Features and  interviews in our coming issue look at how copying informs the work of artists and designers, how it can be a compliment, how it can be the best solution, how originality and reaction aren’t always the best responses. One section of the issue is dedicated to interviews with designers, artists and musicians about their relationship the often derided practice. This interview is with Stephen Banks, head designer of Norsea Industries, a British clothing label that takes as a starting point the workwear of the Northern England

In this issue, we are thinking about the use of copying in a creative process - perhaps because being original, reactive, subversive is not appropriate. Do you find copying useful as a way of finding a solution in design?

I don’t think as a designer copying alone is ever a good solution to a brief. Systems of how to work are something you can copy and learn from but creativity needs real inspiration as a starting point. A designer doesn’t want to be told to simply copy something. The reference sample or picture you start off with is only the beginning of the process, intangible things like wisdom, vision, vigour and craft need to be applied before you have a finished product.

Given that there’s a historical awareness to your designs, is there a difference to you in the types of influences you have? How does the researched, historical piece of clothing compare to the continuous stream of images you might see on a daily basis?

The best advice I can give is not to go on the net for too much research. Look outside in your own environment and find something more personal you can get passionate about.

Our brand Norsea came out of our move back to the Yorkshire coast. It was not something we planned but after a while the surroundings and influences came together and a clear direction and aesthetic appeared. Our references are rooted in the everyday all around us, fishing boats, yacht rigging or debris left on the shoreline. You could never get the same feeling of immersion by hitting your keyboard a couple of hours a day while sitting at your desk in an office somewhere.

There’s an idea that the clearer a clothing company’s influences, the more successful it will be. There’s definitely a trend for this now, as seen in workwear and heritage, historical brands. Do you find this need important, either commercially or artistically?

Whether your brand is workwear or sportswear the clearer your message the better. Like people brands have identities, consumers get to know them over time. You align yourself with the brands you feel speak to you. If a brand suddenly changes direction the consumer can end up confused and alienated.

Could you pinpoint one piece of work that you’ve deliberately done as a copy?

I’ve tried to recreate the old Teddyboy jackets that the local fishermen used to wear in places like Hull 1950’s. My Dad has still got one of the originals, it’s hand tailored and fits like a glove.

Is there something you would like to copy / anything that absolutely shouldn’t be copied?

I’d like to copy the longevity of someone like Oscar Niemeyer the Brazilian architect and still be enjoying my work when I’m ninety nine.

Have you been copied?

I get to see inside the design rooms of quite a few leading brands when I do the odd bit of consultancy. I have noticed quite a few Norsea images appearing on mood boards. It’s great that another designer has found inspiration in what we are doing. But in the end their copy of our one of our pieces only ends up further away from the original concept, like a photo-copy, much of the detail is lost.