Alice's Q&A with Luxury London

Ginger Rogers. We got a TV when I was 11 and I was allowed to watch black and white movies and I was obsessed with the glamour of the dress, feathers, shoes, and the suit. That’s how I learned to think about dressing and [those images] have always been engraved in my brain.

I loved the escapism of cutting stuff up, or finding things in my mother’s cupboard that made me feel a different way. I grew up with long hair with straw in it, helping with lambing; we weren’t really allowed to watch TV and we had to be outside everyday. The moment I learned how things made you feel and how to escape in a different way is when I fell in love with the black label. If you’re wearing a sharp suit, you feel different; if you’re wearing an amazing gown, you can feel a million dollars.

I trained as a textile print designer and I’d never done fashion before. I think [some of the biggest challenges] were the logistics of putting together a collection and delivering it in time because you can print your own fabrics and stitch your own things but if you’re actually doing production, you need a print run and to nail down the logistics of suppliers.

More recently, Brexit has been a nightmare in terms of shipping things in and out of Europe, it’s as expensive as getting things in and out of America. The effects of Covid and people not being confident is one thing, but you’ve also got the bubble and allure of ‘dot com’ and how it’s going to solve everything. [Online retailers] have jeopardised and closed an awful lot of businesses by not paying and performing, and so many people relied on that. But they’re struggling as well because people will order several sizes of one item, and then there’s the expense and time it’s taken to send it, receive it once it’s been returned, unpack it, process it and get it back online so you’re losing weeks of selling time. It’s so difficult. So, we’re going back to bricks and mortar and keeping things really simple [and] true to our brand. We’re opening a store on Sloane Street at the end of October which is a few weeks late because it’s really, really important for us to have bridal, evening wear, and ready-to-wear in one space because people want to touch it and feel it.

I’m in Somerset most of the time. I was born-and-bred in Somerset on a cider farm, hence the lambing. I was a farm girl basically, which is why I have to wear red lipstick, otherwise I feel like a farm girl again. I bought a house there 12 years ago and I moved my son down during Covid, and then I moved the atelier and studio to Somerset too. I have amazing people there, and we have our only UK outlet in Ilminster. It’s got a cocktail bar and a coffee shop and a beautiful courtyard, and has lots of space for the team to work. It’s an amazing place.

I will get up in the morning, feed all my animals and then get my son Fox up and take him to the bus stop at 7.30am. Then I try and have an hour to myself but that doesn’t always happen so I get into the studio and catch up with my team. I’m desperately still trying to balance morning meetings with afternoon creativity which has been a real struggle in the past three months because building out two collections and working on the new store while also being ‘mum’ is a lot. But with new investment there’s so much to deal with and take on board; it’s an illusion that things get easier. I’m desperate to find that creative balance, which I have to do on the weekends and evenings most of the time.

That’s not a problem because it’s easy for me to go into the dreamworld. I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve stuck doing what I’ve done because despite the challenges I’ve been thrown – from personal c*** to economic issues, going into that world is the place where I escape. Having that time to be creative is so important, because if you’re creative and you don’t have it you will go mad. During Covid, when I wasn’t able to do the collections, I ended up painting a lot, creating wall tapestries, did more interior stuff and redid my house because I have to have an outlet. If that were taken away from me, I would go off and find another one. I love the inspiration: that’s the best bit. Putting together a collection and researching it is great.

HR is a pain in the arse. I absolutely love my team; we have a really good time and there’s not one person who’s a bad egg and doesn’t fit. I’ve been lucky to have an amazing team who have stuck with me for a long time which is really nice. The hardest part is managing what people think they need and when you’ve got too many cooks who have an opinion, you have to really filter through it. People love to have an opinion but you’ve got to stick to your guns.

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