Mason Newitt was ‘thrown in at the deep end’ as a teenager
Mason Newitt made a decision ‘on a whim’ which put him on his current path(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A man who felt ‘like an underdog’ is now flourishing in his dream career. Mason Newitt, 23, from Prenton, Birkenhead, is a fashion designer.
Mason specialises in womenswear and punk designs. His work has featured in prestigious fashion publication Re-Edition Magazine and music videos for independent artists, as well as several London fashion shows.
However, despite Mason always having a strong interest in fashion, his life could have taken a very different path as a teenager. Speaking to the ECHO, Mason said: “I’ve always been into fashion and liked wearing quirky, unique, crazy outfits being – the freak of the town.
“When I was picking my A-level subjects, it was originally art and graphics, business and English. The art and graphics weren’t available though so I picked textiles on a whim. My older sister Melissa did fashion, so it was in the back of my mind but I never intentionally wanted to do fashion. I fell into it.”
Mason did his A-levels at Birkenhead Sixth Form College where his passion for fashion ‘flourished’. He is now in his final year studying fashion at Central Saint Martins, a prestigious institution in London.
Mason’s work began to get noticed very early on at university, particularly after his first year work was showcased in through the white show in February 2021. He said: “It’s crazy. The second you get in, because it’s so prestigious, there’s always eyes on you. There’s always designers and stylists looking at you.
Mason is hoping to inspire other working-class people to enter the fashion industry (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“You get thrown into the deep end. As soon as I finished white show, I was having stylists pull me over for magazine shoots. I started doing music videos as well.”
While making his first steps in the fashion industry, Mason has seen first hand the difficulties working class artists like him face. He said: “We’ve got to scrimp and save and work 20 times harder to get to where others are at, especially at Central Saint Martins.
“I wish there were more working class people in the university. It’s a shame. I feel like it stops a lot of working class people getting into the fashion industry.
“I would love to try and tackle that. I heard so many people say, that’s not an option for me. You have to work extremely hard but one day you will get there. Even when I was 16, I thought that all this would never happen.”
Mason’s work is influenced by music sub-cultures, such as punk, goths and mods, as well as the use of masks. After taking a two year break from the course, he is excited to showcase his graduate collection in June which will draw on his personal experiences and launch his own brand soon after.
Mason describes it as a ‘self post-mortem’, which will explore struggles with his own mental health in a striking manner. He said: “It isn’t horror but it is very striking and very brash. I want people to be moved by it. My collection is going to be a spectacle. I’m not going out lightly.
Mason feel like he has a ‘big year’ ahead of him(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“It’s about myself. It’s about struggles I’ve had in the past with mental health and other things. It’s a dissection of who I am and what I’ve been through, finding the beauty of that and turning it on its head. It’s about finding beauty in the darkness.
“Everyone goes through all their own struggles. I’ve had struggles with mental health all my life. I’ve been through some awful things. It’s about making my collection personal to me.”
Given his background and the tough times he has endured, he is still surprised he has ended up in a position where his work is in-demand and he has huge opportunities ahead of him. He said: “It’s crazy to be honest. I never imagined this life for me at all. I thought about joining the Navy or being a tattoo artist.
“I had a little two year break but now I’m back to it. I felt like an underdog, working in shadows waiting to pop out. I feel like I’ve been a slow burner but ready for it now. I’ve got big ideas and dreams for this collection. It’s going to be a big year for me I think.”