Studio Nicholson's simple separates

Who is she?

Former menswear designer Nick Wakeman launched her brand Studio Nicholson in 2010 to fill the niche in the womenswear market for classic clothes, inspired by the core values of beautiful tailored modern menswear. The Studio Nicholson girl? Wakeman’s muses are contemporary and historic style icons such as Gaia Repossi and Katherine Hepburn.

The Look?

Subtlety at its absolute finest. Studio Nicholson use exquisite fabrics in all of their garments, letting them shine through without being overshadowed by complicated design. As with the very best menswear, Wakeman’s garments are all about the details; hidden inside her understated, luxurious pieces are meticulously bound seams, which add to the high level of quality maintained throughout each Studio Nicholson collection.

The design process behind each piece has its roots in the principles of menswear, but that doesn’t result in an androgynous silhouette. Ideas are adapted so that the fit is tailored the female form, and each collection nods to the trends of that season to ensure it stays up-to-date. The Spring/Summer 2012 offering is awash with subtle tones, from soft grey and beige shades to a palette of warm blues from navy to chambray. Each and every piece in the collection feels like a future classic – and an integral part of the perfect capusule wardrobe; there’s an air of effortless practicality about Studio Nicholson that ensures that these are items that can be dressed up or down with ease.

The Buzz?

Studio Nicholson’s affordable designs regularly feature in get-the-look pieces in the Sunday style supplements of major newspapers including The Times, The Observer and The Independent. Their garments have also appeared in fashion bibles such as Vogue, Elle and Harpers Bazaar.

Where to Buy?

Studio Nicholson is stocked in a whole host of global locations. Here in Europe you can shop their considered garments in locations including London, Bristol and Amsterdam. Check out the full stockist list to find a store near you. The brand is also available to buy online on Young British Designers.

For more information, see the Studio Nicholson website, you can also like the brand on Facebook or follow on Twitter @StudioNicholson.

There's an air of effortless practicality about Studio Nicholson that ensures that any of the pieces can be dressed up or down with ease...

Atalanta's Weller's chic, feminine designs

Who is she?

Atalanta Weller is a woman who knows what other women want; beautiful, conceptual shoes. Inspired by the fashionable likes of Prada and the design talents of architects such as Pier Luigi Nervi, Atalanta Weller’s style destiny became clear as soon as she immersed herself in the world of shoes.

Following her studies at the prestigious Cordwainers College in London, the young designer put her best foot forward with her feminine and innovative shoe designs. Atalanta Weller the brand took shape in 2009 making its mark on the fashion industry by winning the covetable NEWGEN award for three consecutive seasons.

Equipped with incredible vision and futuristic flair, Weller went on to break the rules of fashion convention with her shoe designs, collaborating with fellow avant-garde designers Henry Holland and Gareth Pugh along the way. A wealth of experience combined with natural instinct has enabled her to create collection after collection that shoe lovers around the world inevitably fell head over heels for.

The Look?

Inspired by iconic femme fatale costumes, Weller’s designs allow the wearer to exude sexuality and power. Tapping into the intersection between fashion and design, femininity remains at the forefront of all of Atalanta Weller’s concepts, with comfort refusing to take a back seat thanks to her proficient technical knowledge.

Designing for the independent and fashion-forward woman, sculptural shoes based on avant-garde ideas, sit alongside playful twists on the more conventional styles of wedges and stilettos in her collections. Her ‘Woven Wonders’, ‘Poodle Shoes’ and ‘Cubes’ display the designer’s courage, creativity and faith in her own designs, while her SS12 collection takes inspiration from fishing boats and ocean liners by exploring a fresh colour palette of crisp marine blues and naturally warm orangey-reds.

The Buzz?

Owning a pair of Atalanta Weller shoes, ensures that you’ll be following in the fashionable footsteps of Sienna Miller and Nicola Roberts. Plus it’s an investment in fashion history too; the Victoria and Albert has purchased two of her designs to be held in their permanent fashion collection. In March 2012, ATALANTA by Atalanta Weller was launched at Urban Outfitters, offering a more affordable way to get your hands on the designer’s covetable shoes.

Where to Buy?

Atalanta Weller is sold on the shelves of  directional fashion boutiques, including The Convenience Store in London and Fashion Mixology in Oslo, as well as online on Young British Designers and Coggles.

Atalanta's SS12 collection takes inspiration from fishing boats with a fresh colour palette of crisp marine blues warm orangey-reds

Karl Lagerfeld: the busiest man in fashion?

He’s easily the busiest man in fashion. Karl Otto Lagerfeldt, to call him by his full name, has been designing for nearly 60 years, and still creates more than a dozen collections a year across his Chanel, Fendi and eponymous fashion line jobs. He’s also a photographer, owns a publishing house and bookshop, and has designed stage costumes, houses, teddy bears (little Karl bears of course) and numerous high street collaborations.

A loquacious and forthright interviewee, Lagerfeld expertly dissects the fashion industry – and his own life – spitting out acerbic sound bites and deadpan aphorisms with ease. He even interviewed himself this year, with the help of a little camera trickery, for the launch of his Karl line for Net-a-Porter (yep, adding another collection to that CV). Yet he still maintains an air of mystery – no one knows his exact birth date, for instance. Here, we read between the lines of a dozen quotes from the prolific designer.

He was a precocious child:

“My problem as a child was that I was bored to death, because I wanted to be a grown-up person. My childhood was endless – from eight to 18 felt like hundreds of years.”

Born in Hamburg to a German mother and Swedish father, Paris-dwelling Karl is a citizen of the world:

“I’m not a French designer… I’m from nowhere. I’m a European, old European is all I am.”

Beauty isn’t everything to Karl:

“Life is not a beauty contest, some [ugly people] are great. What I hate is nasty, ugly people… the worst is ugly, short men. Women can be short, but for men it is impossible. It is something that they will not forgive in life… they are mean and they want to kill you.”

He thinks that youth should be left to the young though:

“What I hate most in life are people who are not really the peach of the day but who want to be young and sexy. You can fool nobody. There is a moment when you have to accept that somebody else is younger and fresher and hotter.”

He keeps those sunglasses on at all times for a reason:

“They’re my burka…I’m a little shortsighted, and people, when they’re shortsighted, they remove their glasses and then they look like cute little dogs who want to be adopted.”

He can’t avoid recognition, even on the phone:

“Even my voice is easy to recognise. When someone calls and they’ve made a wrong number they recognise the voice. This happens very often. They say: ‘You have a voice like Mr Lagerfeld’.”

In 2001 he lost a lot of weight, but not for health reasons. It was far more important than that:

“Well, there came this new line from Hedi Slimane at Dior that you needed to be slim to wear. It said, ‘You want this? Go back to your bones.’ And so I lost it all. I lost 88 pounds and never got them back.”

Karl’s maintains an excellent work/life balance thanks to his living arrangements:

“I actually have two houses. This house here, it’s only for sleeping and sketching, and I have another house two and a half metres away for lunch and dinner and to see people and where the cook is and all that.”

But he’s not a good traveller:

“I am not a traveller. I hate it. I never look at my watch. The good thing about private jets is that you go whenever you’re ready. That’s the real luxury of today. In all my contracts it says, if you want me, send a private jet.”

Karl is a multi-tasker and no mistake:

“I do everything. I do the collections, I do the advertising, I do the windows, the concepts. I do the sets of the show – if not, I’m not interested.”

When it comes to the collections, he considers himself the conductor of the Chanel orchestra:

“For me, Chanel is like music. There are certain notes and you have to make another tune with them.”

But don’t bother asking him for fashion advice:

“If you come and ask me ‘I want to be chic,’ there’s little hope to become chic, because there are peasants in the country who are beyond chic in their poor rags and very rich women who are not chic in the most expensive dresses. So the minute you ask the question, in fact [I can] only answer to be polite, but the real problem is somewhere else.”

Watch Karl interviewing himself…

Alexander McQueen's "Savage Beauty"

These days fashion houses are all about creating a buzz via social media, inspired short films and the perenially-cool pop-up shop right? Wrong. So what’s the new black in 2012? The brains behind the brands have taken things to the next level, embedding style in the consumer’s cultural consciousness with a much more long-lasting marketing tool; the fashion exhibition.

In just four months, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art saw over 650,000 visitors flock to “Savage Beauty,” a presentation of Alexander McQueen’s design highlights on display from May 2011. McQueen’s show proved so popular that the Met extended the exhibition’s run by an extra week. In an unprecedented move, the museum even remained open until midnight on the final two days to cater to demand; “Savage Beauty” was one of the Met’s most visited shows ever, pitting iconic fashion against popular exhibitions such as Tutankhamun’s Treasures and the Mona Lisa.

With his unique, cerebral approach to style and unbridled eccentric creativity, some might claim that McQueen was an artist in his own right, with his inspired, extreme pieces lending themselves well to the gallery space. However, the British designer’s show is just one of the many fashion-themed exhibitions that have been a big hit. This past year has seen designers turning away from the traditional arena of the catwalk, with presentations featuring the works of Hussein Chalayan, Yves Saint Laurent, Yohji Yamamoto and Jean-Paul Gaultier, to mention just a few of the blockbuster names.

And shows aren’t restricted to the world’s major fashion capitals; the National Museum of China re-opened with Louis Vuitton’s “Voyages”exhibition in May 2011, while Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts hosted “Inspiration Dior” in April of the same year, showing the key pieces from the French fashion house’s historic collection alongside artworks from Renoir, Picasso and Cezanne. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, fashionistas were treated to a vast retrospective of Coco Chanel’s designs in “Culture Chanel”at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Consumers in emerging markets might not be able to commit to purchasing a luxury It-bag, so the price of an exhibition ticket provides entry-level access to a high-end label, and, more crucially, educates new and aspirational customers.

In essence, the fashion exhibition gives brands a chance to tell their story and provides consumers with a 360-degree view of a fashion house or designer, from inception through creative and manufacturing processes to current projects, with actual garments, films, photographs and text on display. The result is an in-depth overview of a brand’s DNA that forges a deeper connection and more long-lasting relationship with individuals than any two-dimensional advertising campaign. A potential customer is much more likely to make a purchase if they truly understand what a brand’s all about. Art gives fashion a sense of cultural gravitas; an intellectual credibility that extends beyond the simple attraction of seasonal collections.

While temporary exhibitions promise instant press coverage and a frenzy of excitement among industry insiders and across social media, creating a permanent museum really cements a brand’s heritage, longevity and status. Though just 90 years young, when Gucci opened its own museum in Florence during September 2011, the Italian label established the institution as a fashion destination with a past, present and future in the city.

Though bricks and mortar promise permanence, the digital sphere also offers an enduring space for fashion presentations; Valentino Garavani’s Virtual Museum is a prime example of a brand using a successful offline strategy online. Launched in December 2011, the virtual exhibition has none of the space limitations of an actual museum. After downloading an application, visitors can access an archive of more than 5,000 images, 180 videos and themed galleries of the couturier’s work, dating back as far as the 1960′s.

So the pop-up’s passé? Not necessarily. Launched in January 2012 through collaboration with Milanese artist Francesco Vezzoli and Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ think tank AMO, the Prada 24-hour Museum in Paris was a creative, visionary event that fused the fashion exhibition and the pop-up event. For those who couldn’t visit the temporary show, an online platform transformed the museum into a digital experience, maximising consumer engagement.

The trend looks set to continue. The hottest ticket in Paris isn’t to a runway show these days; it’s for the Marc Jacobs exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

A tour of Valentino Garavani’s Virtual Museum

A version of this feature originally appeared on Fashion’s Collective; a new-age marketing resource for fashion and luxury brands.

One of The Baand's quirky printed tees

Copenhagen has long been known for its offbeat brand of quirky Scandinavian cool, with the likes of Peter Jensen, Designers Remix and  Karen by Simonsen, all hailing from Denmark. And the Danish capital is known in eco circles too, for its emphasis on renewables, cycling and recycling. Put it together and it’s not entirely surprising that the most sought after new fashion label emerging from the streets of Copenhagen is a green one. Ladies and gentlemen:  Running in Heels would like to introduce you to The Baand.

We caught up with the duo behind the brand, Stine Bauer Boskov and Julie Villumsen at the Gallery in the middle of a hectic Copenhagen Fashion Week. Despite the crush and the crowds, both looked like ambassadors for Danish chic, with Julie rocking a pared down skinny jeans with a fabulous t-shirt by (naturally) The Baand. But then, this casual-cool approach is what the label is all about.  ‘I think everything has fallen into place [now],’ says Stine.  ‘It feels so much more relaxed, so much more confident, because it’s really who we are. We do the same every morning, we put on a pair of jeans or another pair of trousers and you put on your best t-shirt and the nice knitwear and it’s something you use over and over again so it really feels right.’

The Baand focuses mainly on t-shirts, although latterly, sweatshirts have been added to the mix. Really good basics are the mantra, with an emphasis on quality and a move away from fast fashion, with the result that everything can be worn again and again. ‘It’s important for us that the quality is so good so we can use it for many seasons,’ adds Stine. ‘It’s not just the trend; it’s something you can use forever.’ That doesn’t mean, however, that trends don’t ever come into it. ‘We still do a collection every season but a lot of the styles are the same – it’s just the colours that change,’ says Stine. ‘But that’s just because that’s how the fashion industry works. We don’t do a collection every six weeks or every two weeks like H&M but we do one every six months, and that works for us. And it also feels right because you can change the colours, but you can still combine them with the colours you had from last season or the season before.’

So what makes The Baand different from the likes of Maison Scotch and the Orphans Arms? For a start, everything is produced in small family run co-operatives in Peru, where the brand’s organic cotton is grown. Then there’s the quirky Michael Jackson – yes Michael Jackson – theme that permeates The Baand’s output.  ‘Not so many actually know about [the Michael Jackson theme],’ smiles Stine. ‘We have a lot of stories when we do the designs but we are not that good at telling it. Our agents keep saying to us, “tell the story, such a cool story”. We wanted to do a basic brand, we wanted to do jersey and then we did the white t-shirt and we were both like, “Do you remember that video with Michael Jackson, it had like a v-neck and he was ripping it apart? That was a cool t-shirt”.  So from there we started using a few lyrics from Michael Jackson, or other small tributes to a great artist. And we invented this story about a band, so the guy on the t-shirts is the lead singer. And every season new members of the band are introduced.’

But don’t be fooled into thinking that the rock band concept is where the brand name came from. Like the collection itself, with its clever cuts and eccentric motifs, there’s more to it than meets the eye. ‘In the back of the clothes is a black band,’ explains Stine. ‘A band with two A’s is an A with a dot on top, and that means this (the black band). We wanted it to be a little bit more rock n’roll inspired; to be a cool, classic t-shirt you would wear with jeans, boots or dress up with stilettos or blazers or a leather jacket. So, we’re playing on the words; choosing [the name] The Baand was really very easy for us.’

To find out more and see stockists, visit The Baand’s website.

The Baand: excellent basics are the mantra, with an emphasis on quality and a move away from high street-style fast fashion

Mary Katrantzou chats to Libby Banks

Last week, UK women’s site MyDaily named Mary Katrantzou as its new contributing editor, and celebrated the announcement by inviting a host of top blogs and fashion websites (including RIH of course) to watch the Greek-born designer in conversation with MyDaily’s Editor Libby Banks.

Trained, like many great London-based fashion designers, at Central St Martins School of Art and Design, Mary Katrantzou is renowned for her mastery of digital print. The recipient of six seasons of NEWGEN sponsorship, she first showed at London Fashion Week in 2009, but it was her spring 2011 show that saw her rapidly rising star fixed in the fashion firmament – a collection that took entire room interiors and rendered them, trompe-l’oeil style, in print. Anna Dello Russo, the veritable human fashion thermometer, quickly snapped up several pieces, indicating that Katrantzou’s designs were hot property; the celebrity fans have kept on coming ever since, and the brand continues to grow.

At the MyDaily event, Katrantzou revealed she is planning to launch her first pre-collection next June. She also talked about her collaborations with Topshop, the London/Milan fashion week clash and the importance of celebrity clients. Here are a few choice quotes…

On why she moved to London for love:

I was studying at Rhode Island School of Design. I did my foundation and first year in architecture. But then I met my boyfriend in Greece that summer and he said ‘I’m going to be in the UK in about one year’s time so you should go there and wait for me.’ I wasn’t really sure, but then I’ve always wanted to go to Central St Martins….I took a transfer course in textile design and as time went by I loved London.

On why she chose Central St Martins:

I was at a crossroads because I was doing textile design but more for interiors. I was either going to go to Royal College of Art and go the interior route, or go to St Martins and continue with fashion. I’d heard about the infamous MA fashion course and [course director] Louise Wilson and I thought ‘you’ve got to be taught by the best and see if there’s a future in that.’

On the Mary Katrantzou woman:

I never had someone in mind, and when I started no one was even wearing the dresses. But I had supporters like Anna Dello Russo sporting the lampshade skirts. That gave me an idea that it’s somebody within fashion who appreciates the design for its uniqueness: somebody bold; somebody intelligent; somebody I hope that is quite daring and doesn’t mind standing out.

On only wearing black clothes herself:

I do a Breton stripe too! I’m not somebody who would dress head to toe in print, but I like colourful jewellery. It’s not that I hate colour, it’s more that it’s an accessory. From a design point of view, it’s my aesthetic, but not my lifestyle.

On the importance of celebrity clients:

It’s extremely important…Having a VIP wear [one of your dresses] is the only way of building global awareness at the stage when you don’t have a budget for anything else. And so far we’ve never seen a celebrity, or any woman, wearing a Mary Katrantzou dress where I’ve thought ‘this is dreadful.’ When Keira Knightly wore the dress at the Venice Film Festival this season I would never have thought that she’s our girl, but she wore it in such an elegant way.

On her design heroes:

It’s the designers who push the boundaries of what’s fashion today. Miuccia Prada does that for me, and Balenciaga is still that, there’s always something new. And I love wearing Alaia, I think he has an amazing understanding of a woman’s body.

On designing menswear:

A friend of mine told me she thought we’d never be able to do menswear because the only person we could dress would be Elton John! This season we did two blazers based on menswear and we’ve had a lot of private orders from men, but we’re not ready to do a full blown collection.

On catwalk shows versus fashion on film:

For us the catwalk is important because there’s a lot to take in and when you see it live it has a ‘realness’ to it. Through a film it wouldn’t feel so real. There’s something about the right staging that will create an emotive response to the clothes.

On the London versus Milan fashion week schedule debate:

You always know that if you’re showing on the last day [of LFW] that a lot of the important editors will have fled. It’s something you accept. London is attracting more and more people, we’ve come a long way, the talent is here.

On collaborating with Topshop:

For me, Topshop really helped in the beginning with being able to use their [fashion week] venue and production team. Having that partnership also allows you to see and understand what the Topshop girl needs, how you are able to produce something that’s taken from your show and make it more accessible.

MyDaily also have one of Mary Katrantzou’s singature print dresses available to win – to enter the competition, see here.

MyDaily’s Highlights of the Mary Katrantzou evening

Talented young designer, Debbie Huntley

Despite the financial odds being stacked against her, recent fashion graduate Debbie Huntley has achieved what many others in her position could only dream of – setting up her own clothing label, L.2.MAE. At just 25 years old, her success could be attributed to her Northern no-nonsense attitude towards getting the job done, or her lifelong obsession with things sartorial – or probably both. She’s also extremely down-to-earth and modest about her success – a refreshing change where fashion types are concerned.

Being inspired to become a designer after watching the early 90’s BBC drama The House of Elliot, Debbie later took a course specialising in Fashion at Wilberforce College followed by a stint at Paul Smith – where she vividly remembers watching him appear on the catwalk after his show and imagining herself in that same position in years to come. Although, due to lack of funds, she was unable to accept a six-month internship with Anna Sui in New York, she went on to intern at Temperley London where she honed her pattern cutting skills, helping her to earn her a First Class BA Degree in Fashion Design with Manufacture at the University of Huddersfield.

Debbie then enrolled on a short course on how to start a fashion label at The London College of Fashion, and worked in a factory in an interiors company to fund her studies. In a lucky twist of fate, it was here that she met her future business partner, factory owner Anthony Langley, who upon noticing her drive, passion and commitment to her work, helped her set up L.2.MAE. The label takes it name from her beloved late-grandmother Lilian, and the date of her birthday on the 2^nd May.

L.2.MAE’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection, “Infused Beauty” focuses on classic, wearable pieces with intricate tailoring, in the style of 1930’s Hollywood starlets such as Rita Hayworth and Jean Harlow. With rich earthy colours and fluid silhouettes – garments are made out of the contrasting fabrics crêpe de chine and pig suede, with eye-catching results. Debbie oversees the whole process herself from pattern cutting to manufacture, proudly sourcing all of her materials from the UK (no carbon footprint or cheap labour here.) After visiting her stunning exhibition at the Future Gallery during London Fashion Week, RIH caught up with the designer to discuss her inspirations, overcoming financial hardships and how she intends to nurture future generations of designers, especially in the North of England.

The House of Elliot inspired you to become a designer; with hindsight how realistic was this?

It’s funny – some things about the show are really similar! I caught an episode which was shown on repeat the other day, where the characters [who own a couture house] are excited about getting a new client and the fact that word is spreading. I’m in a similar situation with my label L.2 MAE, so I can definitely relate to that!

Was there anything else in your childhood that influenced your eventual career choice?

It was really watching that programme – that was my earliest memory. When I was a bit older I also used to watch The Clothes Show, with Jeff Banks and Caryn Franklyn which caught my eye as well, – but I can’t remember exactly the moment when I knew it was what I wanted to do. Looking at my old exercise books from school, I used to do these little drawings of clothes in the margins – plus I always liked dressing up and playing about with clothes, so that must have had something to do with it.

The label is partially named after your grandma. Was she an inspiration in your life?

Definitely – my mum used to care for my nana so I was round her place all the time, watching the old Hollywood classics and Westerns with her. These are now heavily referenced in my collections. It’s just something I grew up with.

Are you more inspired by the starlets of the golden age of Hollywood, rather than today’s celebrities?

I really am; I love the styles of the 20′s, 30′s and 40′s. I’m constantly drawing inspiration from them, especially the cut of the garments, as everything was of a much higher quality with a focus on clean lines and elegant shapes. I’m in love with the bias-cut dresses that were typical of that era – it’s something I really want to focus on and develop within my brand. The designer Madeleine Vionnet is another influence; I really love her work.

Hollywood-inspired: the Hayworth dress

Do you think you prefer a classic style of design as opposed to the more experimental variety?

In terms of personal style, yes. I like simple cuts and draping – as designers like Chanel were the original boundary-breakers in that type of design. Saying that, I also admire the more avant-garde designers of the 80s, but I do draw inspiration from more classic designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Donna Karen and Diane von Furstenburg, who tend to revolve around a classic shape and cut as opposed to wacky creations! That’s what I want to focus on at the moment – in the spring I want to introduce classic, floral prints but currently I want to concentrate on the cut and the silhouette of the garments.

A career in fashion design can be a relentless slog. Have you always been driven and determined?

Yes, I’ve always been like that! Even after I graduated last summer, I had six weeks of free time and the boredom nearly killed me! I wanted to focus on getting a job and a business plan started. I’m one of those people who enjoys being constantly on the go, I think if you’re not like that, you’re not going to get anywhere. In the past couple of weeks we’ve done a few late nights – but not as much as I usually do. I feel like I’m not doing enough work! I’ve worked extremely hard but we’re now at the stage where everything is falling into place. I know if my label starts grow I’m going to have to delegate tasks to a team of staff, but I’ll always want a hand in the pattern cutting side of things as I’m a perfectionist! My label is definitely a labour of love – it’s not tiring to me at all, it’s doing what I love.

It’s not just a job but more like a whole way of life…?

It’s 24/7 – but I just want to experience every single aspect, I really enjoy it. It’s an adrenaline rush to see things coming together like the photo-shoot and the press launch, sorting buyers – even getting emails from potential customers – it’s just so exciting when things begin to fall into place.

Has the pressure ever got on top of you, and made you want to throw in the towel?

No not at all, I’ve really took everything in my stride. The only challenge I’ve encountered would have been in my work placement year. I worked for Paul Smith and Alice Temperley, and I could have gone to New York for six months to work for Anna Sui. But because I came from a low-income, single parent family, I didn’t get to do that and eventually had to go back up North after I ran out of finances in London. That’s been the only down side – when I couldn’t take up opportunities that were offered to me.

Is the lack of opportunities something you think is ever likely to change?

With me being based up North, one of my main concerns is that even if my label starts to grow, I’ll still have a studio located there, as it’s where I’m from and I understand how much of a struggle it is for people from my area to move down South to get work experience. Hopefully I’ll eventually be able to offer placement years to students from Northern universities who can’t afford to move to London. I want to help out future designers who are in the same situation as I was.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers?

If you really believe in yourself – keep working and working, because the hard work will eventually pay off and you will get that break in the end. I had a tiny bit of luck meeting my business partner, but he wouldn’t have gone into business with me if he didn’t notice how hard I worked while I was employed by him.

What’s been the highlight of your fashion career so far?

After my event during London Fashion Week I read a couple of press clippings that got back to me after the show – it was great to hear people calling me a new designer to watch out for and saying they were excited to see what I’ll do for next season – it feels like all my hard work has paid off! It is really nice to have family and friends so proud and excited for you, and even nicer to hear people in the industry wanting to interview and write about you – it’s a real boost of confidence.

L.2 MAE's chic Ava and Morris dresses

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I want my brand to eventually go global, but in five years time, I definitely want to have one stand alone flagship store in London. I would like to branch out into accessories – so hopefully if I take it slowly that’s where I would like to see the brand.

Is it important to keep everything in the UK, rather than outsourcing labour and materials?

Yes, you get so much better quality in the UK, although it is slightly pricier to produce here. But at the end of the day, the standard in the clothes speaks for itself. I don’t have the time or the money to jump on a plane to China or Turkey every week – I can just pop down the road to see my manufacturer! It’s so much more beneficial in the long run, plus a lot of people like seeing something that is “made in England.” If more companies worked this way, we’d create a better industry and a lot more jobs too.

If you weren’t designing clothes what would you be doing?

I honestly can’t think of anything – I couldn’t see myself not being involved in fashion in one way or another, it’s a difficult question really. I love what I do so much!

Do you consider yourself British or European?

I’m happy being either!

Favourite European city?

I’ve been to Paris a few times – I’d say it was my favourite city if just for its iconic designers! Saying that I would like to travel more, and get more inspiration from other countries.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

Possibly that hard work pays off so never give up and keep trying (which is very relevant in the fashion world.)

What are you listening to at the moment?

My music taste is quite eclectic, so at the moment it’s Miles Kane, Ed Shearing, Otis Reading and Friendly Fires.

Favourite book?

The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe – an amazing insight and a heart-breaking story too.

And lastly… can you run in heels?

Of course… I just hope they’re a pair of Louboutins one day!

For more information on L.2.MAE, visit l2mae.com

L.2.Mae’s debut London Fashion week presentation for SS/12 at The Future Gallery

And as if it weren’t cool enough to have set up a label based on political protest, the handbags themselves are named after cocktails. Looking for a stylish sleeve for your iPad? You’ll need the Bellini. An extra large tote for carrying round everday essentials? Try a Cuba Libre. And when it comes to clutches, we’d recommend the Margarita or perhaps the Negroni. The gold stamp detailing on the handbags is equally fabulous – eye-catching embellishments include elephants, lizards, skulls and octopi.

Even better than the crazy cocktail names and unusual golden adornments? The bags can be totally customised, and are available in a dazzling selection of colours and fabrics. Is it too early to start writing a letter to Santa explaing how good we’ve been this year?

For more information and for stockists, see the Sous Les Pavés website.

The Killer Detail: a selection of Sous Les Pavés' sublime handbags, clutches and totes - all designed and handmade in Paris

Hussein Chalayan's multi-functional dress

Born in Nicosia, a town in Turkish Cyprus, in 1970, Hussein Chalayan gained British citizenship at the age of 12 when his family relocated to England. Enrolled at a boarding school in Highgate, London, a national diploma in fashion followed, before he was accepted at Central Saint Martin’s, the now legendary college that also tutored Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. It was here that Chalayan first began experimenting with unorthodox design techniques. In search of an aged fabric effect, he buried his entire graduate collection of silk dresses before exhuming them for his final show. Unheard of for a student designer, the entire collection was bought and displayed by Brown’s boutique.

Buried dresses were just the beginning. Over the next twenty years, Chalayan created some of the most controversial and visually astounding womenswear in fashion history. Most often cited in this ilk is the finale of his fashion show in 2000 where the functionality of clothing was taken to another level: a model walked on stage, stepped into the middle of a round coffee table and unfurled it to create a conical skirt. Another experiment in interactive clothing resulted in a dress made of paper that folded neatly into an envelope complete with red and blue airmail stripes. I like to think that Chalayan came up with this idea when he was thinking of ways to really push the envelope.

Clearly, he has a sense of humour, but Chalayan’s work has elicited more than mere amusement throughout the years. Upon seeing the traditional Iranian chador robe presented in a variety of lengths on nude models, audience members at his spring 1998 show were reportedly moved to tears; the collection examined the oppression of Muslim women. Naturally, Lady Gaga, self-professed vanguard of avant-garde, chose Chalayan to create the fiberglass ‘womb’ she was encased in as she arrived at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

But neither controversy nor critical acclaim necessarily correlate positively with thriving sales and the history of brand Chalayan (Hussein was dropped in June this year; the company now operates under the sole moniker) has been a chequered one financially speaking. In 2001, the same year that he was awarded British Designer of the Year for the second time, Chalayan was forced to close his business. Having relocated from London to present at Paris Fashion Week, his contract as creative consultant at American label Tse – the first of many consulting roles – had been cancelled after a five year tenure and he had racked up debts of £250,000. Staging a swift comeback, Italian manufacturer Gibo saved the company from bankruptcy and shortly after Chalayan was appointed fashion director as British jeweller Asprey. Later he created a range for Topshop and he remains creative director for Puma. Perhaps signaling the end of Chalayan’s financial woes the sportswear brand has bought a majority stake in the Chalayan label.

That’s not to say that Chalayan has sold out. While developing that essential business savvy he has continued to innovate season on season. That Chalayan’s back catalogue has been the subject of virtually as many museum exhibitions as he has produced collections points to it cultural significance. The latest of these is Hussein Chalayan: Fashion Narrativesat Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris, open until November.

Launched at New York Fashion Week in September 2011, Hussein Chalayan's Grey Line is capsule collection with a modern look

‘His work is as close to contemporary art as you can get,’ art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon claimed in a documentary for BBC2’s The Culture Show in 2006. Chalayan himself concurs in his self-titled monograph, published last month: ‘I’ve finally come around to thinking of myself as an artist who happens to use clothes as my main medium.’

While his designs span a conceptual gamut that includes everything from technology and architecture to socio-anthropology and gender politics, Chalayan places no burden of intellectual expectation on the wearer of his clothes. Refreshingly unpretentious, he writes ‘as with great art and films, whose concepts can be obscure but still appreciated, my designs don’t need to be understood in order to be enjoyed as garments.’ The latest addition to that body of work is Chalayan Grey Line, a capsule collection of simple contemporary pieces. Launched recently at New York Fashion Week, the new range is intended to be ‘a wardrobe with a modern relevance.’

It’s a timely reminder that abstract concepts and tomorrow’s world technologies aren’t the only things at which Chalayan excels. Ultimately, unfolding table skirts may be a bit too eccentric for the average shopper, but if they are, Chalayan doesn’t mind. ‘If the end result of my work is a range of nice dresses, I don’t really mind if the consumer understands it or not.’

Hussein Chalayan’s Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection

A sexy, bold and modern take on knitwear

Who is She?

Hailing from the Ukraine, Ekaterina Kukhareva studied textiles at Central Saint Martin’s, specialising in knitwear. Since then she has continued to explore collections using different knitting techniques, from crochet and macramé to knitted embellishments incorporating fringing and beading, using yarns sourced from all over the world. She set up her eponymous label in 2010 and has since really made her mark, with her masterful craftsmanship and innovative techniques. Most recently, she exhibited at Vauxhall Fashion Scout as part of London Fashion Week.

The Look?

Ekaterina is inspired by history and by the cultural heritage of her homeland, and past muses have included numerous queens and their ornate styles; reinventing the past for the modern, fashion-forward woman of today. The Russian Tsaritsa collection for Autumn/Winter 2011 is an opulent, unashamedly luxurious selection of glamorous eveningwear, all made with Ekaterina’s intricate knitted fabrics. The colour palette used is soft and sensual yet bold, with monochromatic and metallic tones offset by deep reds, pinks and browns, although the focus is really on the textures of the hand-worked woven fabrics. The collection uses machine knitting combined with lace, lurex and jacquard for an extravagant, truly regal finish. Ekaterina’s cutting techniques mean that the collection is far removed from chunky, cosy preconceived concepts associated with knitwear – there’s a light, romantic feel to the dresses and separates. The Russian Tsaritsa muse is sexy, powerful and very feminine.

The Buzz?

Ekaterina Kukhareva’s garments have been featured in shoots for Dossier magazine, Fashion156 and The Contributing Editor, while Ballad Of interviewed the designer about her A/W 2011 collection.

Where to Buy?

Ekaterina’s collection is available to buy online at Not Just a Label, Wolf & Badger and ASOS Marketplace.

For more information, see Ekaterina Kukhareva’s website. You can also follow on Twitter @EKukhareva, and become a fan on Facebook.

Kukhareva's Russian Tsarista collection for A/W 2011 is an opulent, unashamedly luxurious selection of glamorous eveningwear...