Do you have glam rock sensibilities, with a penchant for androgynous silhouettes and loud performative colours a la Ziggy Stardust or The New York Dolls? Maybe you lean more towards high quality unisex tailoring and linear prints? Perhaps you’re just looking for that one-off cutesy mod-inspired number to underscore your girly and feminine wiles. In any case you’d be best off tapping into the off the wall world of London based 2007’s Design Awards winner Camilla Ruiz Ramirez. She talks to Running in Heels about her own independent label Camicuckoo, designing for ASOS, her up and coming Prêt-à-Porter line and the important role music plays for her in the design process.

What led you to fashion design and how long have you been designing for?

I remember quite vividly my first desire of becoming a fashion designer at the age of 8. My mum and myself were travelling on a bus into town and we passed this amazing old building, (which I now know as Central St. Martins, the most prestigious fashion school in the world.) It was then that I knew I wanted to become a fashion designer. Also having always been dressed in the latest trends by your mother at a young age as has an effect. Not only because one is bullied at school for looking slightly odd to other primary school kids but it also allowed me to see that one could express ones self through colour and print. And this in turn created an unspoken language of acceptance and cool amongst society and I really liked that.

I have been designing since I was this age but only really started to understand the whole process when I trained at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Epsom. I wanted to be in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city but came back every weekend to experience club culture.

There is definitely a sense of your love of music that comes through your designs. Bowie and the New York Dolls seem prevalent; was that intentional or just an natural expression of who is coming through your creations?

My fashion has always been influenced by the subcultures and music of the time. I have seen many different scenes evolve over the years with Trash Club, Nag Nag Nag, Golf Sale, Family and Boombox all evolving from the same centre core culture. This has always been important to me.

What made you decide to set up Camicuckoo?

I set up Camicuckoo to begin with as a tribute to my friends, my muse and the love of my life; the subculture I personally had evolved within. The initial collection was about creating shapes and styles that could be worn by both my female and male friends dealing with androgynous beings the beginning of the unisex culture.

I then designed collections with musicians in mind, my clothes have been worn by Sue and the Unicorns and Robots in Disguise. My prints are bold and colourful – unusual graphic shapes that look futuristic inspiration gathered from buildings.

What prominent figure would you love to see wearing your designs?

I would love to see Alison from Goldfrapp wearing my clothes.

You recently also created a Prêt a Porter label called Cami and Peds as well as designing a collection for the Laden Showrooms in Shoreditch, tell me more about this.

I recently collaborated with my friend to create a ready to wear range called Cami & Peds and the first collection will be shown this autumn/winter. This also draws on similar inspirations from our fascination with Courtney Love and bohemian gothic. Right now I’m designing a collection for Asos.com and Nelly.com. This range is called Renee London the collection gathers inspiration from late 80’s and early 90’s club wear such as Versace and Moschino. I love this because I am able to express myself and all my visions and ideas in separate labels.

How do you see your work developing in the future?

In the future I aim to focus on the Cami and Peds range and hopefully design more freelance collections for the high street. Camicuckoo is still in my heart but right now it’s not commercially viable to maintain a decent level of living.  This label was all my wildest fantasies of creations rolled into one, like a cake with every single trimming on the top one could think of. Slightly sickly but amazing to look at.

You won Marks and Spencer’s Young Textile Designer of the Year award in 2007, what has that success brought with it?

Winning the Marks and Spencer’s award was a great honour and made me realise there was a commercial market out there for my work. In turn I had a freelance print design position for ten months which was a great experience and exactly what I needed to get me back on track with designing.

You will be at this years Bread and Butter Fair in Berlin this year. What does that mean to you?

I will attend Bread and Butter this year not only to see all the great design talent emerging from Europe but also because it’s a great place to meet some fantastic people and go to some amazing parties. You have to have a little fun, no?

Where do you hope and think fashion design will be heading in the next few years?

I really hope that with the current economic state more independent designers will now have the chance to show case their work instead of being undercut and pushed out by the likes of Primark . Many people in our society today have forgotten the actual time, effort and skill which actually goes into to producing a garment. This is not their fault, it’s our fault as a society. We feel the need for greater profit margins and which in turn destroys the manufacturing industries in this country.

Any closing comments you would like to leave our readers with?

I am a very visual creative person. I find fashion designing really stimulating and is great when you spot someone wearing something you have created!

Find Camilla’s Renee London designs online here.