This is a very personal take.
Of course, its all it’s possible for you to do.
You come in with your own feeling and intuition.
Sensual textures abound in the upcoming Fforme collection by Frances Howie.
So says Frances Howie, the new creative director at the barely three-year-old New York labelFforme.
I am a woman who loves things.
When I engage with other brands, the joy is that theres something to delight in.
For her debut Fforme collection, Howie zeroed in on textures, many of them done by hand.
She grew up one of four siblings, with a doctor for a father.
Hes a very articulate, well-read, intelligent academic person, she explains.
Her love for making things by hand can be traced back to that time.
Photo: Courtesy of Fforme
For her debut Fforme collection, Howie zeroed in on textures, many of them done by hand.
The winner was automatically accepted into Central Saint Martinss masters program.
I entered three years in a row, and finally I won, she says.
A tailored jacket in a what Howie calls a “flat bouclé” from Fforme’s fall 2025 collection
If I failed, there was no going back.
Howie didnt speak French, but it didnt matter because she could draw.
She worked as Elbazs assistant for three years.
By the time I evolved in my career, I had already worked across many different categories.
She started as a design team member before eventually becoming the design director.
What I did there successfully is channel what she needed, Howie notes.
[That was an] absolutely impeccable education in how to make a jacket and the Savile Row tradition.
I really didnt have that in Paris.
Now in New York, she is able to merge those things into her vision at Fforme.
She seems surprised at her own penchant for the more feminine, dressier side of things.
It seems slightly unusual until we reach the end of the conversation.
This is because we have hired an absolutely A-grade team.
Its a collaborative effort.
I think, Who really cares about me?
