A CROWDFUNDER has been launched to take a talented Scottish fashion designer battling back from brain surgery to one of London Fashion Week’s most prestigious red carpet events.
Carina Rose’s road to the runway is a testament to determination as she has refused to be diverted from her dreams – despite a difficult start to life in care, autism, ADHD and health problems that have left her deaf.
This year in particular has been “brutal”, despite being invited to show in London this month by This Is Icon which stages one of the week’s gala events.
After Carina started work on her 12-piece collection, her health deteriorated so much she had to undergo brain surgery, which initially left her without the ability to speak and too weak to use her sewing machine.
Determined not to give up, she learned to crochet and her crochet work now forms part of her pioneering Neuro-Couture collection which was inspired by the Scottish selkie myth and a touching poem by her 11-year-old daughter.
All her work is influenced by Scottish history and culture but Carina told the Sunday National that she connected particularly deeply with the selkie myth.
“When I was severely limited and learning to adapt, the legend of shedding an old skin to reclaim one’s true form mirrored my own journey,” she said.
As a Scottish designer whose work draws heavily on the country’s culture and history and is mainly made from recycled materials, Carina was hopeful she would be awarded a Creative Scotland grant to attend London Fashion Week.
She was “devastated” to be told last week, after three months of waiting, that her application had been refused, no reason given.
More bad news came when she found out that NHS Forth Valley would not fund the specialist hearing aid she needs, even though she was born with microtia and has a reconstructed ear.
“It has all felt like a kick in the teeth but I am so grateful to Creative Stirling for setting up the fundraiser,” said Carina, who works as a hairdresser to pursue her design dreams.
So far, the fundraiser has raised more than £700, with a target of £1400, to help her attend the event this month.
Carina, who left school at 14 without any qualifications, began her journey in fashion design after her daughter was born.
While still working as a hairdresser, she first attended night school at Edinburgh’s Telford College to learn more about sewing, then studied for an HND in fashion design at Glasgow’s Clyde College before being offered a university place at Heriot Watt’s campus in Galashiels.
This meant dropping her daughter off at 6am at her mother-in-law’s before a two-hour drive from Doune to Galashiels. Despite the travel, she not only gained her undergraduate degree but also went on to do a Master’s.
“It was tough, but I am determined,” she said.
In 2024, she won Angelman Syndrome Fashion Designer of the Year and was invited to Vancouver Fashion Week where she presented work based on the story of Mary, Queen of Scots.
“All my work is based on Scottish cultural heritage and I made everything using donated leather offcuts,” she said. “It was amazing and I was offered different fashion shows but because I couldn’t get funding, I couldn’t afford to go.”
Resolving not to give up her dreams, she went on to design a tartan called Saorsa, meaning freedom, for a local company.
The tartan is now registered with the Scottish Tartan Association.
Last year, she became an official designer for the international platform, Miss Europe Continental, which involved self-funding a trip to Naples.
“I got to make some beautiful dresses working alongside talented professionals so it was a great opportunity,” she said.
She was then contacted by This Is Icon, which offered her a place on its platform at London Fashion Week.
“I was in shock and burst out crying, but then I had to go for the big operation,” said Carina, who celebrated her 40th birthday in July.
The operation removed painful underlying wiring from her original ear reconstruction that had been causing years of severe migraines and chronic sickness but it proved difficult to recover from, with her health at first much worse than it had been before the operation.
“It has taken me since the end of April to start getting my speech back,” she said. “It’s been hell, but my wee girl has kept me going, along with the rest of my family and my friends.
“I’m a fighter so every day I just started trying to get up and trying to do more but I was heartbroken when I got the knock-back from Creative Scotland.
“Along with being told that I would probably just have to fund my own hearing aid, I feel like I have just been kicked in the teeth all this year, but if I have learnt anything, there’s always somebody worse off than yourself.
“I’m just grateful to be alive, to get my speech back and slowly get back to some normality.”
Carina’s previous collection, In The Darkness There Is Light, also emerged from finding hope during some of her darkest moments.
“Bringing it to life taught me vulnerability is a superpower and fashion can be a therapeutic release,” she said.
“It demonstrated that when you take raw, unfiltered experience and channel it into wearable art, the audience doesn’t just see a garment – they feel the emotional truth behind it.”
She added: “As a Scottish designer, bringing my work to an international fashion platform, showcasing The Selkies’ Awakening with This Is Icon at London Fashion Week is a dream come true.
“Standing on an international stage proves that independent sustainable fashion, rooted in personal storytelling and Scottish heritage, belongs alongside global design.”
Helen Georgio, founder and CEO of This is Icon, described Carina as “the pioneer of Neuro-Couture who is creating unapologetically bold, high-fashion collections through a proud neurodivergent lens”.
“Working from her studio in Doune, Carina transforms forgotten textiles, including vintage lace and antique curtains, into breathtaking couture pieces that challenge convention,” Georgio said.
“Her work is deeply rooted in Scottish heritage, folklore, ancestral craftsmanship and sustainability, resulting in powerful silhouettes that are as meaningful as they are unforgettable.
“Her acclaimed collections, including In The Darkness There Is Light and Mary’s Reckoning, prove that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to whisper – it can command the runway.”
You can donate to the crowdfunder here.
