Early Editions.

British Vogue February 1987.

Prior to collecting the Chanel Catalogues, the initial push start and inspiration for my newly found obsession with magazines was a girl in my class at high school; I alluded to that in the Career Section on this very site. Asking me if I wanted to off-load a bag of Vogue’s and copies of Women’s Wear Daily, W and Harper’s & Queen; I quickly obliged. I had never read or really heard of Vogue, but after taking the bag of mags home the weekend that rapidly altered. The editions from 1986 – 1987 played a pivotal role in my fascination, especially the British Designers Issue of February 1987, with Cindy Crawford donning the cover. Another edition that I loved was Paris Couture – Spring/Summer 1988. It was a great time and reading about designers like Casley-Hayford, John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Jasper Conran and Katherine Hamnett really fuelled me. This is not a retrospective as such, more of a looking back and retelling where and how it all began. Maybe, for some, I wasn’t the biggest name or the most vocal or public. But I can tell you, that was partly intentional. The aim of these posts is to let people know that know matter who or where you are, keep your interests alive. Today the front row is anywhere, in your living room, an airport lounge or terminal, a McDonalds or luxury store. What is important is to keep your inspirations alive and never forget how it all began.

Academic Inspiration.

Though I had developed a strong interest in couture. The collection that fuelled my academic interest and it would be fair to say along with Alastair Blair’s kind invitation, was John Galliano Spring-Summer 1988. It was the most incredible collection and the most interesting and accomplished way to present clothes. Sitting at home, I didn’t care for anything else in the world, I was reading W magazine. In those days it was a broadsheet paper and I marvelled at the clothes, I just couldn’t get enough of them. The colour palette, the checks, the bows, the attitude of it all. It really blew me away and was very deeply emotional for me. The technique was flawless and it changed the way you thought or approached designing even a simple skirt or blouse. Very much akin to the way Rei Kawakubo also did at the time. The article in W-Magazine was a full pager with quotes from industry luminaries about the collection. Such was its gravitas it earned pride of place on my wall and was also the catalyst for my application to Central Saint Martin’s School of Art.

Chanel: Collecting Catalogues.

Within months my interest in fashion was voracious, I knew it all - (I thought), I couldn’t stop talking about it and was still saying “Christian Lacroy”, I was quickly corrected. But the ambition that really started and was talk in our form room, was how I was going to get a Chanel Catalogue. “Are you going to store”? – This was the question, I had been reading all their articles and looking at their advertisements at that time photographed by Karl Lagerfeld and at the ripe old age of 14, I HAD TO GET IN THAT SHOP! I mentioned to my form tutor also a great art teacher at our school what my plans were for the coming Saturday. He quickly, unbeknownst to me, assigned the sensible math pupil in our class to accompany me to Old Bond Street. Admittedly I was a bit of a scarecrow at that time, I was too busy thinking about other people’s clothes and certainly didn’t have the money to buy any. My first Versace shirt was a gift from a college lecturer years later – (crisp white linen). We took the Central Line Train that Saturday and we hit all the notable stores, Givenchy, Ungaro, Rive Gauche; I was so enthusiastic and knew my stuff they just handed catalogues over. There were going to be no games here. Then nervously, we approached Chanel. We walked in, they didn’t flinch and I asked for my Chanel Catalogue. They gave me a catalogue then asked if I would like to see the collection, I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT!

Cocoa or Coco?

As I alluded to elsewhere on this site. The next catalyst that really pushed my interest was an American Television news clip about Chanel Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1988. I remember something with Clive James late at night backstage at Chanel but can’t remember if that was before or after this clip. Anyway, whilst on holiday in Dominica getting told-off for watching too much television (I was addicted to news programmes and anyhow the beach was windy cold and empty). A news item popped on screen and I was quickly fascinated by the character of the designer Karl Lagerfeld. The clothes on screen and the way they were being presented; call me strange, maybe? But it was the start of a deep fascination with Chanel, research and looking at everything I could find. One that has endured to this very day just about.

From The Beginning.

Carven 1980’s Fragrance Ad.

My interest in fashion strangely started at a young age around 12/13. There was a commercial on Television for a French Brand-named Carven. In this commercial there was a moment when a lady, a fashion designer sits at her desks and sketches a dress. The illustration was so fluid, and it fascinated me how anyone draw like that it, the drawing style was very much of its time, though well executed. I went out and bought some felt tips from Woolworths for about 0.99p and tried my hand at drawing. The result, terrible and I quickly lost my interest moving on to other things, but that commercial stayed in my mind forever, a bit cheesy maybe for some. But a starting point for me. You’ll find a link to the commercial, in this version you see a glimpse of the sketch, I believe the original was removed from YouTube. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHzz3YYphaQ

The Journey Thus Far.

Milano, September 2025 - Photogragh by Andrew Bannis.

In some ways, my life story is full of ups and downs, dramatic trials and sometimes uncertainty. Travelling here, flying there. Moving through airports. Unpacking and putting clothes away in new homes in different cities, different countries. New York City, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, so many differing locations.

Now, I have finally arrived at what clearly is some form of stability. This is my time to reflect, think and resolve any past issues. 

I remember being a teenager in London, flipping eagerly through Vogue magazine, given to me by a classmate. My passion for style was triggered by designs by Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Galliano, Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld. Glamorous images of Yasmin le Bon, Naomi Campbell amd Cindy Crawford. Reading Franca Sozzani’s first Italian Vogue September issue on the Central Line from Oxford Street. I was reborn, with a new focus which even my school recognised in some way.

Yet as a young person whose personal history was so far removed from the tents of the Louvre or the chic style of Milano…It really was a distant dream and voyage of the imagination.

Yet this was always my dream – and mission – to be in Milan, starting my own fashion design business in earnest.

My aim is not based on arrogance and I want to develop and interesting business that suits today’s world. Maybe it won’t be a global household name like Prada (who I respect greatly), but it focuses on the work. I don’t crave celebrity or need to be the biggest person in the room. This is about the work: the initial sketches, the fabric, the patterns, developing ideas and seeking inspiration. It is about working privately, diligently and in small ways to achieve the goals I set as a young person starting out.

I have been working on this label for decades – we even created the branding years ago. There has never been arrogance about that, only perseverance, love and personal integrity. 

Inspiration is all around us and starts at one’s own front door. I remember my mother’s father from Dominica, finding a Bill Gates book in the bedroom in London and saying profoundly: “The Road Ahead”?…..Indeed!