I Know What You Did Last Summer: Hideous Summer Archive - Rabbit Baby Interview

Words by Angelika May

Photo by Billy Clegg

​​In the world of Rabbit, nostalgia twines with thorns, and fantasy walks hand-in-hand with craftsmanship. I sat down with designer Sophie Spratley (AKA Rabbit Baby) during the height of summer to explore how childhood imagination, music, and tactile tradition shape their creative universe. From blackberry-picking and Marie Antoinette sketches to costumed catwalk gigs and dream collaborations, Rabbit is more than a label, it’s a love letter to art, storytelling, and the people who wear it. 

Rabbit has such a whimsical, nostalgic, and imaginative feel. Could you share a childhood memory that inspired your design aesthetic, and how it influenced both the creation of the brand and the decision to name it ‘Rabbit’?

Sophie ​​- Picking blackberries with my parents may have sparked my fascination with thorny plants. I have many lovely childhood memories, and creativity was always strongly encouraged by my parents. I remember drawing Marie Antoinette-like characters as a child, complete with corsets! I also recall playing imaginative games with my dad where we pretended to be otters, and my mum making me wonderful costumes. I feel very lucky.

My twin used to dress as a rabbit quite often, but the brand name actually came from a nickname I was given during my art foundation course, due to my personality, which people said reminded them of a rabbit. To me, rabbits are playful, determined, and mystical.

You’ve said that “the final resting place of your clothes is in the world of music”, what draws you to having musicians at the forefront of your designs?

S - Music can be so beautiful, it helps us understand ourselves, the world, and rediscover joy. Musicians deserve to be adorned and celebrated, and that’s why I love creating pieces for bands. My catwalks often centre around gigs, with live music at their heart.

I recently curated and styled my first festival stage at NeoAncients, selecting and dressing the bands, an experience I absolutely adored! In the midst of the cost of living crisis, I know how vital it is to see and hear beauty. Let’s be realistic: not everyone can afford to buy my dresses, but almost everyone can come to my shows.

At my very first catwalk event, there wasn’t even a catwalk, just my friends serving absinthe cocktails and bands performing in my designs. I believe beautiful clothes are for everyone, not just the elite, and it’s important to represent that. That’s also why I introduced the merch range, because just like supporting a band, you can support Rabbit as a brand by buying a tee or a badge!

Photo by Billy Clegg

You lean heavily into handcrafting and body-powered techniques—what drew you to these slower, more tactile processes, and why did you choose to make them central to your work?

S - I think it all stems from my grandfather, who was a furniture designer. He was truly fantastic and placed skilled craftsmanship above everything else, something I really try to carry forward in my own work. I value knitwear that’s shaped and linked on antique machines far more than mass-produced cut-and-sew pieces, and I know Rabbit fans feel the same.

The first thistle print I ever made was with an A3 screen, carefully repeat-printing tens of metres by hand in my family’s garden. These days, I work with studios in the UK, my back simply couldn’t handle that all the time! But all of my fabrics and tees are still hand-printed—just not by me anymore.

I’ve taken a well-deserved holiday to rest and reflect. I can’t wait to return home and create at a slower, more intentional pace, one that will let me pour even more love into every garment.

Photo by Billy Clegg

Congratulations on your collaboration with The Last Dinner Party! What themes or emotions were you trying to capture through the looks you created for the band?

S - Thank you! I absolutely love the girls, and I’m so pleased we were able to collaborate on that project. At the time, I was reading Bambi, and the imagery of the fox and rabbit uniting against a greater evil felt really relevant.

The pieces I created for that collection were more seductive than my previous work. I called the looks Dawn, they were about a new outlook, a fresh beginning. Clothes I genuinely want to wear myself.

The Gracie skirt, named after the seamstress I’m currently working with, was directly inspired by an antique fairy costume skirt I pulled from an archive while styling the band Reyko. I was so obsessed with it that I knew I needed to make one.

My plan moving forward is to lean more into that feeling of personal desire, to create what I truly love, rather than what I feel expected to.

If you could design a fantasy lineup of musicians to wear Rabbit on stage, who would be your dream collaborators?

S - I’m currently on a coach from Marrakech to Tamraght, listening to Drug Store Romeos. I’m really keen to work with Sarah again, hopefully on her new project, Tooth Adderly. I adore her and her voice: dreamy, reassuring, and mind-altering.

I tend to get fixated on particular songs and bands. Lately, it’s been the psychedelic babes Babe Rainbow, especially their new album Slipper Imp and Shakaerator, I absolutely adore them.

A classic favourite of mine will always be Florence and the Machine. I just need her to sing Rabbit Heart while wearing Rabbit. I’ve actually been in touch with her stylist since I was a student, and I still hope something will happen one day.

Of course, it only feels right to have a more rocky band in the mix too. The indie band of my teenage years, Peace, would be the dream, working with them would absolutely satisfy my inner teen.

So, if I could dream up a perfect lineup: Tooth Adderly to open, followed by Peace, then Babe Rainbow, and closing with Florence. I’m also really keen to involve more dancers, moving through the crowd and across the stage would be magical. Dreamy!!!

[laughing] If anyone wants to fund this project… drop me a message!

Photo by Billy Clegg

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