When teenage singer Zoe Birkett stepped on stage at Stockton's Riverside Festival, all eyes were on the stunning newsprint corset she was wearing. It was created by young Teesside designer Kate Fearnley, who, just a few months after starting her own company, is carving out a name for herself in the world of fashion.

TUCKED in behind a factory, the slightly run-down single storey building on Billingham's Cowpen Lane Industrial Estate is an unlikely setting for a fashion house but, as I tentatively push open the door, I see Kate Fearnley and her three members of staff bent over sewing machines. Hundreds of pattern pieces and garments hang from the walls and there are lengths of material everywhere.

"Sorry it's a bit of a mess but we're really busy at the moment," Kate says, as she shows me into a smaller room and clears a space on the bench.

At just 26, Kate is already beginning to make a mark on the world of fashion. She studied art and design at Cleveland College before going on to do a fashion degree at Northumbria University. After completing her studies, she started work as a designer for a fashion company called Atomic, based at Cowpen Lane. She had been there just over a year when the owner decided to sell up and offered her first refusal on the business.

"I just couldn't turn it down. It was something I'd always wanted to do so I decided just to go for it," she says.

She was awarded a grant from the Princes Trust, which enabled her to buy the unit, complete with equipment.

That was seven months ago but in that short space of time, the business has already grown and her unusual designs are now on sale around the country.

"I was lucky in a way because I knew the business quite well and already had a list of contacts who I knew would want to buy my stuff but it has taken off even more quickly than I expected. It's been so fast, I've hardly had any time to think about what I'm doing. In a way, I suppose that's been a good thing because it's actually been really hard work and it's kept my mind off things."

Within a few weeks, Kate had found an agent who began selling her work to a number of independent shops both in the North-East and further afield. As well in Middlesbrough, Durham and the MetroCentre, Kate Fearnley clothes are now on sale in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

"Atomic was aimed at 15 to 25-year-olds but I'm trying to aim my designs at slightly older customers. At first I did a lot of corsets because I knew they would be successful commercially but now I've got myself established a bit more, I'm doing things with a bit more edge, just pushing things a bit further."

She shows me some of her latest designs, including a striking black top with cut-out detail. In fact there's more cut-out than material but it's all part of the look Kate is trying to create. She says her collection evolves all the time and she introduces new pieces every two months.

"I think I get most of my inspiration from the fabrics I use. I try to work with fabric that is a bit unusual, a bit different, and the designs are influenced by that."

She currently employs three people, who produce around 50 garments a week. She hopes to expand the business in the future but is taking things slowly.

"I absolutely love it but it is hard work. What I find really hard is doing the actual business side of things, which I've never done before, so I'm learning all the time. It means I get less time designing than I would like but I've just had to get used to that.

"At the moment, I would rather have things made here where I know exactly what's happening rather than give the work to a factory. My agent is setting up a showroom in Manchester, which will make sure my designs get seen by a lot more people and he's going to set up a website in the next few months. This is the next phase. Who knows what's going to happen next?"

* For more information about Kate Fearnely clothes, call (01642) 370609.