At 25, Henry Holland’s already established himself as one of London’s hottest young design talents. After setting up his House of Holland label in 2007, the Hoxton boy has gone from strength to strength, designing quirky slogan tees with the help of best pal Agyness Deyn, collaborating with Levi’s on a denim collection which debuted on the House of Holland runway at London Fashion Week, and teaming up with Pretty Polly for a range of trendy tights. Now, as if we didn’t know already, he’s hit the high street, creating a cool collection of 80’s inspired womenswear for Debenhams. We grabbed Henry at his launch party for H! by Henry Holland for Debenhams last night to have a quick chat.

We’ve had a look at your H! by Henry Holland collection and it looks amazing – are you pleased with the outcome?
Thank you! I’m so pleased with how it’s turned out, it’s a really fun and cool collection and I’m really excited for the official launch in stores.

So when can we see it in the shops?
February 18th next year.

What’s been your inspiration behind the collection?
London girls, really. Just an eclectic style, lots of bright colour ways and patterns, it’s a bit grungey in places with leather skirts and biker boots but it’s playful and bright, too.

What’s your favourite piece? Ours is the denim bomber jacket.
Mine too! I love the denim bomber jacket, it’s so cool – and I’m wearing the flower print T-shirt tonight.

We love the way this collection still has your signature stamp all over it, what with the denim pieces, bright colours and slogan tees – was it important for you to reflect that in your high street collection?
Yeah, I approached it the way I do all my collections. I didn’t want it to look like a diffusion line, so I focused on it just like it was another one of my own collections.

It’s very well priced too – was that part of making your clothing more accessible?
That’s Debenhams doing, really. That’s what they do so well, great collections at affordable prices.
It’s such an institution…

And they have such a great roster of designers, don’t they?
I know, they have loads of great names. Apparently I’m the first new designer they’ve had for five years.

Wow, that’s amazing – you must be chuffed about that?
Yeh, that’s pretty amazing really, I had no idea.

We have to ask you about Twitter – we know you’re a big twitterer, and over the weekend we stumbled upon pictures of you dressed as JEdward for Halloween..?
Yes! Me and my friend dressed up as JEdward Scissor Hands – I think my JEdward twin is here somewhere actually…

Don’t tell us you’re backing them for X Factor?
No! I was a Miss Frank fan, I was gutted when they left. A friend of mine works for Heat magazine and they had Miss Frank in, so got my friend to get Graziella to do a rap on my phone, so now I have my own personalised Graziella rap!

That’s amazing, we bet you’re getting your friends to ring you all the time now?
Actually it’s pretty embarrassing because no one knows what it is…

We heard rumours you might be leaving us for New York?
Oh, no. Every time I go to New York – and obviously Agy’s there – I’m like, ‘Oh I love it, I want to move here!’ but I haven’t got any plans to do that yet. I live in London and my label’s in London so I’m staying here for a bit.

Phew, so you’ll still be showing in London?
Oh definitely, I always said I’d show in London even if I moved to New York.

Before we go, are you working on any other projects? What’s next?
Not really, I’ve been really busy working on the Debenhams collection and House of Holland so I’m just concentrating on that for now.

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Having spent some time in Berlin this summer, I had the opportunity to experience the city’s diverse fashion culture. From the array of vintage stores and huge markets to designer boutiques and commercial malls, this buzzing city really has it all and is fast becoming a significant asset to global fashion. The emergence of Berlin Fashion Week has assisted in the growth of local fashion stores, one of which is LUXXUS, based in the district of Charlottenburg.

Formed by friends Marlene Scheffel and Iskander Porodjuk, LUXXUS houses two different labels under one roof: one from each designer. The unique set up offers Scheffel’s ready-to-wear collections as well as Porodjuk’s couture items and each piece is made on site, in the work space behind the shop floor.

We caught up with Marlene to talk about LUXXUS and fashion in Germany’s capital.

When did the two of you decide to come together to form one label, and why?

As two Berlin designers, we founded the LUXXUS fashion department in September 2006. After finishing our study of fashion design in the gorgeous German capital we came up with the idea of having our own shop to create, produce and sell our designs. Due to the huge stylistic differences between Iskander and I, we decided to keep our individual fashion labels ‘ISSUE - Made in Berlin’ and ‘Iskander Couture’. At the moment we are working on the third label of our fashion department called ‘LUXXUS BERLIN’.

How did you come up with the name LUXXUS?

LUXXUS has several meanings. It is a fictional word and contains the meaning of luxury, which to us, means high quality, individuality and exclusiveness. Everybody comes up with different feelings and interpretations of luxury. Some of you may think about a status symbol, some of a feeling or a lifestyle. There are several ways to interpret; we see the products of LUXXUS. Our exclusive design and local production is really important to us. We offer our sustainable collections to anyone who cares about fashion and likes to express his/her individuality.

Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?

Our inspiration comes from our soul. We have a huge passion for fashion and feel forced to express it. We support each other through joined talks and discussions. Materials, structures, patterns and colours we see in daily life also lead to little kicks of inspiration.

Whick has been your favourite collection from LUXXUS?

Right now we love our new Spring/Summer 2010 collection ‘LUXXUS BERLIN’ because the collection is different: more  grown up, stricter and it has a cool chicness to it.

Who are your favourite German designers?

We do not have special idols. Nevertheless we observe the market and like the work of different designers and collections, such as the leather bags from our friend and designer Monia Herbst.

You have shown your collections at Berlin Fashion Week. Do you have any intention to one day show at New York, London, Milan or Paris?

We would love to get the opportunity of presenting our ideas to the rest of the world. Unfortunately it is a question of money and we cannot afford it right now - maybe within the coming years.

Who, past and present, would you most like to dress?

In present: Britney Spears, Queen Elizabeth, Lady Gaga.

In past: Lady Diana, Michael Jackson. Queen, David Bowie and Madonna in the 80’s

What do you think sets Berlin apart from the rest of the world in terms of fashion and style?

The mayor of  Berlin once said: ‘Berlin is poor but it is sexy.’ The city pulses due to its people coming from all over the world. It is open-minded and one gets the opportunity to live ones ideas.

Stacey Duguid has led a life most girls would die for. After stints at Paul Smith, Giorgio Armani and Prada, Stacey was asked by Elle’s editor Lorraine Candy to join her favourite magazine, and now proudly takes her place as Executive Fashion Editor at Elle. Having met – and worked with – some of the most prestigious people in fashion, she doesn’t miss one trendy trick. In between jetting to and fro from fashion weeks, blogging for ASOS.com and writing her new book, Stacey found a few minutes to talk to us about her fashion life.

What made you embark on a career in fashion, and how did you get to where you are today?
I had a rather unsuccessful stint at Art school in Manchester where I was studying for a Fine Art degree, it was the early 90’s and the legendary nightclub the Hacienda was in full swing and I chose clubbing over art.  I moved to London a year later not knowing a single soul.  I took a job at Harvey Nichols on the shop floor and started interning for a PR agency who handled fashion label Red Or Dead every Friday for free. It was whilst working at the PR agency I attended my first ever fashion show, I was so young but remember it like it was yesterday; the fashion fire was well and truly ignited!  I went from emptying bins and sorting out post to working on the Red or Dead account pretty quickly and was able to give up working at Harvey Nichols.  My time on the shop floor was well spent though; I met so many people who are now all in very senior fashion jobs around the globe namely Chloé, Calvin Klein and InStyle. Interestingly during this time I applied to be an intern on ELLE, sadly I couldn’t afford to do the internship, which at that time was unpaid for a year. I’m happy our interns have to be paid by law; we get more diverse mix of people now, not just those who can afford to work unpaid for a year.

You’ve had a pretty impressive career so far – with stints at Paul Smith, Giorgio Armani, Prada, and now executive fashion editor at Elle – what has been your highlight?
I became menswear press officer at Paul Smith after two years working in a pretty unknown PR agency. In hindsight working for Sir Paul was one of the best experiences I could have had at that age. He is a legend, he’s never sold out to the world of mass consumerism and his style is so consistent, I wish I had known then what I know now; I would have appreciated it more I’m sure.  Working for Mr Armani was an altogether different experience.  I remember my job interview so clearly.  I had flown out to Milan to meet him, it was a very cold January day and I was really wrapped up warm.  I was asked to wait in a small hot room in the Milan head quarters. My heart was pounding and I was clammy all over, I honestly thought I was going to faint.  The interview lasted all of five minutes; he looked me up and down and asked me about my favourite films, books and magazines.  I must have passed as I flew back to London that night as the head of press for Armani in the UK.  How he has built a global brand is so impressive, he sees every single piece of press on his collection and works on every single aspect of his business.  I only worked for Prada for a very short amount of time because Lorraine Candy the Editor of ELLE asked me to join her new team on ELLE.  Finally, I had been asked to work on the magazine I had loved for so many years. 

Many young women dream to have your job – is it really as glamorous as we all think?
It’s sometimes glamorous and sometimes not.  I love meeting designers, I really enjoy attending the international collections and I enjoy never knowing what each day will bring.  It’s not always glamorous but it’s never mundane and I always look forward to coming to work. I work with very inspiring people. 

You must have worked with – and met – some fantastic people. Who has stood out for you and who surprised you the most?
I admire jewellery designer Lara Bohinc, she’s a very positive person with a great work life balance.  She is a great businesswoman and designer who has carved out a strong brand identity in a relatively short time.  Samantha Cameron the creative director of Smythsons is another woman in fashion who for me stands out for her positive attitude, her warmth and the tangible passion for what she creates.  Mrs Bernstein, owner of Browns, is one of the most inspiring people working in fashion today.  Her taste is impeccable and her support for London’s young designers is so important.

You write a fashion blog for ASOS.com – with the blogging community now bigger than ever, how influential do you think fashion blogs are to the online fashion industry and which ones are your favourite?
Blogs are so important now and companies that don’t get with the programme need to hurry up and recognise the power of the blogger.  I was very happy to see the wonderful Garance Dore sat front row at the Dolce show in Milan recently.  I’m fascinated by teenage bloggers, it’s an amazing way to get across their creativity and ideas, I only had sketch books when I was their age and no email, how strange to think how far we have come in terms of technology.  Some of the blogs I enjoy are: 
Happy-Because 
Coco’s Tea Party
Handpicked Media 
Liberty London Girl 
Fred Butler Style 
Catwalk Queen 
Jacky Blue
Style Bubble 
Kingdom of Style 
Show me your wardrobe 
Disney Rollergirl
Wee Birdy 
Miss Malcontent 

Have you ever made a fashion faux-pas? Denim on denim with (gasp) denim-look shoes in the 90’s was probably my worst move to date…
Oh Lord I’ve made so many, the entirely net cat suit I used to wear clubbing in the early 90’s for one! 

What’s exciting in fashion right now and which trends and designers are you coveting for A/W09?
I am loving the female British designer domination of Paris Fashion Week right now. Stella, Phoebe and Hannah all produced collections every woman wants to wear. In London there are also some exciting new women to watch out for - Clemency who is in her second season and also Joanna Sykes who is more established.  My trend for A/W09 is pared down dressing with key investment pieces namely a Bottega handbag, a Chloé boyfriend jacket and some Isabel Marant boots to add pizzazz!  It’s the return of the woman, it’s smart and there isn’t a single UGG boot in sight. Oh and flats are so right again, I wear black patent brogues by Churches, thankfully my boyfriend likes them.

What’s the one item every woman should have in her wardrobe?
A well-tailored jacket - I am currently coveting one from YSL - and a classic handbag; YSL, Bottega and Prada all make classic yet cool bags.  Let your shoes be the crazy statement, they are cheaper to replace next season. 

Do you have any style tips and hints for us?
Never buy anything when there is a full moon.  I have learnt the hard way.  Never have a hair cut during the full moon either come to think of it.

What does the future hold for you? More fashion roles, world domination..?
I’m writing the book of my column Mademoiselle, Confessions of an ELLE girl, the column that features on the back page of British ELLE.  My agent is hoping for a next year release.  I’m praying for a quiet moment to write, at least my job is a constant source of inspiration for the column and the book.  Now please excuse me, I’ve got several hundred thousand words to write…. Gulp. 

Specsavers returned again this year with their second Spectacle Wearer of the Year competition, this time fronted by ex-pop princess Jessica Taylor.

Jessica – who’s a glasses wearer herself – has been the face of 2009’s campaign, which has seen sexy specs wearers across the globe battle it out for the title.

As a judge on this year’s panel for the spectacular showdown, we caught up with Jessica just before the grand final on Tuesday afternoon to hear her thoughts.

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It’s difficult not to feel overwhelmed after fashion month. All those shows, all those new clothes and all those new designers to choose from. But in London one woman has been quietly forging a name for herself, emerging slowly from under the radar to become a firm favourite with London-based fashion editors and the girls at Vogue.

Olivia Rubin is a graduate of the infamous Central St Martins fashion school, the college that gave us Luella Bartley, Hussein Chalayan, Giles Deacon and John Galliano among many, many others.

At 27, Rubin has already worked with Jaques Azagury and fellow Brits Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. Her own line hit our radar when she was shortlisted for the semi-final of Fashion Fringe 2007 and 2008 and has gathered a list of fashion savvy celebrity fans that most designers would kill for including Lily Allen and M.I.A.

In past collections, Rubin has specialised in creating urban-inspired graphic prints on architectural shapes, which in other hands would be scary but in hers is soft and flattering - girly without the schmaltz.

Her oversized brick print has become something of a signature, floating around the body on simple charcoal grey shifts, chiffon dresses and peach maxi dresses (the charcoal brick print shift has been on our wishlist for ages as has her brick embroidery print tunic).

We managed to grab five minutes with Rubin to find out more about what drives her…

When did you first realise you wanted to be a designer?
I have been artistic from a young age. I was always drawing and painting so when my art teacher introduced me to screen printing, fashion immediately followed.

What was the first piece of clothing you made yourself?
I made a body con dress made out of loads of leaves cut out in pink organza-they were all attached with elastic thread-it was for my first school fashion show!

What’s your favourite piece that you’ve designed since you made that first item?
I have a favourite piece in each collection. At the moment I love the ’Matisse’ SS10 one shoulder dress that is nude with a ’scribble’ print chiffon layer draped over-very romantic chic. But one of my faves of all time was the serious of 3 ‘Chrysler’ dresses that were show pieces for my AW09 catwalk-each panel piece was individually printed with 3 different printing techniques so that they pattern would all match and align to give a 3-D building effect-a lot of work!

What was it like studying at St Martins?
St Martin’s definitely honed in my style and allowed me to experiment, so that by the end I realised what kind of designer I was. I have a few really close friends from there-we endured the blood, sweat and tears together-there will always be that bond.

What’s been the biggest challenge in setting up your own label?
Building up the business so that it is actually a business that makes money- a lot of aspiring designers see starting a label as designing beautiful clothes and putting on shows-of course that’s the fun part but 70% of it is acquiring business skills, selling, pr-I was never under any illusions.

And what’s been the best moment thus far?
There have been so many-I’d have to say having my own show, being in Vogue and building up my stockists are all up there-the next dream is to get into a department store!

How important has your earlier work at Jacques Azagury, McQueen,Galliano and Tristan Webber been in informing your design approach?
I recommend working for a variety of different designers because you learn a new perspective from each one-I certainly did. Galliano was the most inspirational; working so closely with him I found his work ethic very infectious which encouraged me to stay true to my own style-I related best to him!

Which is your favourite fashion week - London, New York, Paris or Milan?
London is a melting pot of unique styles and trends-anything goes-it’s a great place to be an up and coming designer as I think London is where people take notice of young talent. It’s always been about London for me!

What’s been you favourite fashion show this season (other than your own of course!)?
I’ve loved bits from a variety of designers so far-the colour blocking at Josh Goot, the faded printed satin jackets and dresses at Prada, the palette at Marni and the tailoring at Stella McCartney.

Who are your style icons? And muses?
A mixture-somebody with a unique dress sense who makes their own trends and isn’t afraid of wearing colour!. I love Fearne Cotton for her eclectic mix of designer, high st and vintage as well as Chloe Sevigny for her experimentation.

Who is the Olivia Rubin woman?
A modern, feminine yet individual woman or girl - I don’t pigeon hole my customer.

Check out her extremely desirable collection here or visit www.oliviarubin.com

Betty Jackson, the legendary British designer, has rejoined the designing team at Debenhams to create their first must-have jewellery line. The range, which forms part of her ‘Betty Jackson. Black’ line for the high street store, fuses resin, perspex and metals with chunky chains and grosgrain ribbon to create a collection of contemporary statement jewellery. We caught up with Betty in the gorgeous Junior Deluxe Suite of the Soho Hotel on Tuesday afternoon to discuss her new collection, her career and her success.

This isn’t the first time you have collaborated with Debenhams – you also created the ‘Betty Jackson. Black’ line of clothing and homeware for the store – how did the partnership between the two of you first come about?
They just asked. We just thought, ‘that’d be quite good’ and I’d already been working with somebody else – another big company on the high street – and that contract had just come to an end and literally it was the day after when Debenhams phoned and we went in to meet and it’s been great. They’re great people to work with and because they had this stable of designers as well - that was another thing I was bit worried about as well, they had lots of them and I thought, ‘how am I going to make a difference here?’ But I think their choice of designers is great and I think we all have a different voice. They’re very careful about keeping it to the personality of the designer, and I think that they work really hard on that – we all have our own little team and it gets really competitive, which is great. It began with the clothes and then moved onto homes maybe 18 months after and then the jewellery thing was natural, it’s such a big thing now. I think its great to change an outfit by changing a necklace and putting on earrings - its a fantastic thing so it was a great opportunity.

Can you tell us about your new jewellery collection and talk us through the key pieces – do you have any favourites?
I love the two metal ones, I love the cluster necklace because its sort of sparkly and I love the fact that you can get a bracelet as well. Then these ones I think are great to wear with even just a T-shirt, if you put this lovely metally-beady thing on it just completely changes it. And then there’s a whole other section with ribbon ties and gold pearls that are obviously dressier but still look gorgeous with the simplest of dresses. And I do think in times now that people maybe aren’t going to go and buy a whole new outfit but want to get that sort of ‘newness’ without spending a fortune and this is an obvious way to do it. Its a small collection, there’s more delicate pieces as well, and nothing very precious so you can wear and then chuck it away if you want to, but we’re going to introduce a few more elements. I love all this new resin stuff that’s happening, it looks really modern and exciting and its very light, you can forget that its on. We’re going to do a few wooden pieces as well for next spring, but I think as a starting block I’m really thrilled with it, I think it’s very exciting.

What was your inspiration behind the collection? Art and prints are elements that have inspired your clothing designs throughout your career – is this something that extends itself to your jewellery, too?
I think so, I think it’s sort of purposeful – I mean, I hate things that are just non functional, I suppose. But it is purposeful, if you’re going to wear it, the larger pieces are going to be noticed and that was quite important for a first one. On the clothing line we do very well with jersey shift dresses and the dresses that can take you to any occasion so it was important that these pieces complimented the clothing.

For people like us who don’t know much about the process of designing jewellery - is your design process different when you design jewellery compared to when you design clothes?
Yes. I know nothing also – I just know what I like and what I don’t like. We started off with colour and ‘what do we want this to be?’ and whether we wanted it to be sparkly or whether we wanted it to be metal or resin. The company that we’re working for and the Debenhams lot showed me all these things and I said, ‘I think we should go this way’. And it was very much a collaboration, I certainly didn’t draw these pieces up, but it organically grew by their expertise and actually what I wanted as far as colour and shine or not shine. And then they made some pieces for me to see and it was just so obvious how it grew – if there was a gorgeous bead that we could do that necklace with and then a jangly bracelet to go with – it was just so obvious when you saw things, and it grew like that really.

Which do you prefer to design – do you have a favourite?
No, I think they’re linked really. It’s such an exciting thing to actually take the clothing onto another stage and give something else that adds something to it – that’s what is so great about it, it adds another dimension. We are budget priced in Debenhams and its very important that it stays available to all, but there are things that maybe people cant afford until they receive a pay packet, and this is a way of sticking something up quite inexpensively that actually makes you feel good. And it transforms an outfit and allows you to feel a bit more modern and a bit more up to date, and that’s what it’s about really.

Let’s cast our minds back to where it all began for you. When did you first get into the fashion industry and how did it come about?
Oh, I’m a complete charlaton! I went to art college, came out of art college, met this girl who was already doing it called Wendy, started to work with her – well, that’s not quite true, I went to fashion college so I suppose I decided then. But the first thing that inspired me was colour and fabric and I love the touch of things – I love whether it’s soft or hard, and I absolutely love putting fabrics and textures together, which again comes back to jewellery – how the piece feels in your hands and that’s all very important really. It grew – I was an illustrator at first, and then I went to work with Wendy, and then went to work at Quorum which was a company that had Ossie Clark in it, and then we started our own company in 1981 – ages ago, it was the last century for God’s sake!

You mentioned Ossie Clark there – you designed under him in the 70’s – what was it like to work with such an iconic figure in British fashion? Has it influenced your career as a designer at all?
So frightening, he didn’t speak to me for the first six months, he absolutely refused to. It was so frightening, where he was it was so big and grand, but we became quite good friends. He had the fourth studio – massive with glass and light and everything and I was stuck in the back by the loo’s next to one tiny window which was on a brick wall, so you had to know your place. But it was such an exciting thing and then eventually he decided that I wasn’t the threat or I was worth talking to, and he’d march in and say, ‘Oh my god I’ve just done this thing you’ve got to come and see it!’ and it was great. He forgot to work though, that’s the problem, and it’s a danger, I think, if you forget. I remember David Hockney once saying Ossie was a genius, which he undoubtedly was, but he just forgot to work. He got caught up, which is an easy thing to do – to get caught up in the whole event and you forget to think and forget to design because you can be easily distracted. I think that’s what happened really, but he was definitely a genius.

You launched your own label in 1981 with your husband – what’s it been like working together over the years?
You’ve read your notes! Oh, well, we’re on a different floor so we don’t speak during the day. In the beginning we argued liked mad but it’s worked really well. He has his bit which is the hideous bit – the finance and the organisation and the computer stuff, and he organises that, and I do the nice bit. When you work with somebody like that, you make a plan and you make the plan together. We always knew what we wanted to do and in which direction, and we always knew to keep it really small and controllable because we could have sold out millions of times to bigger companies and been taken over, but we always refused because we wanted it not to take over completely. Of course it has, but we have a life as well which is important, I think, otherwise you’d drive yourself mad. But it is a difficulty, you do know that the support is there and that actually you’re going to resolve an argument – if you storm out and slam the door you’ve got to come back and look at them the next morning. I think the first five years were incredibly volatile, but it’s been an exciting thing as well and I couldn’t have done it without him – it’s not the sort of thing you can do on your own, you’ve got to have a team and he has the team.

Talking of the 80’s, the decade is particularly prominent in fashion at the moment with the return of the bold silhouette and big shoulders – something which you featured a lot of in your S/S10 show in London this year. As someone who has witnessed this the first time around and is now seeing trends come around for a second time, how do you think fashion has evolved over the years? Do you still see the same approaches to design today as you did when you first started?
Well, actually yes you do, and we start with colour and fabric always. The silhouette evolves in a different way – I think it is slightly different because when you’ve lived through one thing the first time around the last thing you want to do is do it in the same way another time because it’s boring. It’s important that you take the references, though, and you put a modern twist on it by using different fabrics or different techniques, or you wear it in a different way or it’s a different proportion. I think it’s great to have references to the past as long as you do something new with it; there was a jacket in the collection which actually came from 1986, it was a vintage piece, and there was the suspender dress that we did – we found the pattern and re-cut it. It’s so funny because they’ve both been really successful – we say it’s a vintage piece and there’s some clients who remember it they’ve been buying for so long! But what we do is we show it in a different way. Before when we had the big shoulder jackets you’d actually wear an ankle length skirt with it, or a massive pair of trousers, whereas this time we’ve put it over a mini skirt or a party dress and it changes the whole thing – it’s been reinvented and that’s what makes it so exciting.

What for you is exciting in fashion now?
There’s a lot of great young British designers I think, really exciting British designers, and London is so good at that, it’s such a free, wonderful place to work and anything is possible here, I think. There’s quite a few that I think are really doing great things with different references and different things going on. I’m sure it’s still hard for them, but nevertheless, I think it’s almost easier because there’s internet access – like music now, it’s on the web before they’ve unplugged the music system, and I think that’s a brilliant thing because it means you can get your message globally within minutes. Having said that, there’s an awful lot of people trying to do great things, so I think it’s quite hard to establish yourself with something different today – there’s so much choice out there I’m sure everybody finds that quite difficult, but it’s their time, they should be able to do it.

Are there any designers, past or present, that you would have liked to work with?
I think I’m too grumpy for that! I’ve never really thought about a collaboration, nobody’s ever asked me that before. There’s lots of people that I think do great things, but then sometimes they do great things, sometimes you’re maybe not so inspired by the next collection. We don’t spend a lot of time looking at other people – one is aware, of course, at fashion week when you look at Milan and you see what’s happening in Paris and you look at your favourites in New York, but we don’t spend an awful lot of time looking because there’s so much to do as far as we’re concerned. We’re already working on next season and you get inspired all over again – you’ve got no time to look at anybody else. You get infused by your own attitude and your own product, and that’s what you concentrate on.

Dare we mention it, the current economic crisis we are faced with at the moment has undoubtedly had an affect on fashion – we’ve seen high end designers such as Escada and Christian Lacroix face administration – but this is something that on appearance, at least, doesn’t seem to have affected you. What’s the secret to your success?
Well I think the guy who’s in charge of the finance! I think because we’re so small and because we can be quite flexible, but of course it’s affected us too, of course it’s tricky. If you went to our little shop in Brompton Cross they’d tell you that people are buying two things not four, and people are putting things on hold and coming back, and it’s absolutely across the board very definitely. But it isn’t anything that we can’t weather because we’ve known it was coming. We did, like everybody else, fall off a cliff last November when everything stopped and that was quite frightening, but within two weeks everybody got a hold of themselves and started to think again. People won’t stop buying things, I think we’re in the second stage now where people are still losing their jobs, tragically, and there will be a knock on effect of that, but the thing is we’re small enough to be able to be flexible and cope with it, and we’ve had a very successful few years so we’re not in any danger, and it won’t last forever. And thinking about the Debenhams range, it’s fantastic – we’ve beaten plan for the last four or five weeks, it’s extraordinary, and we’ve beaten plan by a huge percentage – it’s so encouraging that people are coming in. You have to think harder, you have to do better, you have to do lovely things that people that want. In a way, the recessions do weed out – not that I’m suggesting Christian Lacroix needed to be weeded out, it’s really terrible – but it will weed out a lot of people who shouldn’t be there and maybe make people work a bit harder.

Speaking of your success, you were made CBE not so long ago, how was that for you to receive one of Britain’s biggest honours?
I know, it’s so extraordinary, it’s a really lovely thing and to go there and get it – she’s so great, and it was quite a thing really, I was exceedingly pleased. It’s a very funny thing because you get this letter with this official address on and you think, ‘Oh god, I haven’t paid my tax!’. It’s so beautifully done – the queen has it in writing, it’s just fabulous, and when you go to get it it’s just such a lovely thing. We went for lunch afterwards – you’re only allowed to take so many people, my children and my husband came – and we went for lunch at the Ivy and then went on to Claridges bar and I don’t remember anything after that, apparently I had to be airlifted out of Claridges bar, so I behaved very badly towards the end of the day. But it’s a fabulous thing to go up and have her pin it on you, it’s great. The palace needs big redecoration though.

Finally, do you have any fashion advice or styling tips you could give to our readers? If we invest in one thing this season, what should it be?
I think the simplest things are often the best, and if we’re talking about winter, I’d get a dress. I think it does a lot of things, a dress, and I think you should get a slightly bigger dress and one that you can either put a belt around, or wear it loose, or put something underneath, or put a cardigan over, or you wear it with nothing except great jewellery. I think what you need to do is make clothes just more versatile, they need to do at least three things: they need to be ok for going to the supermarket, they need to be ok if you’ve got a job to do and you’ve got to go to the office, and they need to be ok if you’re going on a hot date or meeting a friend in a bar or going to listen to some music. They need to do all these things, and I think at the moment a dress does that, so I’d go and find a great dress.

Betty’s 93 piece jewellery collection for Debenhams is available in stores nationwide and online at Debenhams, now - trust us, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

A stylist for over eight years, Mariel Haenn has worked with some of the world’s top celebs. She’s dressed Ashley Simpson, Ciara, Will Smith and one of our favourites…..Rihanna just to name a few. We caught up with the lady responsible for Rihanna’s transition from beautiful girl next door to sexy style icon for the new generation.

Which trends from the Spring/Summer 2010 catwalks are you getting excited about?

Some spring/summer trends that I’m excited about are bold bright colors and big accessories…lots of flowy silks, satins, and chiffons. I especially love that jumpsuits are going to be big for spring.

Who or what influences your creativity when styling your clients?

My clients influence me a lot, and many times they have a good idea of what type of look they want to achieve. Runway shows and Old iconic movies definitely give me inspiration. Grace Jones is one of the top influencers of my work.

If you could get your stylistic hands on any celebrity who would it be, and how would you style them?

Luckily I have the one celebrity I would love to work with (Rihanna) but if I had to choose some one it would be Lady Gaga. I love what she does for entertainment but I would love to bring her into a more everyday look of her creative expression.

Has the international recession affected the way you style your clients?

The recession hasn’t so much affected the way I style because I work with every price range of clothes but not necessarily all high end.

Which cities in the world are your favorite for seeking new inspiration?

My favorite cities are Japan, London, Paris, and New York.

Out of all the people and fashion shoots you have styled which has been your personal favorite look?

Wow! Personal favorite look might be Rihanna at 2008 AMA awards performance look (studded bustier and eye patch) or Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake “Love Sex Magic” video.

Rihanna’s style has evolved from Barbadian island girl to bonafide style icon, which you are partly responsible for. How did you decide on the drastic change?

Rihannas evolution was a natural progression that worked with the evolution of her music. When I first started working with her she was in her baggy jean phase and my goal was to make her a little more cutting edge and sexy and over time continued to push the envelope.

What fashion trend do you wish had been kept in the designers studio?

I wish that crocs never left the design lab! Although I’m all about comfort but we can do better that!

What fashion trend do you think will stand the test of time?

I think that the rocker chic look is going be around for awhile. A few other styles that I’m loving right now and will probably stand the test of time are from the Saks Fifth Avenue Fall 2009 Want It! campaign presented by MasterCard. Key pieces within that campaign include looks like: the strong shoulder, rocker boots, leggings, mixed metal necklaces, cozy knits, the neck loop, the forever bag, the vest, three-piece dressing for men and the lacquered lip. All items can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue or on Saks.com and you can use the “the little black card,” the Saks Fifth Avenue World Elite MasterCard for purchases in and out of Saks to earn rewards towards your next Saks purchase.

How would you describe your own personal style?

My personal style is street-chic, and I like to wear comfortable clothes with great shoes, bags and lots of jewelry.

What top tips do you have for our readers when it comes to developing a personal style?

When developing a personal style I suggest lots of research, magazine tear sheets and references that you like to get a good sense of what you’re looking to achieve. Start slow and don’t try to redo your whole closet at one time

Visit MariellHaenn.com