1. L O N D ON FA S H I O N W E E K
LONDON
FASHION REPORTING FROM
FASHION’S FRONT LINE
WEEK 2011
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ISSUE N O 1, LONDON FASHION WEEK AUTUMN/WINTER 2011 IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUNDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2011
THE FASHION MOMENT Kaleidoscopic creations backstage at the Louise Gray A/W 11 show yesterday. Photography by Anna Bauer
Life of the party
REPORT BY JULIA ROBSON “Matt and metallic work together,” coats woven through with stripes
Cross dressing comes
out of the closet
REPORT BY DAVID HAYES very honest,” says Sibling’s Cozette
Thoughtful
shopper
NOTED BY LINDA GRANT
Spots. Stripes. Checks. Sometimes she said, explaining the 3D-effect and chequerboard silk dévoré dresses. “We’ve always had women asking McCreery. “In fact, it was almost When Ken Clarke told The Daily
simple things work best. In a gold-foil inverted spots punched From the dotty make-up inspired for versions of the men’s collection,” something we wished to avoid. Telegraph that the middle classes
season when fabrics do the talking, onto hairy mohair plaid. by Japanese conceptual artist Yayoi said JW Anderson after his first solo We’ve been asked to sell the didn’t know what was going to hit
Louise Gray’s textiles say it all. “I am obsessed by the Glasgow Kusama to the homage to Michael womenswear presentation (below mainline menswear collections to them when the cuts kicked in, some
“Celebration!” said Lulu Kennedy, Girls, a group of women artists who Alig’s Club Kids in Nasir Mazhar’s right). “It was a huge undertaking to women from the beginning, but have might have wondered what they
sounding every inch the proud did everything from embroidery to balloon headpieces (Mazhar creates put on two shows this season, but resisted, as we didn’t want to run were going to wear. The answer is
mentor, post-show (Gray’s career painting and furniture making. They hats for Lady Gaga), the overall effect I just felt I had to go for it. I found before we could walk.” Daks, a collection surely designed
kicked off with Fashion East). were amazing. Empowering. Fearless.” was gloriously arty, not art student. the process of designing for women Perhaps they shouldn’t worry, if for those winter days when we can’t
“This time I took the things I loved So, it seems, is Gray, who “She’s evolved,” said buying exactly the same as for men. The the reaction to Anderson’s first solo afford to turn on the central heating
[ie, colour] and played with layering,” threaded Day-Glo Sellotape paper consultant Yasmin Sewell. “She’s collection was all about juxtaposing women’s show is anything to go by. and must warm up by taking the
said the 28-year-old designer from chains through shorts, and slung picked up on the tartan-and-polka- different fabrics, grouping different “It was awesome!” shouted an Labrador for a walk in the rain.
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, who parachute harnesses onto tops. dot trend. Break that collection things and bashing it all together. excited Yasmin Sewell after the show. The heritage checks, the two-
added gold Lurex and Stewart tartan Ideas were never-ending. There down into pieces and it’s incredibly It was inspired by my grandma, tone tunic-length English knits in
to her eye-popping mix yesterday. were gold whistle earrings, panelled wearable.” And sellable. who used to wear her old fur coats Photography by Shaniqwa Jarvis navy and chocolate, the leather
Faster and faster fashion puts
with track pants: the ‘so right it’s box-pleated skirts, the suede duffel
wrong’ approach.” coat, the patent-leather frame
Those “juxtapositions” included handbags and the Cuban-heeled
the run into runway paisley prints, panels of pleats,
classic suiting, mohair knits, splices
of Mongolian lambswool and
shoes of the type favoured by Mrs
Thatcher might remind you of
Sixties schoolteachers, or be a style
REPORT BY HEATH BROWN happy-snapping tweeters and quilted leather – all set off by steel- departure so startling it seems
Are you frustrated by inadequate
RUMOUR HAS IT bloggers whose cameraphones toe men’s lace-ups: a look that had brand new. The most wowed-over
catwalk pictures taken on your THAT DESIGNERS won’t register moving images at a the street-inspired feel of Helmut look was the quilted maxi circle
smartphone? Is it all a blur when it certain speed. Apparently, even Lang in his heyday. skirt in Daks check. Never has a
comes to reviewing your last show?
ARE ASKING iPhones and BlackBerrys have Thanks to the success of the collection been so in tune with
Then take heart from the fact that it MODELS TO WALK trouble with balancing sharp images men’s day at London Fashion Week, the moment, a revival of Middle
may not be down to a lack of in such dark venues, and the quicker Anderson is part of a growing England in hard-up times, through
technical skill on your part.
FASTER, IN A BID the show, the worse the photo. number of menswear designers the eyes of an Italian designer
Rumour has it, from models TO CONTROL WHO But struggling designers beware. crossing the gender divide this (Filippo Scuffi) for whom English
backstage, that paranoid designers If you crave more coverage across season, with Sibling, James Long frumpy can suddenly seem chic.
are asking girls to walk just that little
PHOTOGRAPHS the blog’n’Twittersphere, then here and Cassette Playa all running up
bit faster, in a bid to control who THEIR NEW are two key tips: slow down the pace a little something for the girls. We Had It So Good by
photographs their new collections. and light up the lights, or your “It wasn’t really a conscious Linda Grant (Virago) is out
The idea is to scupper those
COLLECTIONS collection will never get seen. decision on our part, if we are being now. Visit lindagrant.co.uk

2. 2 NE WS LONDON FASHION WEEK THE DAILY Sunday 20 February 2011
LFW THE DAILY CREDITS LIVE CATWALK ILLUSTRATION AT DAKS
By Julie Verhoeven
THE DAILY SHOP
Editor It may be A/W on the catwalks,
CAT CALLENDER but it’s just turned S/S in store.
Deputy Editor & Chief Sub Editor Here’s our pick of the pack.
MARION JONES Compiled by VICTORIA BAIN ,
Art Director & Designer
BIANCA WENDT
Managing Editor
JANE MONEY
Deputy Chief Sub Editor
FIONA RUSSELL
SUNGLASSES, £12
Sub Editors
Asos (asos.com)
MICHELLE MARGHERITA,
KIRSTY HISLOP, ROBIN WILKS
Designers
CATHERINE NIPPE, EMMA WILLIAMS,
THOMAS ELLIOTT
Reporters
DAVID HAYES, JULIA ROBSON,
HEATH BROWN, MARION HUME,
SUSANNA LAU
Beauty Correspondents
ANNABEL MEGGESON, JESS HOGAN
Guest Contributors
LINDA GRANT, EMMA LOFSTROM,
T-SHIRT, £55
PHILIPPA WILLIAMS
Ann-Sofie Back for Topshop
Staff Photographers
(topshop.com)
ANNA BAUER, MARCUS DAWES,
SHANIQWA JARVIS
Distribution Manager
FRAN WEBER-NEWTH
Production Manager
CAROLYN MOTT
Blog Reporter
EMILY FLEURIOT
Blog Commissioning Editor
“CLIPPER” HOLDALL, £189
YASMIN COKE
Mulberry (mulberry.com)
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ALISON POTTER, BROOKE RUTHERFORD
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BFC Marketing Manager
CLARA MERCER
Printed by
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JENNY DYSON & CAT CALLENDER (debenhams.com)
AT JENNY & THE CAT LTD
Thanks to
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Fashion means business
Rock
BESPOKE FEATURE
REPORT BY JULIA ROBSON flying the flag in Mulberry. “They’re
STAR
British fashion is having a “eureka” wrong – it’s one of our most
moment, waking up to ways to important industries, full stop.”
harness the endless talent and (True, last year, British fashion DRESS, £65
creativity it’s famous for. What’s to contributed £21 billion to UK PLC.) Monsoon Fusion (0844 811 0068)
stop venture capitalists (remember Educating designers in business
TODD LYNN has one of the most respected them?) pitching up in London and is the point of initiatives such as the
fashion signatures in London. The tailoring eyeing up a young fashion brand? BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund. Tillman
so sharp it could slice through ice; the androgyny While creativity is paramount, points out that the fund’s current
that invites a swagger; the sensibility that is emerging designers are realising the recipient, Christopher Kane, won on
pure rock’n’roll. He also now has two seasons importance of building a business. his business plan as well as his
of financial support and mentoring, courtesy of “People often say that fashion is one designs. “If we want more people to
the BFC’S FASHION FORWARD award. of our most important creative invest in fashion, we have to instil a
“The money’s always useful, but there is also industries,” said BFC ambassador sound business sense in our designers.”
mentoring that will really help,” says Lynn of the Samantha Cameron (below with
Coutts & Co-sponsored package supported by the BFC Chairman Harold Tillman), Photography by Marcus Dawes SHORTS, £115
London Development Agency. “It’s such a creative, Jaeger London (0845 051 0063)
amazing journey to do this, but in reality if you don’t
have a business sense it won’t get you so far.”
It is this issue that Fashion Forward seeks
to address, and Canadian Lynn knows well how
such success confounded many of London’s
designers for years. Coutts has a long tradition
of supporting creative entrepreneurs, and 2011
is its second year sponsoring Fashion Forward.
Holding out a hand to Lynn is perfectly timed.
Here is a label with a clear developing vision,
FAN, £2.50
exquisite execution and stealth wearability.
V&A (vandashop.com)
“Women who like fashion don’t feel the need
to conform,” says Lynn. “These are people I know
and work with. My clothes are fierce, but protective,
too.” Cue jackets of butter-soft leather armour,
zipped dresses that reveal the silhouette but not
the skin, wool trousers that declare any wearer
tall and slim, cutting-edge clothes designed
“to look good on all people, not just models”.
And tomorrow, it’s Lynn’s A/W 11 show. It’s all in
the detail. “All the elements are there,” he says. “It’s
what I’m adding: the Enlightenment, a bit
of colour. And it’s winter, it’s leather and fur – fur
Four seasons in one day
that’s been farmed properly. I really care about that.” REPORT BY HEATH BROWN nautical-but-nice with precise navy-
And, of course, there’s rock’n’roll. “I can sit Global warming has hit the catwalks and-white outfits that were more
on my own in the studio, listening to music, and of London, as Spring/Summer Cowes Week than Bonfire Night,
I can escape,” says Lynn. “I can see things.” staples creep into collections for and Caroline Charles decided a day
MAXI SKIRT, £95
A/W 11. Soft billowing silks, bare at the races would be far more
Whistles (whistles.co.uk)
Todd Lynn is showing tomorrow at 3pm in WC2 shoulder lines, hot tribal looks inspiring than a cosy Christmas.
and fresh nautical references – it Daisy-print red chiffon at Betty
looks like designers are predicting Jackson, halternecks and hot pants
a milder spell. at Aminaka Wilmont, and holiday-
Sass & Bide ignored the snows white palazzo pants with silky prints
of late and transported us to at Maria Grachvogel all emphasised
sunnier climes. Ikat prints from the fact that designers will not be
Africa, Balinese references and hot dictated to by the weather. It’s a case
Mediterranean colours are more of designing a wardrobe for all
than enough to keep us warm. seasons, and creating investment “ROBERTA” WEDGES, £218
Daks’ new collection went a little buys for any time of the year. Anthropologie (anthropologie.co.uk)

3. 4 NE WS www.lfwdaily.com DESIGNER PROFILE 5
LONDON FASHION WEEK THE DAILY Sunday 20 February 2011
Catwalk highlights
Report by DOLLY JONES , Editor, vogue.com
THE
Photography by catwalking.com
BEAUTY
SPOT
CHARLES ANASTASE KINDER AGGUGINI ISSA HOUSE OF HOLLAND
The only way is haute The “up” do to swing
Imagine the fashion chaos that would ensue if Coco She’s in a celebratory mood, and no one could begrudge “I started with heritage fabrics and then had fun with
Charles Anastase played us in (out of the pouring rain)
Chanel married Sid Vicious – Kinder Aggugini’s latest Daniella Helayel her dance along to Kool & the Gang, granny pastimes – bingo, crochet and keeping budgies,”
to The Doors’ Riders on the Storm, and then let Brigitte
collection was inspired by this notion and, he said, it’s flanked by her star models Yasmin Le Bon and Andrea said Henry Holland by way of explanation. “Then we
Fontaine’s Il Pleut take over. “My collection began with
REPORT BY ANNABEL MEGGESON sculpted eyes and strong, carefully finished with large black bows at the REPORT BY JESSICA HOGAN works in all manner of ways – sporty, perfectly embodied by the legendary art collector Peggy Dellal. Despite the disappointment of no future Princess added pearls – our girl is too young for a pearl necklace,
memories of weather like this,” he said. “Being brought
If you thought London was all about crafted lips. At Danielle Scutt ends “to add grandeur”. There was plenty of horsing around chic, waved…” Guggenheim: “Her father died on the Titanic and she Catherine in the audience, it was easy to empathise with so we put them on her dress and made it sexy.” Which it
up in France around castles in dark, rainy countryside.
grunge, think again. This season, (above), make-up artist Hiromi Meanwhile, last season’s trend at the shows in New York, with Malcolm Edwards took the look inherited millions of dollars at 21 – the perfect age to Issa’s exuberance – made all the better by Stephen was: fine tweed mini dresses had pearls running over each
It’s about a young Lolita who just gets naughtier, but we
designers stepped up to create called her look “unashamedly sleek for contouring, which was seen ponytails the preferred hairstyles at to even greater heights – literally – inherit money in New York. You could do anything you Jones’s felt berets featuring stiff peaked curls or bulging shoulder that looked like they might roll off at any
try to restrain her a bit.” This season his muse has
beautiful clothes worthy of, well, and chic”, with the sculpted, smoky everywhere, from Céline in New Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and at Kinder Aggugini (right), where wanted: drink, buy a gun – this woman would have done fur rims; Manolo Blahnik shoes that perfectly matched second. Despite the budget connotations of crochet and
escaped the nursery in a fit of early teenage rebellion and
Worth – the godfather of couture eye relying on precise application York to Versace in Milan, was taken Proenza Schouler. And this week, high-on-the-head ponytails were both.” Long black dresses, one split dangerously high at the tights and skater-skirted jersey above; and giant, bingo, House of Holland has never looked more luxe.
dashed (as fast as she can in platform riding boots) to the
who, despite living most of his adult and her deep-red lip unusually strong. to new architectural heights. Of her the style is taking off over on this stretched into a cartoon-like, softly the front, gained shapely curves with crystal embroidery; bouncing ponytails. The dresses were just what we Holland’s enthusiasm for the job was apparent in bingo
stables. His signature princess coats were worn over
life in Paris, was, in fact, English (for Then there was the hair. Against diagonally placed highlights and side of the pond. pointed silhouette with gentle curls. VIVE ART-emblazoned T-shirts tucked into cream expected: big feather prints or irregular dots and swirls, ball-printed tights and crochet scarves wrapped around
matching trousers in rich autumnal tweeds and velvets,
more on A/W couture, see page 9). the rails of aristocratic clothes at painstaking white-powder glazes At Jaeger London, veteran stylist Over at Louise Gray, Luke wool tulip skirts (with contrasting stitching) and giant mismatched above and below on well-cut dresses that chiffon dresses of an identical print, but there were some
while tiny silk dresses and Peter Pan-collared jumpsuits
And now there’s the make-up to Corrie Nielsen, stylist Sergio Renis for Betty Jackson, make-up artist Sam McKnight gave his pretty pony Hersheson went 1990s hip-hop, mustard-yellow parkas or laser-cut jackets made this a would flatter anyone – not groundbreaking but all the seriously wearable, super-cool clothes – crochet-printed,
clung to the body from sheer jewelled uppers – this little
match. With that Englishness still created a ‘haute-couture effect’ by Sam Bryant said, “The indie chick is a military twist and told us exactly juxtaposing a square-top afro with mix of rock meets art, boy meets girl – all topped by more attractive, to some, for their lack of risk. And there Swarovski-encrusted chiffon that would dazzle in the glare of
girl wants to join, and ensnare, the
part of the equation, it’s a more securing moulded headpieces into still in there, but this season she’s why he loved the “simple” look: “It’s soft, tonged lengths. Catwalk hair chiffon-wrapped, transparent plastic Stephen Jones hats was one red frock coat that will surely do for a royal the paparazzi; tweed midi skirts that gave a glimpse of
grown-ups. Button-backed cashmere dresses and sheer
refined, tailored look, injecting a bit models’ hair and crafting intricate, being played out in a more crafted, so versatile; both masculine and that couldn’t be easier to create: and grounded with glittering Mary-Janes. Having wedding guest. “I began with lots of references: South little lace slips, and fitted tweed trousers teamed with silk
lamé cardigans eased a collection in which a potentially
of atelier class into the mix. Elizabethan shapes. At PPQ, the considered way.” feminine – strong from the front and how will you do yours? worked with Galliano, Westwood and Versace, Aggugini America, nature, everything – but then it became a blouses printed with birdcages, a motif that recurred on
heavy Seventies theme of brushed-out hair, tactile
Backstage, the new spirit was humble plait was upgraded with soft from the back – and it’s an easy is no shrinking violet, and the subtlety of his lace and reworking of our greatest hits, a celebration of the best of softly sexy housecoats. Retro? Yes. Tongue-in-cheek?
fabrics and flares was touched with medieval motifs to
ushered in with highly polished skin, placement in front of the ears and Photography by Anna Bauer quick fix that anyone can do. Plus, it Photography by Anna Bauer floral prints provided a welcome delicacy. Issa,” said Helayel. “It’s a great time for us.” Of course. But high quality all the same.
whip in even more historical drama.
Susie styles it
BESPOKE FEATURE BESPOKE FEATURE
REPORT FROM THE EXHIBITION
BY SUSANNA LAU
I can die happy. I’ve had the with
opportunity to wear the infamous TIFFANY & CO.
cherry hat by Piers Atkinson that
has adorned the head of the fabulous
Anna Dello Russo. I may even prefer
the hat in the inky shade of dark
HOUSE OF blue. Might be a
of family bias going on here, but I
bit
FASHION
had to pick out this Elizabeth Lau
(she’s my cousin!) velvet shirt dress
that just needed a “cherry on the
top”. Fiona Paxton is consistent
with her jewellery, playing with
chain formations that are always
interesting. It might have been
She set the high street alight when she introduced designer LADY OF THE
HOUSE, STEPHANIE an overkill, but I did a Helena
CHEN (LEFT); THE Bonham Carter and tried a bit of
collaborations. Now Stephanie Chen is transforming NEW-STYLE STORES
(ABOVE); CHEN’S
mismatching with Tracey Neuls’s
TN_29 lace-up heels. Carter isn’t
House of Fraser. Prepare to be surprised S/S 11 HOUSE
OF FRASER HERO the first, and I doubt she will be the
PIECES (BELOW) last to don a pair of bi-colourway
“My first job was in a florist’s on Saturdays. I did buttonholes, shoes, and I’ll certainly be giving the
bouquets, the lot. And I realised I could do colour and form easily.” look a go once I take the plunge and
Stephanie Chen, Executive Director of Womenswear and Accessories buy two pairs of shoes in different
at House of Fraser, is musing on the creative inspiration that has led colours.
her from dahlias to department-store guru. “And then there was my
mum. Barely 20 years older than me and beautiful with her long red Piers Atkinson cherry hat, L2;
hair and flares.” She turns her red tourmaline diamond ring by Solange Elizabeth Lau dress, L1; Fiona
Azagury-Partridge (“The first piece I ever bought”). “You get a vibe.” Paxton necklace, L2; Tracey Neuls
One year into the job, Chen’s mix of design flair and emotional TN_29 shoes, L2, all at
reach is changing House of Fraser from brand behemoth to responsive the Exhibition, Embankment
fashion authority. “We have 61 stores, so we’re big enough but small Galleries, Somerset House
enough,” points out Chen. “My idea was to buy into a breadth of trends
and brands, constantly renewing to keep it fresh and new. And it “ANGEL JACKSON IS A NEW LABEL FOR US THIS Photography by Shaniqwa Jarvis
doesn’t stress suppliers, because we only need to order in hundreds SEASON. THE BAGS ARE ETHICALLY SOURCED
Divine
AND HAVE A SENSE OF IRONY AND FUN”
not thousands.” She shrugs. “Now our mix is really different.” Satchel, £303, Angel Jackson different propositions, but really JW Anderson also made a salon-
She has long been about pushing what a department store offers flew the flag for Topshop-sponsored show debut with a neatened-up
– it was Chen who made the first designer/high-street collaborations
innovation
NEWGEN’s younger designers. version of his previous ideas about
happen. Now by hoiking up the fashion stakes at House of Fraser, she Craig Lawrence was up first and put clothes that come with subcultural
has new contemporary customers crossing the threshold. “I mean, now on an enjoyable salon show, complete undertones. Colour-blocked jumpers,
you can buy Céline here. And we’re the biggest Mulberry distributor with a script reader describing the mixed paisley and irreverent
in Europe!” Emerging designers seen at their end-of-year shows get REPORT BY SUSANNA LAU ins and outs of his beautiful knits – touches – such as furry beards on
a look-in, too. “We can buy a bit of their work for local branches.” For me, Friday kicked off with circular shapes knitted in Kyototex chunky brogues and jumpers tied
The stores are modernising with the mix: “We’ve had a shimmy up, a string of good presentations at and velvet yarns, sewn together to around the waist made into tidy cut-
“DRESSES FORM THE
but there’s more to come.” And with the house brands now headed up BACKBONE OF MY SUM- Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Eudon form slinky dresses and flared-out out skirts – all took Anderson’s
by Biba, in an exclusive in-house relaunch that’s really working, those MER WARDROBE. THIS Choi, Tze Goh and Kirsty Ward skirts, which made for a sleeker womenswear to another level.
strictly fashion customers are finding further reason to point their PIECE IS ALL ABOUT EASY
from the Ones to Watch show, and approach from Lawrence. And Danielle Scutt made a
weirdly shod feet towards Oxford Street. “Whatever your budget or SUMMERTIME ELEGANCE, “FOR DOWNTIME, LABEL LAB IS FANTASTIC.
Krystof Stroznya, which eased me J JS Lee’s first-ever salon show banging return to London Fashion
BUT THE BLOCK COLOUR THESE SHORTS WOULD LOOK GREAT WITH
look, everyone wants fashion, and we have it covered along the scale,” GIVES IT A DIRECTIONAL A LEATHER JACKET THROWN ON TOP WHEN back into the London rhythm of was another refreshingly minimal/ Week at the My Beautiful Fashion
says Chen. Whether you want a buttonhole or a bouquet, as it were. KICK” Dress, £80, Pied THE CLASSIC BRITISH SUMMER STRIKES” shows, post-New York. maximal feat, with her trompe l’oeil venue: I’m thankful that she
Houseoffraser.co.uk a Terre Shorts, £40, Label Lab
But it was yesterday that yielded relief effects featuring on beautiful has retained a unique voice in
designs that made my heart thump. leather coats and capes, as well rejuvenating female power dressing.
The Portico Rooms played host to as low-slung rucksacks which
a trio of names that all showed very contrasted against the stark looks. Stylebubble.co.uk TIFFANY.CO.UK

4. www.lfwdaily.com DESIGNER PROFILE 7
The A team
Life’s a dog sometimes for Antonio Berardi – constantly dashing between London and Milan, where he runs his label
with the aid of a crack team. But, however busy he is, Berardi will always find time to make a girl feel special
Words by TAMSIN BL ANCHARD
Photography by JONATHAN FR ANTINI
y 1pm this afternoon, Antonio
Berardi and his team will be at
the end of the twice-yearly
marathon of fittings that pre-empt
his catwalk shows. For the past
five days, the designer (pictured
immediate right with his team)
has worked from a temporary
makeshift studio in Shoreditch, installing not only
his close-knit team of designers and pattern cutters,
but also the two skilled seamstresses from the atelier
he uses for his thriving business of special orders,
celebrity one-offs and wedding dresses.
Based in Milan, Berardi brings his entire studio to
London to literally unpick jackets and dresses at the
seams and then remake them – he likes every outfit to
look as though it were tailor-made for each model.
“Even a girl who is doing many shows a day, when they
come in and you fit something to them, they feel it’s
for them and it makes them feel special. She gives
100 per cent, simply because you’ve taken the time.
It’s not just, ‘You wear this and you wear that.’”
This is typical of Berardi. It’s late January and
the designer is talking to me by phone from the Milan
studio, where he is working on the embroidery for his
Autumn/Winter 2011 collection. Berardi is brimming
with charm and respect for the people he works with,
and it’s no surprise that people push the gondola out
for him– they get things done, even if those things
appear impossible, which they often do. “Every tailor
or pattern cutter has his methods, but you have to
challenge those methods or you end up never going
forward,” says Berardi. “Sometimes you need a touch
of madness and to try something they say will never
work, but you end up with something more fabulous
than you had imagined in the first place. If you don’t
try, you’re never going to know if it works or not. I do
push people. Everyone’s learning the process – I don’t
know everything. I think people need to be stimulated.”
The son of Sicilian immigrants, Antonio Berardi
was born in Grantham on 21 December 1968, the years, he simply says, “She knows what works for For A/W 11, the collection is an evolution of
a birthday he shares with his long-term creative her and she knows what she likes. I don’t think she’s “A JACKET IS THE REAL TEST a honed-down aesthetic that Berardi started in
conspirator, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou. They ever been told what to wear. It shows in what she does, the pre-collection – and the focus is on the jacket.
began working together in 1995. Back then, he was which is extremely successful, and women relate to
OF A DESIGNER. IF IT LOOKS “A jacket is the real test of a designer,” he says.
riding high on the cool crest of a London wave, after it because she knows what she is talking about.” AMAZING ON-HANGER, IT “If it looks amazing on-hanger, if it looks like it has
his first collection, shown fresh from Central Saint Special orders and red-carpet dresses have a body in it, it can only look better once it’s on.
Martins, saw Kylie Minogue and his bad-girl muse become an important part of Berardi’s business over A jacket is a staple.” The jacket in question is
Michele Hicks modelling for him. Shoes by Manolo the years, to the extent that he now produces a “extremely” body-con and tailored – qualities
Blahnik (who is working with Berardi again for separate – and often totally different – lookbook for following,” she says. “There is a particular glamour, Berardi excels at, using traditional horsehair tailoring
A/W 11) added that final flourish. celebrity stylists. “Celebrities can choose anything polish and sophistication to his clothes. The woman techniques that are also applied to dresses and coats.
The day before our conversation, Neophitou- they like and if they choose you, it gives you that who buys Berardi looks to him for beautifully finished, “Some jackets caress the body but they don’t close,”
Apostolou had been “working her magic”, as Berardi wow factor – it means you are on somebody’s radar elegant pieces, which create the most stunning and he says of this season’s collection. Colours are in
puts it, on the lookbook for the Pre-Fall collection. somewhere.” And because his is still a relatively small flattering lines when worn. Once on, they become a every shade of grey, milk and navy, with sharp accents
Berardi confesses he tends to get blinded by a outfit, Berardi is able to make things on request at shortcut to sleek, modern style.” For Rogers, Berardi’s of orange and lime. And there are some interesting
collection after working on it for so long, and Sophia short notice. “They might say, ‘Can you make it for stand-out S/S 11 piece is “a fabulous maxi-dress – a embellishments of masculine suiting and Shetland
this event in this colour?’” confection of ballet-slipper-pink chiffon covered in knits, which have been given a feminine Berardi
TEMPERLEY The A-list laps up his designs – his dresses have fabric flowers. I can’t wait for it to arrive.” twist using punching, embroidery and studding.
LONDON IS been worn by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Berardi is a rare beast in the fashion world, in that “It’s not necessarily anything you’ve ever seen
“SOMETIMES YOU NEED Beckinsale, Jessica Alba, Ashley Greene, Julianne his company is self-financed. This is liberating in before,” he says. “I don’t use embroidery just for
A TOUCH OF MADNESS AND Moore and Beyoncé. “When you work with a client, terms of not having anyone to answer to, but it also the sake of it – it has to be new.”
you want them to go away and say, ‘Oh my God, it’s an means the designer can never switch off. “It is kind Chances are, as you read this, the catwalk will be
TO TRY SOMETHING THEY evening dress made for me!’ If you have the possibility of amazing,” he says of his situation. “There is a pride empty, all the hard work over: the pulling apart at the
to make it the best it can possibly be, then why not? in that and a love for it because it’s yours, but it would seams, the re-sewing, the finishing and steaming, the
Hopefully, everything fits perfectly; I scrutinise that also be nice for someone else one day to have that model dramas, the immaculate shoes. The clothes will
edits it and picks out pieces that give it a new a lot.” So when Dannii Minogue, not long after giving headache and not just me!” be bagged up and on their way back to Milan. But there
direction. “It’s never what I would expect and that’s birth to her son, Ethan, wore a black velvet zip-front Owning his company has allowed Berardi to keep won’t be much time for Berardi to catch his breath.
what I love about the relationship – I can stop mid- dress on The X Factor in October, she felt totally a careful eye on his production needs – the collection “It’s a full-time job now,” he says. “It didn’t used to be.”
sentence and she can carry on. We have this synergy. pulled in and confident. And recently, at the LA is rigorously considered in terms of what is needed for In the future, he hopes to move to London, but right
At the same time, it’s nice when we can surprise each premiere of Love and Other Drugs, Anne Hathaway’s the catwalk, what is needed for the buyers, what the now work pulls him to Milan. “Living in London is a
other. It’s never staid; it always feels like the first time. white lace-panel dress from Berardi’s Resort customer herself needs and wants, and also how the dream. I was spending five days a week in Italy – that’s
Working with Sophia can only be described as the collection looked as if it had been made just for her. fabrics are used. “I’ve worked for companies where why I moved here. But as things get into place, I hope
story of a marriage. The weird thing is, we are both With his celebrity clients, special orders and two they’ve bought 150 fabrics in endless colours and not to move back. It’s where I started. It’s home.”
Sagittarians, both born on the same day. There’s a pre-collections a year, Berardi rarely stops. “Because used three-quarters of it,” he says. “There is no need.
weird yin-and-yang thing about it.” the delivery is so early, the pre-collection is the thing We are frugal but in a good way. If you have to make Antonio Berardi is showing his A/W 11 collection
YEARS OLD AND In 1999, Berardi designed Victoria Beckham’s right now, as people have constant stuff to change over do, you can still do amazing things with nothing. If today at 1pm in EC2. Stockists: Harrods,
LOOKING PRETTIER wedding-party dress and a matching suit – all in in the stores,” he says. In fact, the Pre-Fall and Resort someone else is throwing money at you, it’s very easy Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, brownsfashion.com,
THAN EVER purple – for David (and another for Brooklyn). collections now provide between 50 and 70 per cent of to waste their money. When you account for every matchesfashion.com, net-a-porter.com
Victoria has been a long-term and loyal client ever the company’s overall revenue. Holli Rogers, Buying penny, it’s a more interesting way of working it out.
since. When I suggest that Ms Beckham must have Director at net-a-porter.com, started buying Berardi There is no need to be wasteful. It’s about how you can Tamsin Blanchard is Style Director of the
learned a few things from her fittings with him over for Pre-Fall 10. “His collection quickly gained a loyal achieve the best without spending money willy-nilly.” Telegraph Magazine
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