Celia Bernado (better known as Celia B) is the epitome of a ray of sunshine. Immediately after greeting her for our interview, I realised that the fashion designer is as bubbly, warm and eclectic as her clothing designs, which take dopamine dressing to new heights.
"My personal style, it's fun, eclectic and colourful," she tells me as we chat over coffee at Riding House Cafe in Fitzrovia, "And it defines not only my role in the fashion industry but my way of living. It's a total reflection of my values and the way I want to see the world."
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Unsurprisingly, her "day-to-day go-to look always has lots of detail, colours and textures because that's what I love doing". But her pyjamas? grey and grey only.
"A fun fact that people don't know is that I always sleep in grey pyjamas. It's interesting because my wardrobe is super colourful and full of frills, but, for sleeping it's like I need to recharge or reset. And also all my underwear is black. Those are my only concessions to neutral when nobody sees me."
Celia shared a week's worth of outfits, her tips for styling patterns and how she creates a memorable evening look. Trust me you don't want to miss this...
What This Fashion Insider Wears In A Week:
Day One - Paris
To kick off days full of appointments and encounters in Paris, I decided to wear one of my favourite dresses of our AW23, the Escarlatta Dress with matching tights and the printed trench I wore this vintage bag from the 1970s that I found in a second-hand market in Benidorm and Valentino red boots
Day Two - Paris
A busy day in Paris, this time I decided to wear sneakers as I wanted to walk a lot around the city. I'm wearing our dress in a special edition that we did in white paired with the matching Belo sweater.
Day Three - Paris
This was another day of meetings and walking some considerable distances too. I was wearing our Bronze Dress With our Belo jacket.
Day 4 - Brussels
A day wandering around Brussels, I love visiting museums and vintage markets here - it's one of my favourite European cities. I wore our Bruno Pants with a solid Angora knit from Zara, our Carmesi coat and purple sneakers from Veja.
Day 5 - London
This day I was in London for a very special meeting. I am wearing a matching dress and trench coat featuring beautiful prints by Poppy Birkby, paired with Jacquemus boots.
The Fashion Insider low-down:
What are your go-to brands?
I always wear my own brand, but if not, I will wear vintage. I'm a huge fan of vintage fashion and I loved Sonia Rykiel when she was alive and the collections that she was doing. I also invest in shoes - I love shoes. I love Marni accessories and JW Anderson as well for bags.
Do you have any fashion icons or inspirations that influence your style choices?
I have more style eras than style icons, like the seventies for instance. I love watching seventies movies and music videos. I love designers that work with greens like Zandra Rhodes and I get inspired by their work for my work.
How do you balance comfort with style?
The way I balance comfort is with trainers. These days I think it is super important to keep feet comfortable and there are lots of beautiful pairs out there right now.
What is your weekday wardrobe like? And how is it different from your weekend wardrobe?
Because I work in fashion, my weekday wardrobe is wearing my own clothes. When I go to the studio, there are always people coming in and I like them to see the collections on me. I take care of the accessories I wear and the clothes I wear and it's not an effort for me, because I have a lot of fun doing it. But on weekends, if I go outside for a hike, I might wear something outdoorsy, but still colourful and still from my brand because we have a range of clothing styles.
What are your must-have accessories?
I love accessories, in fact, I started out as an accessory designer. I always travel with nice charms and nice statement earrings - I love them. Bags are super important as well as shoes and hats. I sometimes travel with a hat carrier, especially when I used to go to Miami for Art Basel. Accessories are part of the whole styling so I couldn’t choose just one. It depends on the outfit and on the mood but I will for sure wear accessories.
How do you stay up to date with fashion trends and how do you incorporate them into your wardrobe if you do?
I think as a creative person, it's impossible not to be in tune with the trends - it’s what we do. We have a radar and we absorb what's going on. I've been doing this for a long time now. so for me, travelling is super important, going to exhibitions, seeing people in the streets and seeing what's out there. I also trust myself, and what I feel like wearing when I have to design a new collection.
It's like, “What haven't I done yet?, what do I feel like wearing what is not in my wardrobe yet?" Of course I look at Instagram, but I try not to do that a lot because then we can end up doing the same kind of things. So it's more trusting my feelings about what I want to create and look for.
Can you share some of your styling tips for mixing and matching pieces?
I've been evolving a lot in the past few years. Before I used to mix and match everything and be super experimental no matter what.
Now with age, I feel that one good thing is to have a statement piece, like for instance, sequin pants with the fringe at the bottom and then a cashmere sweater in a solid colour. Or a plain white shirt with a super colourful skirt. And the thing is, when I wear one of my own dresses, the styling is done. I only need to choose shoes.
So I think it's quite easy for me, but I think you just need one statement piece, then wear it with basics.
What's your strategy for creating memorable looks for evening parties?
For me, it's about the fun and the drama. I imagine myself having a blast in a dress that when you wear it, you become the best version of yourself.
This was what I hope my dresses do with people. They put you in a mood that allows you to have a lot of fun to be extroverted, to enjoy yourself and feel super comfortable in your skin.