Katie Hillier was respectful to the heritage of Asprey when consulting on the design of the house’s handbags, Helena Bonham Carter transforms herself into another person on the red carpet and Nicola Formichetti’s own brand is in the works.
The designer – who has previously worked with Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham – always tries to come up with something ”cool and unique” in her collaborations but thinks it is a mistake to go off in a radical direction when working with a heritage brand.
She said, ”The design process for everyone I work for is the same; collaboratively we try and come up with something cool and unique and we make it.
”I was very lucky to be approached by Asprey to consult on the design of the women’s leather goods, and for me it was an opportunity that I could not miss. I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, it’s a common mistake I think that’s made with brands that have heritage.”
Instead, Katie opted to make a ”few tweaks” to modernise accessories for Asprey but thinks she has stuck to the principles of the brand.
She told vogue.co.uk, ”There are so many wonderful bags in the collection that are just perfect as they are, a few tweaks here and there for new functionalities that women in the 21st Century need, but ultimately the Asprey woman – I like to think – is still who she used to be; elegant, with an eye for glamour and rare beautiful things.”
The actress may play eccentric characters on screen but it is off screen where she loves to use her wardrobe to become somebody else.
The ‘Dark Shadows’ star is renowned for her unconventional red carpet style but admits she doesn’t always get the look she is trying to achieve.
She said, ”All I’m into is dressing up.
”I think I transform into somebody else and then you see the photo and go, ‘That’s so not what I meant …’ It’s the disappointment after. That’s why I ceased to watch myself anymore because I go, ‘It’s still me!”’
Helena caused a stir at the 2011 Golden Globe awards when she wore mismatched shoes on the red carpet – and she admits they were a deliberate ploy to distract attention away from her Vivienne Westwood dress, which she didn’t think anyone would like.
Speaking to Daniel Radcliffe for Interview magazine, she said, ”I thought, ‘F**k it’. I looked at the dress and thought, ‘It’s not gonna be well received, so let’s just distract.’ At least you’ve got some control, you know?”
The 34-year-old designer – who is renowned for making the eccentric outfits worn by Lady Gaga in addition to being the creative director of Mugler – admits he has had to ”embrace” a new side of himself now he is in the process of launching his own brand.
He said, ”This year I wanted to focus on my own dream. Being a stylist, you always hide behind a brand, but because of Gaga and Mugler, I needed to come out onto the scene. I had to embrace it.”
Discussing the outfits, the Japanese/Italian creative said he wanted to make new technology because materials have largely been the same for such a long time.
He told WWD, ”Why do you have a zipper when you can have a jacket that’s molded to your body?
”It’ll be very digitally oriented and high-tech. We’ve been working with the same fabrics, the same techniques for hundreds of years. That’s all great, but we need something new.”
The first items are due out in 2013.
