Julien Macdonald has dressed some of the biggest names in show business, from Miley Cyrus to Naomi Campbell. As he launches a new swimwear range for Matalan, the 43-year-old took time out to chat to HELLO! Online, revealing which celebrities were his favourites to style, as well as sharing some of his best fashion tips for the summer. “I love the summer!’ he said.
“I always go away to fabulous places, and see the glamorous women on the beach. I design for them, for this type of aspirational woman”.
“I do my collaborations with Melissa Odabash so that’s when I got into swimwear,” he adds. “What’s difficult is designing for the price – I’m used to doing really expensive clothes so you have to have a different way of thinking!”
Beyoncé is one of my favourite celebrities...
I always love dressing her, I think she’s amazing. She looked amazing in that Givenchy dress at the Met Gala. I think she gets it right with the public – she remains a secret and you always want to know more. She controls her image completely.
I’d love to dress Kate Middleton...
What I like about her is how she mixes designer and high street, and supports a lot of British designers. She hasn’t worn my designs yet but I’m sure I’ll get the chance to do something for her. When I do, it will cause a stir, but in a good way – I want her to look chic and glamorous.
Kim Kardashian has changed the way women think about their bodies...
I’ve dressed her a few times, and I love her style. I think she’s really liberated women in terms of their body shape. Now, it’s okay to show your bum – in fact, having a bit of shape is in fashion. A lot of my friends have told me they want bum implants. It’s not about the boobs anymore, it's all about the bum.
I’ve been dressing Katy Perry quite a bit recently...
I had a really good hit at the BRITS because I got to dress Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J. It was so exciting to have three of the biggest stars at the awards! Luckily, they didn’t mind – a lot of the time, people care about who else you’re dressing.
This summer, don’t try and mix everything at once...
Look for one statement piece and work around that. You don’t need to do big hair if you’ve got a fantastic printed kaftan, otherwise it’s too much. Sometimes it’s nice to keep it quite relaxed with a hippy vibe, because then you can afford to do more things with fashion.
You can’t go wrong with a maxi dress or kaftan...
It’s an effortless and glamorous look. They’re great to wear with flat sandals or bejewelled shoes. I think they’re such a cool way to do glamour.
Be daring...
I’ve been dressing Miley Cyrus quite a lot recently – she’s definitely daring! She’s very much out there. When I dressed Millie Mackintosh for the TV BAFTAs, she chose a dress out of her comfort zone. “It’s risky,” she told me. “But I love it, my husband loves it.” When I design, I do anything plain. If I do attempt plain clothes, I always make them slashed or cut out.
