Inspired by her twin sister, a ballerina as a child and an underwriter trainee to date. Rebecca’s collection 'The Banker & The Ballerina' draws inspiration from the Russian heritage of 'The Ballet Russe' and the androgynous style of a 1920s banker. The prints featured in her collection were inspired by the original costumes from the 'Russe' and the story behind the Russian folktale 'Firebird' which in Stravinsky's ballet is about a half-woman, half bird who is captured by Prince Ivan who finds her sitting amongst the golden apples outside his palace.




The individual motifs featured in Rebecca’s prints were developed from a range of sources. Some were developed from the embroidered illustrations within the original Ballet Russe costumes and others were adapted from ancient Firebird folktale imagery/posters. Rebecca developed and adapted parts of these motifs by stylistically illustrating them using gouache paints to create a more decorative and delicate appearance.


In addition to the print design of the collection Rebecca decided that in order to create an opulent luxury collection it was vital for her to draw upon the heavy embellishment of The Ballet Russe’s costumes. In her collection each embellishment has a story and reason behind it. It wasn’t a matter of simply what was most beautiful, instead it was strategically decided upon which embellishment should go where depending on the story of the ballet.


Due to the Russian heritage behind Rebecca’s collection, the use of fur became a prominate factor to the fabric choices. However, rather than just using fur Rebecca wanted to draw from the placements in The Ballet Russe’s costumes and reinterpret it through the use of print and pearls. The applique print on Rebecca’s fur outerwear piece was developed further by applying a layer of wadding beneath the printed applique this allowed there to be a three-dimensional emphasis on the printed area.