Frances Walker
A passionate and resourceful Creative Director and Designer, Frances Walker has over 30 years of experience working primarily in Luxury and Premium menswear and, to a lesser extent, women’s RTW, launching successful menswear brands for Nicole Farhi, where she started her career and worked for 23 years, followed by Jigsaw.
She has also headed up design for Mr Porter Private Label Mr P and the quietly ground-breaking BCorp outdoor brand Finisterre and consulting for various excellent UK brands, including Universal Works, Private White VC, Community Clothing, YMC and Basic Rights.
Frances is renowned for her ability to thrive and excel in high-paced, dynamic entrepreneurial environments. She has successfully navigated large corporations and smaller founder-lead businesses, constantly collaborating closely with strategic partners on broader brand strategy and creativity. Her ability to foster a motivating and positive work environment has been instrumental in inspiring her team towards success, continual personal development, and innovation at all touchpoints.
Frances’s time at Nicole Farhi was significant, where her passion and motivation as a designer were always focused on creating beautifully crafted, timeless, quietly luxurious, brand-distinctive clothing and accessories. Her dedication and commitment to this vision, guided by Dieter Rams’s 10 principles of good design, have always been a lodestar.
A creator from start to finish, Frances has always had a hands-on approach to the entire creative, design and product development process, always paying meticulous attention to the essential details of fabric, make, finish, and garment fit. In tandem with creating a beautiful, lasting product, she can identify and articulate a brand’s unique DNA and help drive forward its vision by creating compelling brand stories, imagery and presentations which will inspire.
Throughout her career, one of her greatest pleasures has been forging lasting relationships with fantastic fabric mills, skilled manufacturers, and artisans in the UK, Europe, and the Far East. She’s never happier than working in a factory alongside its skilled and passionate technicians and seamstresses, bringing new designs to life.
