You’d never know it, judging from his boldly erotic dresses that are more Grammy Awards than, say, Oscars, but Canadian designer Mark Fast is a longtime movie buff. The cinematic references surface in the London-based designer’s work in the most unexpected ways.

Take his childhood obsession with Madonna’s character Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy. That’s where he developed an early love and appreciation of the female form, which he lovingly covers in his trademark body-skimming knits. And those subversive cobwebs in his dresses? They’re influenced, in part, by Tim Burton, whose movies Fast watched growing up in Canada.

“I think when you live in the Prairies, where there is no distraction, your mind takes over and there is so much to think about. Living in Winnipeg allowed me to dream,” the 29-year-old says during a break from preparing his autumn/winter ’10 collection.

It’s that sense of being an outsider that appears to colour his work in an interesting and refreshing way, despite the fact that he’s clearly in London’s cool club. (Fast is a graduate of Central Saint Martins, the legendary fashion design school in London that produced Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen among countless others.) Last season, he went against the established norm in runway world by casting UK size 12 models to wear his revealing hand knit mini dresses in his show.

Most fashion types would tell curvy women to run far, far away from anything knit and tight. Rather than hurting his young brand’s growth (it’s only four seasons old), the bold move made Fast an even bigger topic within the industry. “I didn’t think it would get such a response at all. I design for all women. In the past, people weren’t seeing that and seemed to think only model types could wear my designs. Using normal sized models just felt like the right move to make for presenting my work. I thought it would be something my customers would appreciate,” he says.

His chosen muse, Tilda Swinton, is just as unorthodox as his taste in runway models. “I have been watching her movie The Last England and it’s beyond inspiring,” he says.

Fast’s upcoming collection will draw from yet another film, about an equally bold character. “I injected the attitude of Erin Brockovich into the mood of the show,” he says. “I was looking at new ways to drape knitwear on the body.” And when the models have completed their finale walk in his handmade knits down the runway? He’ll be — surprise! – having a film night at home. “I’m a movie buff,” he says, stating the obvious.