Meet Hannah Weiland, the Designer Behind Cult Brand Shrimps
If you hear people at a fashion show talking about how they’re obsessed with “shrimps,” it’s not a new crustacean-only diet, or the name of a super cool secret club; rather it’s the name of Hannah Weiland’s cult-favorite outerwear brand, Shrimps. If you haven’t heard about it before, don’t worry, you are not out of touch. Shrimps has only been around for about two years, although you wouldn’t guess that by the people that are seen sporting the brightly colored faux fur coats that are her trademark: Alexa Chung, Solange, and Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet. In fact, all the bright coats we saw this past week during fashion week, can probably be attributed to the Shrimps phenomenon. But how did it all get started?
“I came across this amazing fake fur that could hold any color,” says Weiland, “and I knew I wanted to make a coat with it. I had this idea and I went for it, even though I probably should’ve waited until I had more things before I placed an order with the factory.” Placing the order for the fabric, as it turns out, was the catalyst for starting the label in a way, “I was on the phone with them and they said ‘We need a name!’ and all these things raced through my head, should I name it after my Nana? Should I name it Hannah? But then I settled on my childhood nickname, Shrimps.”
This off-the-cuff decision-making has characterized a lot of the Shrimps evolution, but Weiland likes it that way, “I like the idea of growing organically. I had an idea for a coat, and I went with it, then a bag, and now there’s a bit of ready-to-wear as well,” she says pointedly, “I like doing things as they come to me as opposed to expand very quickly because it’s what ‘must happen.’” The label, which started with a classic car coat shape, and a clutch, has now expanded to include little key chains, a collaboration with pajama label Poplin, and shoe collaborations with Sophia Webster. For Fall 2015, there will be plaid mini skirts and sweaters in rich colors.
Weiland always knew she wanted to go into fashion, and her obsessions manifested themselves in her clothes, “I was obsessed with dogs and for about two years when I was a teenager, all I wore were t-shirts with pictures of dogs. I was always really into art and animals.” Although the dogs have stayed behind, her love of art led to a degree in art history, and a diploma in textile design at the London College of Fashion. The influence of both interests are very clear in her offerings at Shrimps, “When it comes to colors, I reference artists, paintings, architects, it all plays a huge part,” says Weiland. In the past, this has meant, blues inspired by Matisse paintings, blue-and-pink combos inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barragan, and for the Fall 2015 season, shades of mustard, brown and green reminiscent of the German expressionist painter Otto Dix. Her dream Shrimps client is not Rihanna or even baby North West, but artist Grayson Perry, the eccentric British artist known for his ceramic vases, and for his crossdressing alter-ego, Claire.
With her success, Weiland has become part of a storied history of young, quirky British designers who are allowed to beat to their own drum, and that ultimately have found loads of success. “There’s something quite free about British fashion,“ says Weiland, "It doesn’t subscribe to one particular aesthetic. It’s got a sense of humor.”
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