
Cassie Conboy is a Fabric Designer at Silver Cross, joining the team in 2018. With her background in fashion and textiles, she uses her experience and passion for design in the fabric development of new and existent products.
Constellation, our sparkling new special edition travel system, has just landed on silvercrossbaby.com and will be available on Wayfarer and Pioneer. Cassie Conboy, Fabric Designer at Silver Cross, talks us through the story, inspiration and processes behind this beautiful design.
What’s your role at Silver Cross?
I’m a Fabric Designer and form part of the design team here at Silver Cross. My role is incredibly varied – from sourcing and creating new fabric concepts and illustrating and designing product refreshes, to pattern cutting and fit and function on a new product. We’re constantly analysing and appraising our designs and whilst my role is fabrics-focussed, I work closely with the hardware team to perfect our products.
One of the major privileges of working as a designer here is our deep involvement within the design process – from the initial concept right through to production. No day is ever the same!
Tell us about Constellation, what was the inspiration behind it?
Constellation was born through adversity and during the very first lockdown – a time when we were all searching for new opportunities and hope. Creating Constellation was a journey of discovery for new materials and finishes, including a glimmering woven fabric with a metallic interface.
Haute couture catwalks, surface furnishes, interiors and high-end designers like Elie Saab and Chanel all inspired Constellation’s design. I wanted to create something truly luxurious and bring back the glamour and theatre we’ve all missed out on over the past year, whilst still keeping it super relevant in terms of upcoming trends.
What was the process behind the design?
Trend analysis and forecasting future trends to create relevant design story concepts for our products is a key and crucial part of the process in the fabrics team. Whether it’s a print refresh, special edition or a brand-new product, colour is our most powerful tool and it’s key in ensuring our designs are fresh, relevant, and tailored to our customer.
Once our trend forecasting and customer feedback is complete and presented to our Board, we work on incorporating this into the product concepts and into our fabrics through lab dips with new colours, hand looms and new weave designs. We researched and sourced a range of different materials to create a series of tactile touch points on the products to ensure comfort, style and usability, using velour, satin-touch linings, metallic yarns and woven fabrics.
We’ll then work closely with our suppliers and factory to develop and perfect the fabrics and trims and ensure the fit and function and pattern cut is seamless. Our team creates production specifications for final manufacturing processes, seeing the production through from the beginning to the end to make sure the product is the best It can possibly be.
Which products will be available in this new special edition?
The Special Edition Constellation will be available on our best-selling Pioneer and Wayfarer prams, as well as the Dream infant carrier. There’ll also be a matching changing rucksack, footmuff and seat liner to keep you, and baby, looking out of this world.
Cassie Conboy is a Fabric Designer at Silver Cross, joining the team in 2018. With her background in fashion and textiles, she uses her experience and passion for design in the fabric development of new and existent products.