Fashion has been a lifelong passion of mine, woven into my earliest memories. Growing up in the eighties, I was captivated by the costume dramas on television and spent hours playing dress-up in my mum’s glamorous wardrobe. It was a decade defined by drama and excess — sequins, embellishments and glitz adorned everything from ra-ra skirts and ruched dresses to denim jackets, fur coats and pencil skirts, while shoulder pads, polka dots and asymmetrical cuts ruled the day. Bleached and tie-dye finishes, neon hues, bold prints and intricate embroidery brought these fabrics to life.
As a teenager in the nineties, the original supermodels reigned supreme — gracing every catwalk, billboard, advertisement and magazine cover. My friends and I were so besotted that we nicknamed each other Cindy, Naomi and Claudia in tribute to those legendary runway icons! These women were more than models; they were cultural forces who shaped trends and inspired an entire generation of young girls to dream bigger.
After school, I went on to study art, design textiles and fashion design technology. The courses that truly ignited my passion were fashion design, journalism and the history of the great Haute Couture masters — the visionaries who shaped the industry from the top down, with their influence trickling all the way to the high street. Designers like Worth, Chanel and Balenciaga were a profound inspiration to me, each one instrumental in evolving fashion through the decades in ways that still resonate today.
Fast forward to 2024, and I found myself channelling all of that lifelong passion into my own designs, entering the handbag industry with a clear vision built on three core pillars: quiet luxury that comes with a reasonable price-tag; products that are just as beautiful on the inside as the outside, with sumptuous fabrics and indulgent interiors; and multifunctional design concepts created to make women’s everyday lives that little bit easier.
