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"   Photo: Mark Fast  His decision in 2007 to include fuller-figured models on his catwalk may have cost Mark Fast a stylist and creative director days before his show, but two years on and the Canadian designer&amp;#039;s whispering latticework of fine-gauge and figure-loving knit dresses have won him a diffusion line for Topshop, an love affair with footwear thanks to Christian Louboutin, and a forthcoming jewelry collection. Tumbleweeds are bouncing through East London in the days before London Fashion Week as reclusive designers and entrenched creative teams beaver away in their studios. But we managed to lure Mark to the surface for (we hope!) a welcome distraction and a hint of what&amp;#039;s to come in his SS11 collection. What three things can you not do without right now?My peaceful, quiet bedroom, family and my knitting assistants. From what did you draw inspiration for your SS11?It&amp;#039;s a collection about hope amongst despair. I&amp;#039;m mixing fragile textures with more dangerous ones, like a butterfly with alligators. I&amp;#039;m inspired by reptiles and the repetitive, uneven texture of their skins and I want to bring that danger to the clothes. What&amp;#039;s your color palette?Black, burnt tropical colours and white. Any new materials in the mix?I&amp;#039;m working with these fantastic new jagged Swarovski elements. I&amp;#039;m looping the crystals into the knit and they&amp;#039;ll drape off the body creating a beautiful lighting effect. Your line for Topshop is on fire, any other collabs on the horizon?I often see women wearing wearing my Topshop collab around London. It&amp;#039;s such a great feeling to see my designs in a mass market. There are alot of exciting collabs for SS11 including a capsule collection with Pinko and an accessories line with Atelier Swarovski. I am happy! Can we continue to count on fuller-figured models gracing your catwalks again this season?I&amp;#039;ve fallen in love with the girls I&amp;#039;ve worked with in the past. They&amp;#039;re like family. Summer is fast becoming a distant memory, what were your holiday highlights?I wasn&amp;#039;t able to get back to Canada and swim in the lakes so the pool at my gym has been the closest thing to a holiday this summer. What will you be looking forward to most when the maelstrom of Fashion Week quiets down?I will go on holiday to Canada. I am a family guy, that&amp;#039;s for sure. Check ELLE.com next week for pictures of Mark&amp;#039;s SS11 collection! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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