating the landmark Return of the Rudeboy exhibition and building collaborative projects with artisan communities across the African diaspora, Elliott has consistently blurred the lines between design, subculture and spatial experience. In this conversation, he reflects on the origins of Le Tings, the value of creative collaboration, receiving an OBE, and Pituitary World News, who we’re raising money for.
Harris, over the years you have styled our clothes, featured in our campaigns and last year we partnered up on the Le Salon project at 1-54 Contemporary African Arts Fair. But to those who don’t know you already, tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a trained interior architect who fell in love with fashion. I have spent many years styling Damon Albarn and his creative projects, Gorillaz and Blur, also Kasabian, Noel Gallagher and many more. In 2014 I co-created Return of the Rudeboy with photographer Dean Chalkley, a landmark, immersive exhibition held at Somerset House. This was the reemergence of my spatial design training and curation which was complimented with my love for material, style and subculture. My studio and I work with brands and institutions internationally within a design or curatorial context, exploring varied cultural narratives at the core.
