Jack Shepherd / Vanya’s work uses fashion as its starting point. Shepherd is influenced by the weird and wonderful and fashion that pushes the obscene and acceptable. He is an artist who designs couture, ready for an editorial photoshoot or conceptual collections for a runway. Being a graphic artist, he works digitally, which is where his love of bright and vivid colours began. Underpinning his practice, is an aesthetic interest in the fetishised female body, typically used to market feminine clothing. For the artist, it’s about exceeding limits, and recent designs include elements of sexualisation and lingerie, which may not have to be worn by women, however, connote a caricature of femininity. He takes many influences from the fashion world such as design houses like Gautier and Moschino, but also from the world of drag. Drag is a way of pushing the boundaries of gender, combining fashion and character. He is a drag queen, under the name Vanya.