She has dressed some of the most high-profile women in the world and now Kiwi-born Emilia Wickstead is heading to Dunedin. Jude Hathaway reports.
Talented young Kiwi-born, London-based designer Emilia Wickstead is causing a stir of anticipation in the Dunedin fashion community prior to her visit this week as the international guest of iD Dunedin Fashion Week.
Wickstead will show garments from her 2016 spring/summer collection on the Dunedin Railway Station runway on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19. She will also join the judging panel for the iD International Emerging Designer Awards.
The young designer joins past iD fashion luminaries who have brought their exciting fashion aesthetics to the event. These include Zandra Rhodes, Stephen Jones, Akira Isogawa, Lutz Huelle, Martin Grant and last year's queen of vintage, Doris Raymond.
It is Wickstead's first visit to Dunedin.
Hers is a fast-rising star in the high-altitude realms of European fashion, her aesthetic attracting a broad clientele. Along with a swag of British celebrities, she has dressed Samantha Cameron, wife of the British prime minister.
But her most notable client is the Duchess of Cambridge, who has worn a number of Emilia Wickstead-designed garments in recent years, including on her and Prince William's visit to New Zealand in 2014.
Described as hard-working and ambitious, Wickstead's love of fashion began as a child. The daughter of Angela Wickstead, who ran a successful bespoke dressmaking business in Auckland for many years, Emilia's work ethic began developing when she regularly visited her mother's workroom after school.
At age 14 she moved with her mother to Milan where, in Italy's fashion capital, she decided to make fashion a career. As she told Vogue writer Sarah Mower, her mother was adamant that she also study business.
So began her studies in fashion design and marketing at Central Saint Martins, in London.
''The course is great because you have a year out in the industry. In that time I went to Proenza Schoular, Narciso Rodriguez and American Vogue. After that, it was to Giorgio Armani for three months. I came out wanting to design and sell what women want to wear.''
Wickstead perceives fashion as an outlet for creativity.
''I could not really say why I love it so much, but what I do know is that it wakes me up in the morning and keeps me working late at night with an excitement and buzz to it. I cannot imagine doing anything else.''
In 2008, she began a made-to-measure business in London, helped by £5000 given by her boyfriend Daniel Gargiulo, to whom she is now married. The couple have two children, Amalia (3) and Gilberto (9 months).
She was 24 with a clear idea of how she wanted the business to develop.
''I was very aware that I was a young designer and didn't want to fall into the trap of mother-of-the-bride dressing and occasion wear,'' she explained to Sarah Mower, of vogue.co.uk.
''I wanted to make sure that girls my age were wearing it and that there was a cool factor in my clothes. I used to watch old Christian Dior films. I wanted that whole feeling for our presentations. I would show only for my clients, 30 to 40 looks, no press, showing them how to wear things, and then everyone would book their appointments.''
She is well-pleased with the results.
''We have a business model that has its point of difference and in an ever-growing incredibly talented group of British designers in London, I feel that this is so important.
''Our made-to-measure and made-to-order offerings have meant that we can already use our young brand heritage as our story. It is the first chapter of our venture and even though our business functions on our ready-to-wear collections, we offer in today's market a service that plays on the old world way of shopping and having garments either fitted to you or made in your own choice of colour and fabric. Our clients get a little bit of everything and we love that!''
Remembering her roots
Her big break came in 2010 when a pregnant Samantha Cameron wore an Emilia Wickstead dress on the day her husband became prime minister.
Yet another watershed moment came in February the following year when she created a 2011 spring/summer range that was her debut at London Fashion Week.
''It is our time to explore new levels and to receive exposure for the brand,'' she explained prior to the event.
Five years on, Emilia Wickstead's spring/summer 2016 collection is coming to Dunedin. It is described as youthful and playful, inspired by women of the 1950s.
Using fashion to express personalities, Wickstead creates a feast for the eyes and begins to show an extension to the modern woman's no-nonsense approach to life.
Inspired by George Cukor's 1939 film, The Women, the collection is as much a statement of defiance as a fresh take on sports apparel, with references to 1950s sportswear throughout.
The collection focuses on modern volume, florals and perfects the art of gathering. Sharp colours such as mustard and moody pink are contrasted with softer hues of apricot and pistachio.
''Elegance is innate when it comes to Emilia Wickstead. She brings a slice of that Carolina Herrera New York sophistication to London, but keeps it entirely in-keeping with her own blend of modern romance,'' said Jessica Bumpus, for vogue.co.uk, of the collection.
Her work has been described as ''very British'' which prompted Zoe Walker, of the New Zealand Herald's Viva magazine, to ask her to define British style.
''High-brow, heritage and ladylike are three words that spring to mind. I definitely think that my work can sit perfectly next to this description yet what gives my work a home of its own is that it mixes traditional with contemporary.
''Contemporary for me is about being fashion-forward and evolving as a designer; never keeping to one definition or someone's description, but keeping people guessing while staying true to what the Emilia Wickstead customer wants to wear.''
But her New Zealand heritage has also played a role.
''I am very passionate about where I am from, New Zealand is home to me. I truly believe that my work ethic comes from New Zealand and the culture/lifestyle I have been lucky enough to grow up being a part of.
''I gained so much confidence growing up in Auckland in my surroundings and also had instilled in me from a young age that working hard and being able to achieve anything was always going to be possible.''
Wickstead is brought to iD by sponsor airline Air New Zealand and Dunedin International Airport.
The shows
• Tickets to the Friday and Saturday Dunedin Railway Station iD shows can be purchased at TicketDirect venues (including the Regent Theatre, Dunedin) or online at: www.ticketdirect.co.nz.
