To coincide with our exclusive preview of the Debenhams Life Made Fabulous TV commercial that we showed you earlier today, we thought it might be a nice idea to grab five cheeky minutes with one of the main stars of the campaign… the one and only Mr Julien Macdonald.

Julien chatted to us about why he got involved with the Life Made Fabulous campaign, as well as his own personal style, what trends he thinks we should be all over for the autumn/winter season, and even what to look forward to in the current and very addictive series of Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model. 

This is the third time you’ve been involved in the Debenhams Life Made Fabulous campaign, but what made you want to do it initially?

I think that everybody has a dream of how designers are and it’s very rare that the public actually gets to see them in their working environment so it just brings back the message about the whole velocity and why I work with Debenhams.

See, fashion can be fabulous and fashion can be affordable to everybody and it doesn’t matter who you are and where you come from. It proves to everybody that you’re behind the product, and you do design the clothes and you are there and you are involved with the brand.

So each designer selected a hero piece to showcase in the advert and you chose a gorgeous little lace dress from the Star by Julien Macdonald range… what made you pick that over the others?

Well I wanted to pick one of the pieces which I felt depicted the Star by Julien Macdonald woman and it’s a dress I can see all my fans wearing, so I just wanted one that empowered women and made women look like a star because that’s what the Star by Julien Macdonald customer is… she’s a woman who loves to dress up and is very confident in what she wears.

What’s your favourite item in your personal wardrobe right now?

There’s so many things, but recently I bought a Balmain black blazer; it has fantastically large shoulder pads, so for a small chap like me I can have massive shoulders thanks to a fabulous jacket. It’s my signature colour black. I do try to wear other colours but always go back to wearing the same old thing.

How else are you keeping busy these days?

Oh my God, life doesn’t stop for Julien Macdonald! I’m constantly dressing celebrities or flying across the world to pick some private clients some clothes. I just came back from my vacation though, I had a nice holiday in Mikonos, but I was straight back to work on the summer 2013 collection, so my office is full of people sewing and beading and dying fabric as we speak.

We can’t wait to see what you have in store for the new season! We’re also seeing you on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model and loving it so far, but is there anything you can let us in on?

We’ve definitely found a top model. We’ve all been looking for that super girl to walk through the door, and the transformation and growth with the model is brilliant… and for the first time, we really have found a top model! Elle really is super-behind the winner of this year’s show; she thinks she’s incredible, and Whitney thinks she’s the best thing in fashion so we really can’t wait for you to see it!

When the girls go to Canada, they have their challenges and you can really tell from then. On a rainy day on a beach in Canada the three girls really rose to the challenge and we didn’t actually make the decision until that day in the back of a van. The judges were dripping wet and arguing amongst each other but what you see in the show is what actually happens.

Whose style are you loving right now?

Over the last three months I’ve been dressing Florence Welch a lot; she wore one of my fabulous gowns during a summer festival which went down a storm, and she wore one of my autumn/winter bespoke dresses on the red carpet in London and she is a lady who is definitely inspiring Julien Macdonald at the moment. She’s one of many Julien Macdonald ladies.

We know every designer wants to style Kate Middleton… if you had to dress her tomorrow, what would you put her in?

Well I would dress her in something quite chic. There’s a gorgeous purple bustier dress with a fabulous peplum from my new autumn/winter collection so if you have a look at that I would definitely give that to Kate.

You mentioned your new Balmain jacket earlier, but what style tips would you give to the boys? What else are you wearing and loving right now?

Well at the moment I’m wearing Christian Louboutin sandals. I’ve got some cheeky monkey chinos on, and I’m also wearing a kind of distressed white t-shirt. So I’m very relaxed at the moment, but I think for all the boys… don’t be scared of fashion! You don’t have to spend a lot of money on clothes. The brand I always go to for affordable fashion is Topman, they do a great job, fabulous suit jackets etc.

This winter I’ll be keeping my eye out for a great military coat, I think they’re great in the winter, and you don’t even have to buy a designer one. Just go to a market like Portobello market and then we can all have a taste of the army!

Would you recommend military styles for the girls as well?

Yes, I’d definitely suggest it for the girls as well, if you see any military jackets take them up, they’re great with a good pair of jeans and a fabulous pair of boots. Everyone wants a bit of rock and roll, so a great biker jacket would also be good!

Finally, what’s next for Julien Macdonald?

Well, my God, the festive season’s ahead, not many weeks away, so obviously I’m working night and day for all those red carpets and Christmas gowns. I go crazy during festive seasons because women spend a lot on glamorous and embellished gowns.

I have a few celebs I’m making dresses for so you’ll be seeing a lot of Julien Macdonald gowns on the red carpets of London so keep your eyes out for that one!