Showing during London Fashion Week is beneficial, but according to Groves it does not translate into an immediate career launch. “It is very easy to think that because you got a bit of press you got a business. But actually, in what way does your product differentiate from products buyers already have? Who are they going to take off the rail in Selfridges to make room for your garments?”
His pragmatism is reassuring and refreshing. The industry that praises young talent and encourages endless creativity seems to frequently pick up recent graduates and drop them after the novelty has worn off. Groves is cautious of that: “You do not need to be a hundred percent creative. There needs to be a balance.” His tutoring approach is a delicious mix of commerciality and preserving the craft. We talk at length about the problems of a perfect image. “An Instagram generation has grown up that just wants an image – so if the image is fabulous, the garment doesn’t matter.” But his students are rebelling against it. “It is the most punk thing you can do now – an overload of creating. Those garments are so full of detail and embellishment.”