Olivia Holland is an award winning Textile Designer specialising in knitwear. Olivia grew up in South London and dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, inspired by the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith. She spent her lunchtimes at school in the art room and her weekends at home drawing or exploring the fabric shops of Goldhawk Road, falling in love with the myriad of possibilities of colour and texture combinations.

Olivia was spurred on by her Art Foundation tutor at Camberwell College of Arts to pursue Textiles. She went on to gain a first class degree in Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design.
In response to her research on sustainability and emotional attachment, Olivia decided that she wanted to create her own vision: to make beautiful, timeless textiles, which are refreshingly new, transcend seasons, and become treasured forever.

Olivia does this with the aim to encourage change from our current mindset of fast, throwaway fashion, to a more thoughtful, sustainable and long term way of buying.

Olivia started her business in 2015. She was a recipient of the Cockpit Arts/Haberdashers Award in 2017, and the Jill Humphrey Springboard Prize in 2018.

'My practise aims to challenge people's pre conceptions of knitwear, its aesthetic and what it can become.'

Olivia’s inspiration comes from the world around her, finding intrigue and beauty in the everyday, on trips abroad and in her hometown. The vibrancy of London is very apparent in her work, which uses strong colour, bold and intricate patterns and luxurious texture. Her design process is personal and organic, starting with her own photography, and then drawing and collaging, constructing key shapes and developing a colour palette unique to her original photographs. After she selects the correct yarns, Olivia then makes the sample collection on her 12gg Santagostino industrial knitting machine. Find out more about this machine and Olivia's making process here.

Olivia J Holland textiles are bold, bright and designed with herself in mind 'As a child I used to hate being copied and always tried to look unique and style myself individually. I have always loved wearing things which no one else has, and I cherish items that have been passed down to me or gems I have found in charity shops. I am appealing to the women and men out there who desire one of a kind, luxury and life long pieces. A piece of wearable art, to stand out from the crowd and to cherish forever.'

Olivia creates annual Textile Collections as well as working on private commissions and bespoke orders, where she works with the customer to create a tailored product. Due to the labour intensive process and to minimise waste, every piece is made to order.