Newcastle-born designer and stylist, Corey Dixon, is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. In an interview with Fashion North she discusses everything from her fashion brand, the integral part music has played in her life and the ‘sound’ celebrities she’s worked with.
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Corey’s love for fashion has been around since before she can remember, she recalls her mam informing her of the times she would refuse to wear certain outfits from the ages of three and four. “She was like that’s when I knew that’s the kind of thing you were doing when you were demanding at the age of three and four what you were gonna wear yourself.”
During lockdown Corey launched her fashion brand ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’ as a distraction after sadly losing her mam at the beginning of the covid pandemic. “It was something that I kind of did that started off as a distraction during COVID, and then it just escalated so I kind of just started it off in my flat. I was just like making things, taking photos, doing little videos.” Corey tells me she had the realisation that ‘life’s too short’ and soon moved into a little studio in Newcastle where her lockdown business has very much grown beyond what she’d ever expected.
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While a lot of her work is in London, Corey takes pride in being a ‘North East bird’ and finds it a ‘unique point of the brand’ as she wants to stay as ‘grounded and rooted as possible’ by staying within the North East.
All the clothes Corey makes for her brand are upcycled from other garments, this was due to her inability to source any kind of fabrics due to the ongoing pandemic. “It was kind of my only way to be able to start anything”. After much research on upcycling and how it was sustainable for the environment, Corey saw it as a way she could help and something she wanted to ‘work towards’. “I’m trying to prove that actually there’s enough stuff out there that we can upcycle and that we can make new fashion out of.”
Corey began working in the costume industry and cites that as one of the reasons she’s ‘a little bit elaborate’ with her style and puts more of a ‘theatrical side’ into her fashion. She describes her own personal style as ‘a little bit party’ which she tells me comes from her love of music, something she comes to talk about a lot over the course of the interview. Her style inspiration comes from the likes of Harris Reed and old Alexander Mcqueen, which she quickly corrects to new Mcqueen as well. When talking about the style of her own brand she explains “I don’t think it’s got a specific style as such.. other than maybe a bit outrageous but that’s me.”
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According to Corey ‘oh my god’ would be other designers’ reaction to her creative process. “Sometimes I don’t even know where I’m going with it, I’ve just got a crazy little brain I guess. My creative process, I feel like comes more from like within. There’s no patterns behind it, there’s no.. I don’t design paper to pen beforehand”.
Music has played a key part in assisting Corey’s work as a fashion designer; each garment she creates for her brand is named after a song. “I’ve always had a love for music, I’ve always been brought up with good music and it’s always on in the background when I’m creating and making.”
Corey herself has been quite known for wearing suits, something that she never found to be manly “I’ve never dressed for anyone other than myself and that’s something I’ve taken pride of.” She told me that it’s very important to her that all the pieces from her clothing brand are gender-neutral. “If I’ve always been able to express who I am then why can’t anybody else? I dress for myself and so should everybody else.”
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A number of celebrities have come to Corey for looks you may have seen on red carpets, awards shows and on TV. Corey reflected on seeing her looks presented like this, describing it as ‘honestly mental’ and ‘such a good feeling’. I also asked if she had any personal favourites. “Most recently, working with Layton Williams has obviously been amazing because of the progression there’s been throughout Strictly”. She also credits “H from Steps who kind of first got me out there.”
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Tiktok star Max Balegde’s iconic Crocs-themed outfit he wore to the ‘Barbie’ movie premiere was from none other than Corey’s brand. “It was honestly generally a joke and then like Crocs have since then had me make another suit with him for London Fashion week, It’s mental.”
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Looking back on the highlights of her career, Corey explained this whole past year has been a highlight. “From something that was a coping mechanism to now being something that I absolutely adore doing. I never thought I would go down this route.”
“I know I’ve still got further to go but I’m so determined.”
