The world of Jonathan Saunders

Scottish-born Jonathan Saunders, 34, graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1999 with a BA in printed textiles and gained an MA at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2002. Within two days of his graduation show Saunders was commissioned to design prints for Alexander McQueen. Saunders launched his eponymous womenswear label a year later, and in 2011 began a menswear line. Fans of his garments range from Samantha Cameron to Eva Mendes. On Sunday at 8pm at London Fashion Week he will show his spring/summer 2013 women's collection in the Tanks lobby, Tate Modern . He lives in London with his dog, Amber.

Routine My alarm goes off at 8am and I am at the studio for 9.15am. Breakfast every morning is two boiled eggs and a protein shake. I walk to my studio in Angel with Amber and we stop on the way for coffee at the Wilton Way Café in Hackney, which is just down the road from home. I go to the gym for an hour at 1pm and work until between 8 and 11pm. No matter how late it is, I like to come home and cook - it enables me to shut off. My signature dish is Sri Lankan fish curry.

Yvie I have an amazing team at the studio - I employ 15 people full-time and up to 25 when we are manic in the run-up to the shows. Yvie Hutton has worked with me since I began the business spit-and-sawdust style from my bedroom nine years ago. She is my best friend from Glasgow and we've known each other since we were 16. She started working in sales and has gradually grown within the company to be managing director. It is unusual being best friends with somebody you work so closely with every day. We have to make sure we have our friend time separately, which is hard to do when your work is basically a lifestyle as opposed to a real job.

Photo: Andy Lo Po

Sewing box This sewing box (pictured above) is one of the only things in my home from my childhood. I would like to say it marks the beginning of my career in fashion, but actually I just liked the little red knobs on it. My mum and dad bought it for me at Barras Market in Glasgow when I was about 10 and now it is full of plastic bags for Amber's poo.

New York I showed three collections in New York between 2008 and 2009, which was a positive thing for my business. It was a good way to get my brand out there without an advertising campaign and massive investment. I always missed being in London, though, and I felt it was important to come back to show in London for the 25th anniversary of London Fashion Week, in September 2009. When you are in your home town the process of putting a collection together feels more personal. I didn't see any dip in my sales or in the awareness of the brand when I came back to London, so I have stayed.

References When I started on spring/summer 2013 I went back to the references for my first ever collection, which included the Op-artist Victor Vasarely - so there will be no floral and nothing overly decorative. Colour always drives me and I love the balance of colours in Vasarely's work. I bought these two Vasarely books (pictured below) from a second-hand bookshop in Glasgow when I was at art school; they are still marked with Post-it notes from that time. I collect books and have about 3,000 at the studio, but the Vasarely books live at home.

Photo: Andy Lo Po.

Current mood I feel like stripping things back a little at the moment. In fashion you work very far in advance and what you produce should relate, as much as it can, to the mood people are feeling. I am not over-intellectualising fashion, but it does have a cultural relevance. I feel there is so much print, decoration and flamboyance within fashion that it's relevant for me personally to try and simplify things a little.

Inspiration I am a massive fan of David Bowie. There is no denying it; he is just the coolest guy. He is an incredible inspiration on so many levels. I love how brave he was, how changeable he was. He was the first to do the whole reinvention thing and do it without diluting what he was doing musically. I am not very good with new music and I go back to Bowie all the time. The Scary Monsters album cover (pictured below) is one of my favourites. I bought this at the Barras when I was about 18. My MA collection was influenced by the graphics from album sleeves.

Photo: Andy Lo Po

Lost property I am the furthest thing from a hoarder. I chuck stuff away and sometimes it is not by choice. I am often quite distracted because I have too many things on. A good example of this is when I was coming back from Paris on the Eurostar and I got all the way to London before I realised I had left my suitcase, with all my favourite clothes in it, in the waiting area at Gare du Nord.

Lamp I bought this Memphis lamp (pictured below) at Lots Road Auctions in Chelsea, London, two years ago. It cost me about £800. [The shoe designer] Nicholas Kirkwood told me about Lots Road and said you could find the odd gem there. I had never been to an auction before and absolutely loved it. There was an original Vasarely for sale the day I was there, but it was starting around £4,000. If I'd had more money I'd have gone wild.

Photo: Andy Lo Po

Escaping I produce four womenswear collections each year, two menswear collections and four different collections for consultancies. The pace I work at means I often feel like I am firefighting. I need to continue to be inspired and come up with something new. Whenever I get a chance to escape and get some time on my own, which isn't very often, that is exactly what I do. I recently went to Madrid on holiday and went to all the museums - the Thyssen, the Reina Sofia and the Pradu, as I kept calling it.

Bottoms I like to think this piece of art (pictured below) makes me look less dry, just because of how silly it is. When you first glance at it, it is graphic looking and a great pattern, then you realise it is lots of bums. I bought it from a second-hand shop in Islington for £30 - it is not by a named artist.

Photo: Andy Lo Po

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