London-based designer Todd Lynn has opened up about the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton in an interview with HELLO! Fashion. "She is every designer’s dream," he told us of the royal. "She’s a clothes horse – everything looks great on her."
He would, however, like to update Kate’s wardrobe. "She’s such a boost to the Royal Family but I do wish she would take more chances," he said. "She could be a bit younger and more hip. The press would forgive her for a few mistakes, but she would get so many other things right if she took more chances. "If I had it my way, I’d get her into something a bit rock’n’roll and give her a hair cut!"
Todd's handbag collection for Debenhams is modelled by Leah Weller
The Canada-born designer has a successful clothing range at Debenhams and he recently unveiled an exclusive bag range for the high street range - modelled by Paul Weller's daughter Leah. Talking to HELLO! Fashion, he revealed that moving from ready-to-wear to bags was a learning curve. "I realised that you have to tick three boxes when it comes to a bag – it needs to have quality, it needs to have function and it needs to look good," he said. "I think I’ve managed to do that with this range. What I love the most is how well made they are – they’re all leather. You don’t really get that on the high street."
Speaking about his decision to base his brand in London, he said: “In London you’re allowed to be what you want – and that’s brilliant. "My product, and what I do, it doesn’t fit a cookie cutter mould, but London has allowed me to do that. This city thrives on its creativity."
He also revealed that he has a good relationship with the other London-based designers. "We’re all friends here. I’ll be in Paris looking at fabrics and I’ll go out for dinner with Erdem and his team, or I’ll ring Richard Nicoll about a factory... We don’t see each other all the time but we all have time for each other."
The Todd Lynn/Edition handbag collection is available at Debenhams from 29th September, with prices ranging from £75 to £175.