Welcome to Style DNA, the podcast I created to uncover the
lives behind the looks of your favorite well known faces and
help unveil their style DNA. As a designer, I've always been
inspired by the premise that wearing the right pieces should
make you feel the best version of yourself, gorgeous and
confident, and that these pieces should be designed and crafted
for longevity. I'm delighted to share that this
episode is supported by Karen Millen, a brand that has a 42
year legacy in the world of fashion.
Their commitment to affordable luxury and making investment
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Whether you're searching for a timeless winter coat that will
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karenmillan.com, head over to my Instagram for a link to a
special treat for listeners. Today, I'm going on a sartorial
journey with Melissa odebash MBE.
Entering the swimwear industry as a model, Melissa launched her
eponymous label in 1999. She's credited with introducing
high fashion into resort wear, with her swimwear being quickly
described by Vogue as the Ferraris of the bikini world.
Her first collection was created with chic, solid colored
bikinis, however this soon expanded into beachwear, often
inspired by her mother's 1970s crochet pieces before developing
and growing into the collections that we know today.
Her collections are distributed in over 65 countries and
throughout 600 luxury department stores, boutiques and resorts,
including her own online web store and two stand alone stores
in London. Melissa is passionate about
supporting her philanthropic ventures including Fashion
Targets, Breast Cancer, The Prince's Trust, Kids Co, Chiva
and has partnered with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
In 2015, Melissa launched her debut mastectomy line with the
Future Dreams breast cancer charity, and she continues to
support, partner and champion their 'cause whenever she can.
Hello. And welcome, How lovely to have
you here, Melissa. Nice to be here.
Oh, we last met up at the spa at the lake.
Yes, we were actually paddle boarding, right?
And we were, I have to say, you saved my bacon because the
concept or the thought of paddle boarding or doing stand up yoga
or. There was photographer videoing
us too. That was a bit with a drone
overhead in a bikini. I thought, I'm, I think I might
cancel. And then you arrive with this
glorious zip front long sleeve khaki, the perfect one piece.
Basically covers everything. So it's not so intimidating.
I loved it. I mean you.
Were like cold water plunge afterwards you were like the
Bond girl that you are. And I really cannot thank you
enough. But those those were genius.
Those pieces. Therefore, the new cold water
plunge. Idea or surfers or paddle
boarding. And also you don't have to put
some luck on all day. And I love the idea that I've
got my arms a bit covered. So that was just perfect.
We must have known each other for at least 20 of decades.
To the two, let's say 2020 years, should we just, I think
we both were starting at the same time.
I started a little earlier. Again, a little earlier, yeah.
But I was living in Rome before, so yeah, exactly.
And the industry's changed a lot.
Do you think for the better? Some things for the better, some
things especially for people starting out, I think it's it's
for the better in the sense that you can promote things for free
because of Instagram, everything is free.
You can launch, you know, any brand without having to pay for
an advertisement in a magazine. But then there's the drawback.
Sometimes there's this new generation so used to instant
satisfaction, so. They think all of a sudden they
get so many followers so that their brand is so well known,
but it can also finish that quickly.
So it's it's it's got its plus and minuses, and the whole
catwalk world has changed dramatically.
Dramatically. And actually yesterday I did a
show in Miami for Sports Illustrated.
They got some of the old supermodels.
They're 6364, Carol Alt and I. They wore my swimwear on the
runway and they looked. Amazing, which you would never
have seen 6 year old women back on the runway.
You know, 10 years ago. I That makes my heart sing,
because I love the fact that our generation is much more
represented now than it. And also different body shapes.
Everyone's accepted. There's no such thing as like
models anymore. I kind of feel like everyone's
inclusive, you know, it's about embrace your body, which is
great, like everyone should embrace the body.
No more body. Shaming imagery and all of that.
I personally, in my business, I love curvy women.
I wish I had curves. I always found curves.
The Raquel Welsh's, the Sophie Lorenz.
For me, that's woman that's sexy.
That's everything. I, you know, not all of us get
curves, but I always, always, it's like my favorite type of
model would be a woman with curves.
Well, it's interesting. I mean we both started out in
the modeling world and that gave us the opportunity to try on an
awful lot of clothes or bikinis or what whatever and gives gave
us the opportunity to really feel when something was well cut
or not or what made us feel good.
And what what I love about what you do is, is it was very much
how I approached designing. Designing was I just wanted to
elevate the woman I wanted. I I wanted to feel the best
version of me and my woman, to feel the best version.
Well, I was also besides modeling, I also was a fit model
for Prada for all the because I lived in room.
So I was working in Milan, so I was working for all the brands
and my proportions were I guess the sample proportions.
So I would stand on like a platform for hours while they
pinned me. So it was like a good learning
lesson. Italians do the best fabrics,
you can't beat them and it's so. And it's all about the fit.
At the end of the day you can come up with the funkiest
designs but if they don't fit to the body.
So that's how I slowly, slowly learned about what's good
quality fabric and it's but it's more sustainable to pay a little
bit more but get the best of the best quality that will last for
years. So it's about, you know, I've
for me, I've been sustainable for 20 something years because
the product lasts. I've always loved the fabrics
that you use. I love fabrics, but for me your
fabrics do put the body in the right place, which the swimwear
is pretty fundamental. Fundamental completely.
But I also use my outer fabric which is high end like super on
the inside. So my lining is the same as the
outside. So because you know, I believe
that if I believe in something that lasts, like if you're going
to. Pay a lot of money for my
swimwear. I want it to last 10 years, 20
years. I still wear swimsuits of mine
that were 20 years ago. There's the plus that, OK, maybe
people don't rebuy one because it lasts so long, but at the
same time it's sustainable. Now there's been a lot of
controversy with man made fibers.
How are you approaching that in terms of your?
Capability, so I took. As much plastic as I can out of
the company. No more, no plastic hangers.
Everything is recyclable, recyclable plastic.
All our bottles, we've gotten rid of every kind of plastic.
My I do a sustainable swimwear line, which is from recyclable
bottles and all my factories now recycle the water, recycle like
it's a whole different system. I mean, then you can only get so
far because they're not as tech savvy and the swimwear business
because. Some fabrics are made out of
corn, which will disintegrate in the water, so you have to be,
yeah. So you know you can only do so
much, but I'm trying to go as you know as as much as the
fabric companies are advanced then I'm just following right
behind them and for every purchase I do online I pull
thousands of plastic bottles out of the ocean.
So so like I'm trying to do a a circle of.
You know, sustainability by taking plastic out of the
oceans. Coming and coming back to sort
of preparing for this interview, I found myself reflecting on my
first bikini experience. And it will make you laugh
actually, because I was 14 years old and my parents had just
opened a bank account for me, given me a monthly allowance and
was and I was told strictly you make that last and we're not
topping it up. And I had been invited on a
family holiday with a a great friend to Mayorco.
It was my first time to the Mediterranean and I thought it
made a lot of spent sense to spend my entire month's
allowance on one French bikini that I would wear 24/7 for seven
days. I think you're absolutely right.
You you already were in fashion at the age of 14, but you grew
up with four siblings, 55 siblings. 54 girls and a boy.
And what's funny, I probably had swimmer engraved to me because
my parents probably couldn't handle having five kids.
So they went away every year to Saint Martin, which is in the
Caribbean. And they went to the French side
of the island. And every year when they came
back, after probably a month later, we all got a bikini.
I don't know why, but we all got like skimpy, skimpy, tiny
bikinis that were French. You know, I'm from New Jersey,
OK? There's no such thing as they
don't even know where France is, OK?
French bikinis and they were like beaded on the hips, metal
like insane pile of Perla style. Back in the day, bikinis.
And I remember my mother, you know, never putting tops on us.
I'm like, when we're from New Jersey, like put our tops on, we
can't just go around. We're not in Saint Martin.
We're at the Jersey Shore like put our top, being mortified,
not wearing a top. Probably half my pictures I have
as a child. I'm just wearing like little
French bikinis. So maybe.
My mother was totally into fashion, loved it.
She, you know, she stayed home. She was a housewife for us five
kids. But she sewed, she crocheted,
she made stained glass window. She was completely art like into
art and very artistic. So I just, I don't know.
I think it just was embedded in me as a young kid bikinis and
just got into it. What?
What a great story. I know that you've done this
incredible mastectomy line, which I think is just awesome
because I think, you know, in swimwear we're just so we're at
our most vulnerable, most vulnerable.
And then if you've had a mastectomy, Art, so tell me a
little bit. About us not having a
mastectomy. How, How insecure we are already
going to the beach, Whether you're a supermodel.
We all as a woman, we're all insecure.
I don't know why, but we're always so like, Oh no, my legs
my this. I mean, I've heard everything.
And I went to a charity event for women who have been through
breast cancer and of course cried the whole entire lunch.
And then future dreams approached me and they said,
would I do something with them? And my sister had breast cancer,
and there's no breast cancer in my family.
And she's fine, thank God She caught it on time.
So I said, why don't we do a mastectomy swimwear line?
And I'll donate everything to the charity.
And we, I had old women who have been through bus guns come to
the office and they were not embarrassed.
They tried on all because, you know, it's a learning lesson.
It's completely different who has scores here?
Who has scores there? They need it higher, higher
under the arms to hide the scars.
And it sold really well. So, you know, we have five
years. I've been doing it now.
So we're working on the next collection and hopefully.
It goes well and and I hope one day it's not not needed anymore
that they find a cure for it. But you know, it's for me.
It's all about what you give back, yeah.
And it's all about like even the doctors said to me, you know,
it's funny, I know it's a materialistic thing.
But when women find out they've had breast cancer, the second
question is, will anyone notice a difference when I go to on on
family holidays? Oh, so it is it, you know,
retail therapy I think is always good.
You know, and if it makes you, brings you back your confidence
because you know I have special pads for your for your
prosthetic that you put inside the pockets, you know, so no one
notices and it's you feel good. It's all about making women feel
good. Yeah.
And for a good cause?
Brilliant. Well, today we're going on a
style journey. Great your style journey.
So how did you decide what to wear when coming here today?
I actually had four meetings today so it was pretty.
I have a standard I always I have like 17 white suits.
I've always loved. I think you do too.
I've always I think everyone looks good in a white suit or
white Blazers or cream. So I have got many.
So it's like my go to when I don't have a lot of time and
just grab my cream blazer. I'm wearing white jeans.
I don't know if you could see below cream blazer, white
blazer. Every time I have meetings or
black blazer, it's like simple I think there's like core pieces
everyone, every woman should have in their closets.
Navy blazer, white blazer, black blazer.
So you're quite a uniform person.
Uniform for that, Yes. Easy.
I like.
Easy, fast, I don't. I like.
I do my own hair. I cut my own hair.
I'm like. I don't have the patience.
Oh, fantastically low maintenance.
Low maintenance. Don't ask my husband to probably
say I'm high maintenance, but I am low maintenance.
Oh, boys just don't understand it.
I loved when I spoke to Anya Heinmark.
She was saying, I think women should get paid more because
we've got blow dryers and manicures and it just costs more
being a woman and I. Completely, completely.
Now with this podcast, I always ask what's your earliest
sartorial memory? But I I wonder whether that's
your French bikinis on the I probably.
Say French bikinis, but I don't know if you remember, but it was
like, you mean like an error where you went totally wrong.
Oh my God, I'll tell you what, I already know it so well.
Do you remember? I think it was like Capezio
Pants, but the crotch was like to the knee and they were shaped
like that, but then the crotch came way down.
That was big mistake. But I have a sartorial.
When I started my swimwear line, it was when wonder bra came out.
I don't know if anyone remembers it, but it's it used to lift
your boobs up. Amazing.
So I thought. And I was living in Rome with
all the beautiful, gorgeous Italian men, and I thought,
well, you can't go around all day.
That's the way I was thinking, with boobs.
And then you get to the beach and you have no more boobs.
So the guy you're with is going to be like, I don't know if I'm
allowed to say boobs on this, but you know, let's say boobs.
It's all about boobs anyway. So anyway, you can't.
Like, it didn't make sense to me.
So I said I'm going to create a wonder bra but in a swimsuit so
that you could continue having the same boobs you had during
the day when you're on the beach.
But what happened was it was like when padding for swimwear
just came out and it absorbed all the water when you went
inside the the ocean. And I remember watching girls
coming out and it was like squirting everywhere out of
their swimsuits and then just like deflating on them and.
And that was just a lesson I learned in my business early on,
not to be repeated. Not to be repeated.
Do you remember the first time you put something on that you it
just elevated you? You just felt different or
you've really didn't like it. Probably when I put on one of
Julian's couture dresses. I'd say like not until then.
Oh no, I've had so many like I used to collect.
Vintage Levi's So I'd say. I'd say my Levi's always was my
major thing because it lifted your butt.
It was all like I was like a pro on five O1 jeans.
Like it had to have the perfect fit.
So I probably say my first Well, there's a few.
I don't know. I have so many I couldn't even
place one. My first fry boots thought it
was the coolest thing. Satin jacket after Saturday
Night Fever came out. Thought it was the coolest
thing. Like, I'm from New Jersey, so
these things are like major they were important.
Like major. Soon as Saturday Night Fever
came out, I was like, mom, I want the satin blue jacket with
the star on the back. You know, I have so many I
wouldn't even know where to start.
I know you're someone who is passionate about design and you
really appreciate those tiny details, the cut and the
crafting. What ignited that passion in
you, do you think? I'd say probably.
I mean, I've always been like this, even as a kid I used to
always go into my friends houses and dress them, do their hair.
I love makeovers, I love it. I love taking someone changing.
I used to go into the bedrooms, redo their bedrooms even though
I haven't, not interiors, but just redo everything.
I think from my mother. She's such a like glamorous,
always was impeccably dressed, even with like 5 kids, and she
wasn't going anywhere. She woke up.
Her bathrobe matched, her slippers matched and then
perfect hair. She's never had a bad hair day
in her life. She just was always impeccably
dressed and just always had style.
She would wake me up when I was nine years old and start
watching Elsa clinch's what was it, CNN style?
And we would sit and watch all the European fashion shows and
as I sat there, I'd say, well that skirt is definitely too
long for her legs and I would just.
I don't know. I think it was like something
she got woman's wear deli everyday.
So I think, and I was the only child that was into it.
Everyone else ignored it. So me and my mom would just
watch it all the time. Did she have an opinion on your
sense of style? No, Never and didn't influence
it. No, never.
But she like, if I say, oh mom I'm looking for this white
T-shirt. She was like, I know which one
and she would get it for me and she would know exact like that
exact fit. She was very, I don't know, very
stylish. But your siblings are not
interested in fashion, no. Not at all fascinating.
Yep. Do you remember what you put on
for your first date with your husband?
Yeah, I do, because I still have the picture.
It wasn't even a date. I was meeting a friend who she
he happened to be with and I had a cheetah, I don't know Cheetah
printed shirt with leather jeans on.
I remember it perfectly. And do you still have it?
Maybe my kids have it now. I don't know.
Actually, I don't know where it is, but I remember it perfectly.
What did you wear to get married in?
One of my beach dresses. A knit beach dress to the like
one of my knit beach dresses. We want a beach.
I was in Palm Beach. Beautiful dad.
So you then wore at that again. Well, it worked straight to
dinner because it was like beach dress, but have you kept it and
worn it again? No, no.
Is it? Is it?
Sort of? I make so many collections every
year, I have to still keep keep up with whatever I design I wear
that year. Is it tucked away especially?
Yeah, I definitely have it tucked away somewhere.
I don't know where. Now I have to ask you this
because of the mother of two daughters, the mother of the
bride conundrum. I know we're not there yet, but
if one of them was getting married, say, this summer,
right? What do you think you would wear
to their wedding? Good question because I just
went to my niece's wedding in room and it was probably one of
the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to because the church
was a cathedral. It was just absolutely stunning.
And my sister-in-law wore the most stunning, like pink beaded,
stunning, Chinelli looking suit. She looked like so chic.
So I don't know, it's funny, I think of that sometimes when I'm
at other people's weddings. Like, what would I wear?
Probably a pantsuit, I don't know.
Something not to take away from my daughter.
I see you in a white tuxedo suit.
Totally, totally, totally my look.
I mean, you've worked in and around the fashion industry all
your life, but when do you feel you really discovered your
personal style DNA? Oh definitely.
When I was young, I was like, I mean, I used to like, you should
have seen me as a kid. I purposely would wear my
sweaters backwards to do something different.
In my high school. I bought boxing sneakers, high
top sneakers, but they were for boxers because no one's ever
seen high top sneakers. And I would wear them and my
whole school would make fun of me.
I I could care less. I was like, I'm going to stand
out. I'm going to be like, I don't
know, I just always did something weird, Always not
weird, because of course, two years later, the Jersey kids
were wearing their sweaters backwards.
But I would always do something that maybe I saw in New York
City, which to them was like a foreign country when you grow up
in New Jersey. And I was always sneaking out
and going to New York. So yeah, I would just pick up
trends in New York and then find it and bring it back to New
Jersey. But when did you refine that
into your well, I moved to Paris when I was 19, so probably when
I moved to Paris. And then, you know, I started
with the French accent where my parents came over, did the whole
clench thing and, you know, Mama and started, you know, copying
the French style. Then I moved to Milan and then I
did the whole Italian style, and then I moved to Rome.
I think from traveling you learn something everywhere you go.
My mother is very, also very traditional and preppy.
So, you know, like that never goes out of style for me, like
the Navy blazer, still the Navy blazer 50 years later.
So I'm tradition. Like I have my traditional style
that never goes out, but elegant, classy and sexy.
But with your sexy spin, I You have to have a sexy spin on it.
Always. You're an incredibly chic woman,
but what would you say? The secret is to staying stylish
as the years creep by? I feel like don't follow trends.
And I think a lot of people follow trends and get it totally
wrong because not everyone can wear what's in fashion at the
moment or it's not the right color for them.
I always liked classic. I always think even young girls,
even 20 year old girls when they wear one piece and it's not AG
string. And I find it 10 times sexier
than AG string on them, even if they have the perfect body and
they're 18 or 19 or whatever. So I always find that like
having a little bit of class, you know, and I think our role
model that they have, you know, Kate Middleton is a perfect role
model because she always looks beautiful and she's not flashy.
Like I don't believe in being so flashy sometimes.
Like I just think, you know, find your personal style, don't
follow the the trends sometimes because it'll be easier to get
dressed also and just find what gives you confidence.
That's really important. If someone was to describe your
style in three words, how would you want them to describe it?
Casual chic, I guess. And the third word.
Casual. Casual.
Timeless. It's pretty good, I think as
human beings where can be, and particularly in the fashion
world, a little bit guilty of judging people on their style
and the labels they wear and. Do you find yourself looking at
someone and and not not judging them but sort of working out who
they are by what they're wearing and their look?
I think we all do that. We've all guilty of looking at
someone and prejudging you know. But I think styles an individual
thing like I don't believe that you.
I don't believe you buy style because you know, I think you
can trust impeccably by High Street stores.
You don't need to have brands and wear brands to become
stylish. So it's all about how you put
together yourself. And also like I did this show
once with, I think it's how you carry yourself.
I grew up with. Like I had friends that you
know, maybe they weren't the best, you know, the most
beautiful, but they had so much confidence that made them 10
times more beautiful than the best looking girl in the school.
It's the how you carry yourself, how you walk into a room and
confidence for me is, is beauty. Like that's 10 times better than
having a logo shirt or it's the way you carry yourself.
So just, I just feel like this younger generation, you know,
are missing a bit of confidence because there's so much social
media in their faces 24/7 and they're comparing themselves
that I always say, just carry yourself like you're the best
person walking down the street and I promise you, everyone will
turn because it's the way you carry yourself.
Do your daughters listen to you? They fake like they don't.
But I know they do. Like, yes.
Yeah, I think they listen to me. Sometimes I'll come down in an
outfit. They're like, oh, that's so my
style. You just copied my style.
I'm like, no, I'm the older one, not you guys copying me.
Do they have quite an opinion on what you wear sometimes?
Oh, I'll ask them. We all kind of we're all the
same size and we all kind of dress similar, except for my
younger one who's still in the crop tops.
But yeah, but you're all quite similar in size.
You strike me as being as someone who's being in or who is
incredibly confident about yourself and your absolutely
style. I'm around naked young perky
girls all day if I'm not confident.
I don't know who could be. Who do you whose opinion do you
really trust? Who Who do you go to for an
opinion on whether you what what something looks like?
Probably my mother. I still would go to my mother
and say is this appropriate? And she'd say yes or no.
She's quite honest. And that's done, sort of on
FaceTime to just, Yep, lovely. She's in Palm Beach.
But I'd be like, yeah, Mom, does this look good?
Yeah, that's fine. These shoes, well, you know,
your feet will get uncomfortable.
So take an extra pair and yeah. That's a that's a lovely
relationship, yeah. Would you consider who would you
consider to be your style icon? Oh gosh, I have a fuse.
My mother, for sure. She was like, I've always been
up there. It's a hard one because I have a
few and they're, you know, it depends, like, if it's swim, I'd
say Rocco Walsh and Sophie Loren would be my favorite.
And Elle Macpherson, she's gorgeous.
I don't really have a style icon.
I'd find everywhere I travel I find something like in India.
I love the the, the, the sarongs or the sorries.
If I go to Morocco, I'm obsessed with the kaftans like so I
changed. I'm a Gemini.
I changed my mind SO11 year old like Oh my God, pink.
The next time I'm like, Oh my God, I love that pink.
So my brain's always. Going to sound like a true
Gemini. True Gemini Is age a
consideration on how you dress, do you think?
Yes and no. I I think times like you were
saying like it's so different today.
Like, so actually today in Delhi mill I just posted, there's an
article on should women over 50 wear bikinis or cover their
bellies or wear high waisted swimsuits.
And you know, they posted all Super Mario.
So today I purposely took out all the women that my clients
are over 50 and they look insane and they're over 50 and there's
nothing wrong. There is no right or wrong in
anyone's age. I mean, you go to Italy and the
grandmas are all in skimpy bikinis, so there's no right or
wrong about what's age appropriate.
Of course, some things, you know, some things I think maybe
my mother always told me after a certain age.
You never wear leather and you never wear high boots.
But that's. Very American, to have those
rules, yeah. She was like, never.
I never wear velvet after a or whatever.
Always we go to like, Bergdorf Goodman's.
And she was like, oh, that lady's wearing leather.
She shouldn't be wearing leather at her age.
So I think it was a little bit, you know, embedded in me like,
OK, certain things at certain ages you shouldn't wear.
But, you know, she's in her 80s and that's probably what her
mother told her. But I think today, especially
today, anything goes. Any tips though for the listener
to when you're buying swimwear, which is I find an incredibly
hard thing to do. More often than not, the
overhead lighting is just beyond grim.
No, it's hard. It ripples your body.
So you never lesson #1. Never try swimwear on with
lights overhead. Always should be behind the
mirror, the lighting 2 If you're a larger woman or you're more
curvy, don't go a size up because you think the the
swimsuit will cover more of your body.
When you're walking down the beach, skin is neutral.
You don't see skin, so if you buy a swimsuit like a size
bigger or you want to cover more you but you're only going to see
fabric so you're going to look double your size.
So I always say bite true to size tight fittings because
nappy bottoms are horrible. You don't want to have sagging
nappy bottoms. So that's another thing and find
something if you know, I have all these tricks like ruching on
the stomach of a swimsuit because it creates a more
hourglass body. It's it's it's not easy.
It's not easy finding what suits your body.
But you have to also think, you know, am I going to have self
tan? Am I going to be white?
Start with neutral colors, then go into the brighter as the
Tanner you get or. I always think that one of the
best times for me to buy swimwear is at the end of the
holiday. When you're a little bit brown
or when you're on holiday because you're in a good mood,
you're not in office shopping online, you're already there.
You've got your four day tan going, you've got the salt water
in your hair, you're feeling good.
And then I'll just hop into that little hotel store.
I'll hop into a beach Hut and and buy swimwear.
Yeah, it's funny, there was an article just recently about it.
If you buy swimwear when you're on holiday and I think it's a
good thing. I think it's a really good
thing. I mean, just swinging back to
age. Do you?
How do you feel about long hair as we get older?
Well, look at what's her name, Carmen.
There's so many ex supermodels that are in their 80s now, look
incredible, and they've got long hair.
As long as it's well cut, there's.
I mean, I'm all about long hair, so I love long hair.
And it's not like I remember my grandmother looked like a
grandmother when she was 40. So, you know, I don't know if
everyone else agrees, but when my grandmother was 40, I
remember always looked like a grandma.
Like today, it's different, you know, I don't believe it.
I don't know what it was, was their generation.
They have to chop your hair when you get to a certain age.
I know. And then look like a man.
Yeah, I just. And then they go and get the
rollers put in at the hairdresser.
It's it's different today, so. The blue rings, Yeah, yeah,
exactly. Sit under those blow dryers.
Do you have one piece of clothing that means the most to
you? Well, I have some old vintage
like crochet stuff that my mother, my mother had from when
she used to go to Saint Maarten and the Caribbean every year.
So I there was where the first my, I remember my mother saying
I came home and I was like, I'm going to be a swimwear designer.
They were so used to me being doing crazy things.
And she said, oh, well, I used to.
She showed me pictures of herself and she had crochet hot
shorts and I said I'm going to recreate those.
And that's how I started. I had an Italian lady who never
left her bed and she would crochet handmade crochet shorts
and dresses and skirts for me and that's was one of my first
pieces I made. So yes, it has sentimental
value. How lovely.
Let's talk about travel, something you do a lot of.
Are you very aware of your airport look, you being a well
known face, Not really that aware of my airport look.
Sometimes I get mortified when someone on Instagram was like,
oh, I didn't want to come up to you.
I was sitting three rows behind you and right away I'm like Oh
my God, what was I wearing? What was I wearing?
I definitely had play eye mask and earplugs in sometimes.
Now I, you know, it's my oh, I'm always cold.
So always a like a warm sweater and a scarf.
Always, regardless if it's summer.
Because the air conditioning in planes and I've learned, like to
put on sunblock now. But my airplane look is usually
always the same comfortable, comfortable Shoes Blazer
T-shirt. And it's your uniform.
It's my uniform. I have my uniform.
And it's a good one on the the Blazer front.
Who would? Whose Blazers do you
particularly love? You know anyone from oh God.
Like of course Tom Ford used to cut the best Blazers.
So you know, I still have his old Tom Ford fitted Blazers, but
Zara does amazing fitting Blazers.
There's so many Ralph Lauren I love old traditional ones.
Like trying to think of people that do amazing Blazers.
I don't know, because rag and bone.
I just buy them wherever I am. Whenever I'm like traveling.
It's the one I buy T-shirts. Very hard for me to find jeans
because I have very long legs. T-shirts, jeans in America and
blazes in Europe. I love the way you just threw
that in. I have very long legs.
Well, it's very hard, like you're tall like.
Me long legs? No, but like you're tall like
me, it's really hard to not have cold ankles because our the
jeans. They just don't think about tall
people when they design jeans. Which brand is your guilty
secret and why? For any product on my body, my
guilty secret would be I'd say jeans, because I buy jeans all
the time. And brand that you.
I like J brand is it called I like frame anything that does
extra long anything like that. So I remember my kids constantly
saying mommy really got to cover those ankles.
That's not a good look. I'm like, OK, you go find me
the. Jeans that Beautiful feet and
beautiful ankles. Yeah, but it's freezing in
London. Boots.
Boots that my mother tells me I shouldn't wear.
Boots. What's your High Street favor,
Zara? Money.
No Object. Brand if I had YSL.
And you mentioned earlier putting on a.
Julian McDonald Couture dress. Just just talk to me about that
moment. Julian.
I met many years ago and we became best friends overnight.
So lucky for me, I save a lot of money, call him up.
I'm his sample size and I'm like we most of the time.
Anyway, he's my, you know, he's my Walker to all these events or
I'm his Walker and I just call it like send me a dress and I
just don't even try it on. 5 minutes before he picks me up, I
put it on and it's off we go. Although one time he was sneaky
and I and he sent me a dress and he was like, Oh no, it's
perfect. It was green beaded.
He didn't tell me that the sides were naked.
So both sides of my body were completely naked.
But I I had five minutes to get dressed, so I had to wear it.
Or undressed. Or undressed, exactly.
Kind of put my arms down through through the sides, but it
worked. Love to see a picture of that
one? What, if anything, do you feel
you have an excessive amount of in your wardrobe?
Oh gosh, definitely White T-shirts.
And who do you go to for the
best white T-shirts? I like James Pierce.
I have to say like the Kite standard always like my go to
T-shirts when I need, you know, it's four colors.
So James Brios definitely does the best T-shirts.
Guilty secret. What's the most expensive item
of clothing that you've bought? You don't have to tell me the
price tag, but what was it? What was the most expensive
thing? Probably an Eve saint-laurent
coat. Can't really remember Eve
saint-laurent coat. I'm not a big I think, 'cause I
make clothes and I wear my own clothes, so I only basically
buy. So I got the dresses from
Julian, who wears samples, and then I buy, like, things that I
need for the day. I love shoes.
I like bags, but not like I'm not crazy.
Because you're in the industry, and this is so true to so many
people in the industry when we're not used to paying full
price for anything because you know someone, right, who works
at that brand or owns the brand. Do you Do you struggle with
going shopping and paying full price for something?
I don't know if I know it's going to last.
So if it's like a classic piece that I know, like I love balm on
Blazers too. If I if it's a classic that I
can wear all the time, I don't mind because I I believe that
it's better to have less pieces, but something that's going to
last than too many pieces that you're just going to throw away,
throw away or whatever give away after after a few months.
Have you ever justified a purchase with pounds per wear?
No, I haven't. No, not a good one.
Yeah, I I actually haven't because I I do wear pretty much
everything I own. I rotate it and I have two
daughters that are same size, so one of us is always wearing
something. I really share everything.
I don't care if they borrow my stuff.
You sound like the most Heavenly Mother.
You really do. It's just she with a with a
Heavenly Mother, I have to admit.
Honestly, how many pairs of shoes do you own?
I don't throw away shoes I don't like.
I give away some things that don't fit.
But the good thing, I used to live in, like I used to live in
Milan, so I used to go to the Prada outlets.
I mean there is the pluses of living in Italy and back then it
was lira. It wasn't even EUR or whatever
it is now. And so they were like 50 lira
back in the day. So I would just like, model, get
the money, get in the car with my other girlfriends and just
buy it. So a lot of my old Prada shoes I
used to keep because they were like the coolest.
And I still think some of those old stars are still so like
they're still in fashion. What was the question?
How many shoes do I have? I don't know.
Good answer. So it's swinging around to your
values. What's your approach to
sustainable fashion? I mean, I think we've possibly
answered that. And yeah, I think that we're all
moving forward and I totally want to become 100% sustainable.
But as a fashion designer, I'm not the one that decides that.
It's like the fabric companies that are offering me things have
to have the right fabrics to to make.
You know, you can't lose your whole core business over trying
out something that's sustainable because some things, I think the
word sustainability is not correct because some things that
are sustainable actually break apart.
So it's not sustainable to me. So sustainability is something
that is good quality, that lasts and never has to, you know, even
after 20 years, you can still wear it, something that's
sustainable from a, you know, and I think people use it too
easy, the word sustainable and it's not really sustainable.
So I make sure that even the factories are sustainable, like
all the way down the line and they're getting more and more
advanced, like from year to year.
They're getting so much better like solar panels on all my
fabric companies now. So it's I think in the next five
years we'll we'll be there, we'll be 100% sustainable
hopefully. What do you do with your clothes
when you've had enough of them? I give everything to my team.
I first got my children, but then they're a bit hoarders, so
I don't show them sometimes, and I give it to either.
Anyone that works with me, they can.
I just bring in bags constantly and then whatever they don't
want goes to the cleaners or I I give everything away.
You're going to have a line of people.
Oh no. I've had.
I just like, I've had like I just love like, you know what I
mean? Like it's.
I wanted to go to use. Do you ever buy vintage?
I love vintage. Where are your favorite horns
relic in London? I love even Portobello Market LA
has an amazing I'm trying to think of what it's called.
Do you remember what it was called?
Oh it was a very famous one in LA Also I have a house, I have a
house in Florida and I live near Palm Beach and West Palm Beach
has all the old amazing think about the ladies in slim
errands, photos, all their old clothes are in these amazing
vintage stores in West Palm Beach.
The jewelry, the old poochie dresses, I I just love it.
And Rome? Rome has amazing vintage stores.
I I think Vintage has now become.
Completely mainstream going into charity shops and it's.
I love it. Even now my children are totally
into charity shops. I made them both work at charity
shops and then every time they come down and like yesterday my
daughter was wearing a striped shirt and she was like 8 pounds
charity shop and I was like good on you.
But it's actually what ignited my passion.
You know, back as a kid going into charity shops and being
inspired and taking things home and remaking them.
I used to, yeah. I learned to sew.
I used to. I used to collect monkeys, not
dolls, and I used to sew all monkeys.
I was obsessed with monkeys. And I used.
Toy monkeys and I'd hang them all with their tails around my
bed. And just my mother got me Mr.
Jigs. He was a real monkey for my
birthday every year that would like do party tricks.
I don't know why. I don't know why.
Maybe one day I'll own a monkey. Did you Did you dress your
monkeys all the time? I knitted that.
My grandmother taught me to knit and I would knit all their
clothes and you want to know the funniest thing?
So I had a monkey, a stuffed monkey called Oka Baca.
I don't know why, but I named it when I was a child and someone
in my office, a lovely girl that works for me, gave it me a
monkey. She had it made with the name
across the chest for my birthday present this year.
Oh, how gorgeous. Because I was telling him the
story. How was my favorite monkey as a
kid? That a sweet present.
Really. Really love sentimental things
like that was really sweet. Do you get sentimental about
your clothes? No.
So materialistic, Anything material.
Just I could care less if like it gets stained or well, no.
But do you ever get nostalgic about something?
You know you're. No, no, no, anything
materialistic. Nothing.
Zero. It's all about as long as we're
all healthy, that's all that matters.
Yeah, it's the end of the day. Like, I think maybe because
maybe I make clothes and I know there'll be a next collection
the following year, but I don't. I've never been.
I've never worried about these things ever.
Like some women, just you're berserk, but no.
Yeah, Obsess. Let's turn to some quick fire
questions. Yes.
What advice would you give your 20 year old self?
Don't worry about anything. Like don't like, you know, as a
designer we never think. Like I never think.
My collection is 100% and I used to worry like Oh my God, is
anyone ever going to buy it? Oh my God, you know, it's
something like and I don't like it the minute I finish it, like
my brain doesn't work that way. I think like just I love what I
do. Like I love and you know, we're
both designers. Like when you wake up you have
that passion. But I think the worrying part
was ruining some of the design part because you're so insecure
if someone's going to buy it or if they're going to like it, or
is it my taste and not their taste?
So definitely less worrying. Which fashion trend would you
like to see make a comeback? My old vintage Levi's?
I want to remake them. What cut would they be?
Fiber ones, they have to have the button, not the zip.
Like I've got the whole thing down.
What fashionable beauty trend would you consign to Room 101?
Don't know what that means. Room 101 is just when you spin
you something, you know you just don't want it.
You don't ever want to see it again.
Room 101. OK, we've never heard that
before. Maybe it's an English thing.
What's fashion trend do I never want to say yet.
Beauty. But you know what?
That's funny. You say that because there's two
things I said to myself I would never wear in my life.
Bergen stocks and Uggs and I now own.
Both. I think I've seen you in both.
I now own both after I said I would never be seen in them.
So I'm never going to say I would never wear a trend because
look, it's two things I thought I would never wear, and I'm
wearing both because they're so comfortable.
Your last impulse buy. I just bought something.
So effective you can't remember I don't My last impulse buy.
I don't know what it was actually.
Don't worry your views on tattoos.
You know what I really don't like tattoos.
Nothing against him if that's your thing, but because I that's
like you know I work with models and it as a designer when the
model show up and they have too many tattoos for me it distracts
from my product I just designed. So I'm not that into tattoos and
I think when you get older and the wrinkles come in it changes
the design of your tattoo or the wording changes.
So not so sure about it. BG treatment you couldn't give
up. I love oxygen facials or hydro
facials. I think Sarah Chapman does
incredible facials. Ice bath.
Well, since me and you did our ice baths together and I'm off
to a spa on Thursday, I really think for stress and anxiety, I
really think that ice pass, the plunge, the ice plunge that we
did is amazing. And also they said that it's
good for me because I'm always cold, so I'm going to continue
doing up. Blow dry or manicure?
Oh, I don't ever get blow dries. Ever.
Oh. My God, the girl with the never
just hair, never sit in a chair. And we No, I couldn't do it.
I I I get asked more about how to blow dryer hair and curl it
than I do on my swimwear sometimes.
High End or High Street mix? Bling or bear?
I prefer bear. Minimalism or maximalism?
Both. Couture or Charity shop?
Both. Crocs.
Cute or puke Crocs? What was the second one?
Crocs. Are they cute or puke?
I'm not cute. Sneakers or Stilettos?
Both. Bags or shoes?
Shoes. Bodycon or Boho Bodycon?
Always. Sports Lux or Rock Chick?
Both. Colour or monochrome?
Both. Experimental or uniform?
Both. I have a lot of boats going on
here. Cashmere or cotton.
I prefer cotton. Shapewear or sexy lingerie or
shapewear. Tights or stockings?
What's the difference? Tights all the way up the waist.
Or stockings or hold UPS. Oh, because in America,
stockings are also all the way up.
Of course, yeah. So my most difference.
Well, I guess it depends if you're married or not, right?
Bikini or One Piece? Both.
Finally, one last question. At the end of the day, what do
you or don't you wear in bed? What do I wear?
Yes. Oh, I love men's boxer shorts
and tank tops. I find that or men's oversized
shirt 10 times sexier than lingerie.
Melissa, what a lovely, so much fun conversation.
Thank you. I don't know if anyone else
could see this amazing view, but it's like I'm trying not to be
distracted by the beautiful boats going by.
It's amazing. All the helicopters going
overhead now, the helicopters I didn't even notice.
But thank you, thank you, thank you for having me.