UNITED KINGDOM: Julien Macdonald unveils his 'taste of the Orient' Spring/Summer collection

Record ID: 863018

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Julien Macdonald unveils his 'taste of the Orient' Spring/Summer collection
  • Date: 19th September 2011
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 4th October 2011 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVABNDWZU9ZV4WJWKVMHJGN0XJYI
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  • Story Text: Models took to the catwalk on Saturday (September 17) in an intimate setting showcasing British designer Julien Macdonald's new Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
    The Welsh-born designer fused 'old and new' at his London Fashion Week show and said he was inspired by the luxury boats in Monte Carlo, Cannes and St Tropez.
    Macdonald said the collection was a 'taste of the Orient' with bold blue and white designs and embellished evening and cocktail dresses.
    "So it's a taste of the Orient, a taste of spice, the exotic, hence the blue and white print, which is inspired, it's a very old Japanese wood print of the ocean, and then from the ocean came clashing dragons and fish jumping out of the sea,'' he said in between being congratulated for his designs by celebrities like Bianca Jagger.
    Macdonald is known for his luxury designs which sell for hundreds of U.S dollars, and despite the economic slowdown in the euro zone, his fashion eye is firmly fixed on China.
    "We're alll in a recession but China isn't, China is booming. The new money is in China, every designer in the world wants to break into China and to the Orient," said the designer who was awarded an OBE from Britain's Queen Elizabeth in 2006.
    The British designer who has also been a judge on TV show Britain's Next Top Model usually unveils his collections to an audience of more than 400 people, often in luxury and elaborate venues. But this season he chose to turn more than 500 people away from his show, and only invite a carefully selected crowd.
    "This...the collection is exclusive, it's very expensive only the richest people in the world can ever afford to buy it, and so I just invited the best. I said no to 550 very upset people," he said.
    Clothing from the collection is expected to go on sale around the world in luxury department stores in Saudi Arabia, Russia, and South Korea.
    Macdonald is among dozens of designers who will be unveiling their new collections at London Fashion week, which runs in the British capital until September 21.
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