Tell me about your new bags.
“We had bags before, but that came from working on the catwalk collection and wanting to finish off a silhouette. This time we’re much more strategic about it, making sure that everything is functional and every detail is taken care of. They’re very architectural. Some are more structured, some are softer.”
Does one of the pouches have the chain of a men’s wristwatch as a handle?
“Yes, so when I got my OBE…”
Excuse me, sorry, I didn’t catch that?
“When I got my OBE…”
What’s that?
“When I got my OBE…”
Oh, yes, when you got your OBE!
“… My husband bought me a watch, and I love masculine watches, and I loved the bracelet detail. So, when we were creating this pouch – which is a status thing – I thought it would be great to have something quite masculine on the bag. This watch chain detail feels like that.”
How would you wear the disc-shaped bag?
“It’s a cute little bag that you can wear on your shoulder, or in your hand, or you do a cross-body. I was just desiring a new bag that I couldn’t find anywhere else.”
What was the first brand bag you ever bought?
“Do you know, it was probably a Fendi Baguette. I had a few Baguettes back in the day, in the ‘90s.”
Do you still have them?
“No, I did a sale years ago where I got rid of everything and donated all the money to the Red Cross.”
“No, I did a sale years ago where I got rid of everything and donated all the money to the Red Cross.”
That’s how you lost all your bodycon dresses…
“Well, it was a lot of money for charity.”
“Well, it was a lot of money for charity.”
I just can’t believe you got rid of all your Hervé Leger dresses.
“Yeah, I did.”
And now you have nothing to wear in Miami…
“That’s why I’ve made this VB body!”
Right, let’s talk about your new knitted bodysuit.
“I don’t know if you’d call it a bodysuit or a leotard or a catsuit, but it’s an all-in-one knit piece, which is great for winter. We’re layering it with this green gabardine dress and this really nice coat, which is slightly oversized and a little bit cocoon-shaped, which you see through some of the outerwear pieces this season.”
Would you wear this bodysuit on its own?
“Not on its own, but I would wear it with a dress over the top. I would wear it with a skirt over the top. We’ve been doing polo-neck bodies for a while, and they’re great layering pieces. They really can finish off an outfit and make it very considered. With this knitted one, you’d absolutely put a dress over the top.”
Is there a similar styling sensibility to your sequinned dresses?
“Yes, we’re taking the sequins and creating cut-out shapes of the sequins, and then layering them with organza, which makes it more interesting and more modern, exposing some of the sequins but also showing the seaming details of the organza as well. It’s a windowpane effect.”
It’s such an intricate way of putting together what essentially becomes one dress.
“This is a silhouette that’s very much recognisable for us as a brand, but then you look at it and you don’t quite know what it is. You’ve got cut-out and layering details… They feel sexy. Dresses are where I started. As a woman, I want to wear a sexy tight dress again. I wanna wear sequins.”
Don’t we all, Victoria.
“There’s no reason why you can’t, Anders.”
What put you in the mood for sequins?
“I always love sequins, but it’s about finding a new, fresh way of doing sequins by either putting the organza over the top or layering knit over the top. She’s a little bit of a Bond girl. You know in Goldfinger when she’s dipped in gold? The idea is that she literally looks like she’s been dipped in sequins. It feels modern because of how we’ve layered it: she’s got the onesie underneath, then the sequinned dress, and then another layer of fine knit over the top. It’s like filtering the sequins, which makes them feel younger and cooler. It’s a refined superhero sequin.”
Superhero?
“I think the girl this season looks like a superhero on a mission. The video director we worked with does music videos, so I took it back to my original roots and wanted something with energy, something that was cinematic, and something that did not feel like a fashion film, but really showed the fashion. She literally has what looks like go-faster stripes down the side. It’s empowering. It’s strong. There’s a sportiness to it, which is perfect for you.”
Perfect for you…
“Perfect for me. There’s a real energy about it.”
And it’s full steam ahead on the monogram you debuted last for pre-fall?
“We wanted to continue it this season, because we’re launching the bags. We have a knit monogram one-piece worn with a trench and a bag. What I like about it is that it feels like a print. If you’re going to create a monogram you want it to stick around for a long time, and now, I really feel that it looks perfect. It’s subtle. It looks like a print. We’ve put it on denim, too.”
There’s something quite subversive about a denim-on-denim, monogram-on-monogram outfit.
“You get it. Maybe you can try that.”
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