AN AWARD-winning fashion designer has swapped sketching clothes designs to illustrating comics.

Brighton-based Gresham Blake has created graphic novel The Time Tailor, The Battle For Fashion, which has been five years in the making.

The former University of Brighton student was inspired by customer and Manga artist Tony Luke.

The project was delayed when Mr Luke was diagnosed with cancer. Mr Blake has decided to go it alone to finish the project.

The novel focuses on the adventures of Vikki Blows, who goes to the future to find new fashion designs, only to stumble across a war between moths and butterflies.

She inadvertently unleashes an army of giant clothes moths on Brighton.

Mr Blake said: “It’s something for me to do in the evenings instead of just watching the TV.”

The graphic novel will be revealed page by page on the designer’s Facebook page from this week.

Mr Blake is also considering publishing a book and printing a range of shirts.

It is not the first time the clothes designer has worked with and been inspired by artists outside of the fashion world.

In 2005, he produced white suits for leading artists to modify including Banksy, Sam Taylor-Wood, the Chapman Brothers and Tracey Emin in his Suits As Canvas fundraiser for Cancer Research.

He is also working on a retrospective coffee table book to mark the 15th anniversary next year of the label he founded with his wife Fal.

Mr Blake said: “As a designer, I always want to try different mediums and try to look at things from a different perspective.

“When anyone comes into the store to buy something, if I start talking to them and find out they work in an interesting medium then I instantly want to work with them.

“We had someone come into the Brighton store last week who works with 3D printing. I have no skills with 3D printing but it’s something maybe we could use to maybe create buttons or find some use for it.

“Working with other people keeps it fresh and stops things getting stale. If you just work with people within fashion then you can get stuck in a loop.”

To see the finished graphic novel, visit www.facebook.com/GreshamBlakeLtd.