1646 - Issue 1

My most memorable gown to date is probably the state dress that Her Majesty The Queen wore on the cover of Vanity Fair... Have you always been interested in fashion? Certainly from a very young age! I could tell the difference between Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy from the age of about four – I suppose it must have been very clear I had a creative streak from a really quite young age. Have you always wanted to be a fashion designer? I always wanted to be in a creative industry, I was also very keen on interior design, so there was a time I could have taken that path – but ultimately, I’m glad I chose fashion design instead. Which designers did you follow when you were growing up? In the ‘80s when I was at school it was very much a time of Versace, Ungaro, and Christian Lacroix, and films such as Room With a View and Out of Africa were huge fashion influences – something I took on board even during the Sixth Form. I remember Mr Allen, my Housemaster, told my parents I would make an excellent second hand car salesman because of how I dressed! Tell us about your journey to where you are now. Did you go to a particular fashion school? What was your first job in fashion – and where did you go from there? From Reading Blue Coat, I spent a year at High WycombeCollege doingmy art foundation course, before moving onto the Edinburgh College of Art, where I met some of my closest friends, a lot of whom are designers now as well. After graduating, I worked for one of London’s best couturiers – Donald Campbell – where I trained in classic couture pattern cutting and making techniques, which really formed the building blocks of how my brand works, and where we are now. I moved on for a while to work for a supplier to the high street, producing countless collections a year to some extremely tight deadlines and budgets! The high street environment was an excellent learning experience and I valued it enormously, but I always knew I wanted to be in the world of couture, so I decided to work towards launching my own brand. Who, what or where inspires your designs? My clients – there is nothing more inspiring than seeing my designs come to life on actual people. When clothes fit properly, and are made expertly, it can really transform the wearer and that’s wonderful to see. I also take a lot of inspiration from the fabrics we work with – I choose the fabrics well in advance of designing the collection, and the process of taking beautiful cloth and crafting it into something fabulous is a really exciting journey. 1 0