ABOUT
Syrie remembers wearing a lot of colours, arguably too many, when growing up. It was coincidently around the time her father died that she went over to the dark side and chose black for every outfit – she hasn’t looked back since. Occasionally allowing a pop or two of vivid colour, black became her primary palette, with silhouette and texture to be experimented with. Restricting herself to a black wardrobe perhaps makes it a challenge to stand out from the crowd but this is something Syrie has always done.
“I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” Wednesday Addams
HATS
Her love for millinery runs in her blood, as her mother dabbled in hat-making in her youth. Syrie owns a tiny stripy hat her mother made for her when she was small and having out-grown it, Syrie then dressed her toy bears in it, showing that even then, she wasn’t interested in throw-away fashion. She sewed lots when she was small and made more hats for a collection of handmade, well-dressed felt ‘gingerbread’ men, which are now in her archive. During Syrie’s time at Westminster University, she made lots of hats but her favourites were those inspired by her late father – each one making her feel either closer to heaven or at least, closer to his 6 ft 6ins height! These black wool hats can be found in the shop here.
“How a hat makes you feel is what a hat is all about.” Philip Treacy
Having finished a design course at Oxford Brookes University, Syrie already knew that she wanted to do fashion, so Westminster’s design course was the obvious next step. During her time there, she was given the opportunity to design an outfit for Fenty, which was then presented to Rihanna at a runway show. This outfit was used in an exclusive shoot for KaltBlut magazine. She has interned for various fashion brands such as Justine Tabak, Ashley Williams and Art School. Over lockdown, she helped support the NHS by making scrubs, not as simple as it sounds, and which required fine-tuning the process of making garments to order as quickly and efficiently as possible, good experience for her debut collection.
“Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.” Alexander McQueen
JEWELLERY
Since graduating in 2022, as well as interning for a number of small fashion brands as training for setting up her own brand, Syrie has managed to stay in London by working in the Brick Lane Vintage Market and taking on jobs in hospitality. After what felt like selling her soul to the endless grind of café work, she enjoyed working for a welder/metal artist as his creative assistant. Coming across a marine D-shackle in his workshop, she saw its decorative potential, sourced more stainless steel marine-based hardware and created her eye-catchingly unique jewellery collection, available in the shop here. Bespoke bags are made from upholstery velvet, using a unique channel system, so the pieces have somewhere to rest when not around the wearer’s neck.
“People will stare. Make it worth their while.” Harry Winston
THE JUST A SILVER LINING PROJECT
In a deeply personal homage to her late father, who was always called Tree, Syrie has created a dynamic fashion collection, celebrating her ‘tall, strong and beautiful dad’. In tribute to his towering stature, Syrie makes ‘height’ a key feature wherever possible, using panel work, vertical stripes, seams and pointed hats. Further inspiration is derived from Tree’s profession as a sound engineer, with the chaos of backstage wires and cables translated into ‘wiggled’ seams on key pieces, injecting a dash of humour, which he would have appreciated.
Hardwearing and practical materials are used; leather, wool, denim and silver metallic linings create a clear aesthetic. Alongside his sound engineering, Tree made custom-built flight cases and these iconic pieces are referenced in some of the key accessories.
Playful, structured and sculptural, the Just a Silver Lining collection is Syrie’s sartorial tribute to Tree’s on-tour, continent-crossing lifestyle.
