A Q&A with Patrick Grant
By Press Office
Find out more about our Chancellor, Patrick Grant, in this exclusive Q&A. From his Edinburgh roots to his career in fashion, social entrepreneurship, and television, Patrick talks openly about what motivates him, the challenges he has faced, and why being Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh is such a special honour.
1. What is it about QMU that resonates with you?
QMU is committed to educating the people that society really needs, the unsung heroes, the nurses and other health professionals, the teachers, social entrepreneurs and so on - people who every day are making other people’s lives better and are directly making our society better, and doing it in a way that is inclusive, and community focused. It’s the sort of higher education provider we need more of.
2. What does being Chancellor of Queen Margaret University mean to you personally?
I’ve had a few academic honours, and they’re all a great honour, but being asked to be Chancellor feels like a really big deal. I couldn’t be more chuffed. It’s all the more special because my mum went to QMU (under its old name) back in the 1960’s.
3. How did your upbringing in Edinburgh shape your values and career path?
Edinburgh is a city that inspired so much original thought, from the Enlightenment right through to Dolly the Sheep. It’s a city where ideas take shape, ideas that have made the world better. Growing up here you feel part of that energy of positive progression.
4. What inspired your transition from engineering and materials science to fashion and design?
It was pure chance, through a small advert I came across by accident in the classified pages of the Financial Times, offering Norton & Sons for sale. I was struck by the seemingly low price for an institution on the world’s most famous tailoring street, and decided to take a leap of faith and buy it. But with the fashion world doing terrible things to the planet, having a background in materials science is a huge help every day as we try to make the industry better and more fit for the future. So much now is about understanding the harm our fashion systems do, and then changing them for the better, and that has to be driven by science. At the moment, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors.
5. What motivates you in your career?
I’m motivated by trying to build something that does good. We’ve allowed ourselves to walk into this form of capitalism that only extracts, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, but it doesn’t have to be like that. Business has the power to do lots of good. And through my work at Community Clothing, I want to be a part of that movement. I also really love what I do; trying to build a business that swims against the tide, with very limited resources, is a real buzz.
6. What part of your career are you most proud of and why?
The ongoing success of Community Clothing and the impact we’ve made: almost half a million hours of good skilled work created in the UK since we started. But we have a whole lot more to do.
7. What advice would you give to students who want to make a positive social or environmental impact through their lives and careers?
Be prepared to set out on a difficult path, but know that it’s possible, and that you will be rewarded, maybe not with huge sums of money, but you will be able to look at yourself every day and feel proud, and that’s worth so much more.
8. Can you tell us about some of the key challenges you’ve faced in your career and how you dealt with them? Based on your experience, what advice would you give students and new graduates on dealing with the inevitable ups and downs that come with any career?
It’s always been hard. I’ve always had to work really long hours, often doing the worst, most tedious jobs that nobody else wants to do. And always being the one who keeps moving forward when things seem like they might be beyond repair. But I’ve always focused on fixing things, one at a time, keeping going. You have to be determined, and dogged, and those I think are both very Scottish traits.
9. With Community Clothing, you’ve focused on UK manufacturing. How important is local production to the future of fashion and communities?
It’s important because it creates good jobs. And it’s important because it connects people to the things they own. If I see “Made in Scotland” in a jumper it makes me feel good about buying and wearing it, and I know it’s made from good stuff, in ways that doesn’t kill the planet, or screw people over. The future has to be about less stuff but better stuff, stuff that brings us more joy and creates positive benefits for our communities and society.
10. What roles do creativity and craftsmanship play in today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world?
We still live with physical objects. We wear physical clothes, drink from physical cups and sit on physical chairs, and these objects have a role to play in making life more enjoyable, for us as consumers, and for those people who make them. ‘Making’ is a natural part of how humans live. Removing ‘making work’ from our lives has left us feeling hollowed out and purposeless. We can’t all work in AI or IT.
11. Why do you think The Great British Sewing Bee has resonated with such a wide audience?
Lovely people doing brilliant things in a warm and celebratory atmosphere. It’s how all of society should be.
12. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I was lucky to have the benefit of a great education. I was taught to work hard, be kind, and to be unafraid to take risks. That has served me well.
13. Quick fire questions:
Best childhood memory in Edinburgh? Building dens in the Hermitage of Braid, and occasionally nashing away from the parky on our bikes.
Favourite place in Edinburgh? The top floor front seat of the number 23 bus.
Patrick Grant named as QMU's new Chancellor
