Designing coveted bridal wear and ready-to-wear collections for her eponymous label, Alice Temperley MBE is a fashion force going from strength to strength.
Effortless glamour is one of the best ways of describing the printed and embroidered pieces at Temperley London, which fuse a bohemian aesthetic and artisan techniques with a contemporary attitude. Defined by a striking colour palette, mannish, relaxed tailoring breaks up the overtly feminine offering of wear forever pieces.
Somerset-born, London-based, Alice Temperley founded her eponymous label in 2000 and quickly established herself as the first port of call for exquisitely embellished eveningwear and dresses, peppered with her signature Victoriana, silver-screen influences. Marching to the beat of her own colourful and eclectic drum, the confidence of her modern-bohemian aesthetic has paid off, taking the fashion industry by storm, one market at a time. Well-known for her beautiful fabrics, vintage aesthetic, and hand-finishes, together with a squad of glamorous muses, including Caroline Issa, Laura Bailey, and Arizona Muse, Alice has garnered a loyal following, including the Royal family, for both her high-wattage eveningwear, and sharp tailoring.
We caught up with Alice in Paris to understand how art can inspire fashion, together with learning about the struggles she has faced as the fashion industry has changed through time.
When did you first discover fashion and glamour?
When I was a child we didn’t have a television until I was about 11, and so at that stage I discovered black and white movies, becoming obsessed with the romantic Fred and Ginger film noir style. I used to watch a lot of them, and no one could understand my fascination with black and white movies, but I could just sit and stare, pretending I was in them, looking into another world that I just found amazing. I guess that now I still design dresses for a fantasy world that you can export yourself into.
If you weren’t a designer what would you be?
A photographer, and a painter. They are still about creating image and escapism, but for the lifestyle I would be a painter, and I still expect to be a painter in the future.
As a fashion designer, do you have a style maxim?
Masculine, feminine. You should never be overdressed, you can always be underdressed, so I never like to have anything perfect and matching. You should never look too done.
How would you describe your own personal style?
I would describe it as quite classic, and timeless, yet still eclectic. I like ultra-feminine, but mixed with boyish touches.
When you aren’t wearing your own label, who is your go to designer?
I am just about to go and buy some McQueen show boots, that I just haven’t been able stop thinking about. On the whole I always wear my own brand, apart from vintage pieces and then dungarees for when I’m painting on the weekend, buying just accessories and shoes from friends who are designers. I don’t really wear anything else, as I feel that if I were to wear another designer then it seems like I am failing.
Whose effortless style do you admire and why?
I have a lot of muses who wear Temperley, such as Caroline Issa, who I have been working with this season, as she styled my show. I am inspired by the women around me, and a lot of the girls I dress such as Arizona Muse and Olga Kurylenko. Then of course I get further inspiration if I am dressing my team and my mother.
Who is the Temperley woman?
She is somebody who I guess doesn’t feel like she should fit in and wear items that are really trend related. The Temperley woman has her own sense of identity, and is looking for investment pieces that can transcend seasons. It is creating something that is our own language, and then whoever wears it makes it their own. I want the pieces to be forever pieces, as so much love, work and energy goes into each garment, so I would love them to be passed down through generations, and worn over and over.
How has fashion changed since you started in 2000?
I was so naïve when I started, and was doing it because I loved it and I liked making things. Now the business side of things and structure of the collections and deliveries becomes paramount. So much is about the logistics, production, and delivery, which makes up 80 percent of the business.
How has your brand evolved?
The brand is still very true to its original identity, with the spirit of the brand still exactly the same. The business and product however have become more polished. I have grown up with the business, as have my muses. At the beginning, it was an idea and a spirit, and the same energy and spirit is still there, but it takes many years to build a good team with the right people who have the same shared vision, which is what we have now achieved.
Do you find the speed of fashion challenging as demand increases for the number of collections and ranges a year?
What we were doing was four collections a year, and then my diffusion line, and then other consulting projects that I was personally doing, and this was understandably a huge work load. So now we have changed the focus to just the one collection, Temperley London, with no diffusion line. This has given us one label for the brand, together with the bridal department, allowing us to offer less in the collections, but more focus.
What are the hardest parts of this business that you have faced?
The pace of it, and the fact that there is never any downtime. Especially because you need to keep it up, as you are only as good as your last show.
How do you feel social media has impacted the fashion industry?
It is taking over. I think it is great to be able to reach people, and a fantastic way of being able to buy things. It can be terrifying, but it is an amazing way of telling a story. It is incredibly powerful, and I find this hard because of the amount of coverage you will get from a show straightaway, when you don’t yet have the product available to buy, which is a shame following the hype that can surround them.
What keeps you inspired and driven?
Beautiful things, pleasing my eye.
Can you share with us the secret to your success?
The energy of the people around me, and staying true to the brand, beating our own drum. We do things in a different way, but remain consistent with it. It has been having a sense of identity, so people understand the brand, knowing what it is about, and recognising it.
What is your ultimate luxury?
Time away with my family without gadgets. It is being remote and switching off.
Does art inspire your designs?
Yes, of course. I am a trained printer, studying at the Royal College of Art, and did seven years of printing, so this is very much a part of my designs. I don’t like a lot of contemporary art, but I really prefer pieces when you can appreciate the skill of the masters and the incredible techniques they had. I also really like deco and elements of different eras. I have always loved lithographs and prints rather than paintings, as the process of layering colours and the cleanliness of it really appeals to me, whereas I find watercolours too wishy washy and old fashioned.
Do you have a favourite piece of art, and what does it mean to you?
My personal collection is very eclectic, but it is mainly British artists. I have a lot of vintage advertising posters, like my Toulouse- Lautrec ‘Job’ print, which is so classic and makes me feel like I am in a French brasserie. You feel that you can step back in time with them. Then there is a painting by the sculptor Anish Kapoor, and I recently found a photo of him painting it with my son Fox, who was two at the time. Fox put a paintbrush in his mouth and Anish lent over to him and moved his head as my son painted. It was Fox’s first painting, but Anish signed it and made me promise to never, ever sell it.
Growing to now be a global brand, how has this affected the design process as you have to cater to different countries and cultures?
Funnily enough Japan is our number two bridal market, and we create some bespoke, key looks for them. Then we are successful in the Middle East, which I think is because we always tend to have a sleeve, which I find far more elegant on women, no matter what their age is. Going into the Asian market we are cutting shorter, mini lengths, and smaller proportions for them.
You have visited Dubai many times, what do you like about the city?
I love the desert and riding the horses out in Dubai. I also enjoy seeing the appetite that the women out there have for what they wear, and their passion for fashion.
How do you feel your brand fits in the region?
Because there is an occasion to wear it, and the colour, cut and weight of the fabrics used. We actually shot our summer campaign out in Dubai, with the kaftans fitting perfectly with the setting.
What has been a standout moment in your career?
Receiving my MBE from the Queen, and my first fashion show, when I was so naïve and new to the world of fashion.
Can you share with us the best piece of advice you have been given, and live by?
To listen to yourself, and your own intuition, and stick by it.
By Eliza Scarborough
