A London events platform aims to foster community through affordable events that inspire connection and collaboration within the creative industry.
Founded in 2023, Creative Talks puts on accessible fireside chat-style talks led by expert speakers in creative fields.
The most recent event, held last Thursday at Soho’s The Blue Posts pub, featured an inspiring conversation between up-and-coming sustainable designer Gina Corrieri and fashion historian and influencer Rosie Okotcha.
Featured in esteemed publications such as Vogue and Dazed, Corrieri discussed the journey to building her sustainability-focused brand, which consists of reworked t-shirts and vintage clothing.
Corrieri, a Fashion Design graduate from Kingston School of Art, said: “London is such an amazing place for having dreams and seeing people chase and fulfill those dreams.
“Events like this bring people together and give people opportunities. That’s the amazing thing about being [in London].”
Speaking with Okotcha, the young designer expressed her dedication to slow fashion and her focus on creating clothes that ‘reflect the world [she] wants to see.’
She said: “When you’re reworking, you care about sustainability, and trying to do things with a limited amount of waste is really important.
“And the great thing about the design is that it’s size-inclusive.
“It’s so amazing to not limit who can engage with what you’re doing.”
Her clothes have been worn by many celebrities, including popular DJ, rapper and singer, Shygirl.
Creative Talks was founded by Elza Rauza, 24, who moved to London from Latvia five years ago to attend university.
Rauza, now an events organiser and film industry worker, launched the platform after feeling a lack of real-life connections in the busy capital.
She said: “It’s all about creating these ecosystems of creativity.
“I see the people I want to bring together as an act of connecting the dots – you can actually see more creative work coming from the collaborations, which is great.”
A ticket to the recent Creative Talks event was only £5 on Eventbrite, and Rauza believes that these types of events are a fantastic way for people to educate themselves without a heavy price tag.
She explained: “I think because of the cost of education, even short courses, people look for small bits and bobs of knowledge you can gain from a talk, or even a video essay or TikTok.
“This is how we can gain knowledge in a sustainable way that’s not going to kill our pocket.”
Rauza thinks the pub setting is ‘casual, intimate and conversational’ and makes people feel more ‘at home’, allowing conversations to flourish.
She hopes that, if anything, attendees are able to make friends.
She said: “I just love to be inspired by creative people who are doing their thing.
“I hope what people can take away is that, if they look to their left or to their right, maybe there’s someone they want to speak to, and hopefully exchange Instagrams.”
Follow Creative Talks for details of future events.
Featured image credit: Katie Hall
