Madeleine Press
Fashion designer Madeleine Press doesn't play by the usual fashionista rules, preferring the quiet life in Chiswick to a fanfare of media hype. As Poppy Douglas discovers, that's the way Madeleine likes it
Above: A classic Madeleine Press design
If Madeleine Press doesn't instantly appear on your mental checklist of British fashion notables, it's simply because she is far too busy making her coveted luxury womenswear to shout about it from the rooftop of the design studio in Chiswick, where she works with husband Stuart, who is the label's business mastermind.
Certainly, famous faces such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Imbruglia, Rachel Weisz, Helena Bonham Carter, Jasmine Guinness and Cat Deeley have all been quietly wearing Madeleine's clothes for years, right under our noses. And the fashion press has been equally enthusiastic: Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director of the Telegraph, hailed the label as the 'secret weapon among the style cognoscenti' and an impressive number of clients come back to her season after season - apparently, those who form her core customer base even love to pop by the studio to try on clothes and see Madeleine at work.
'Some people always buy their coat from us, some buy key "capsule" pieces and some buy practically the entire collection,' smiles Madeleine, as she kindly gives me a sneak preview of her new Autumn/Winter 2008 collection, which is due to be revealed to the world at this month's London Fashion Week. It's immediately easy to see why customers are hooked: the tailoring is strong and elegant, the knitwear is fashionable but cosy and the dresses versatile enough to wear to either a business meeting or a wedding. And Madeleine Press fans can always count on Madeleine's signature sculptured silhouettes, which are the product of her interest in draping, pleating and buttons ('I have an obsession with buttons. They push a garment that little bit further.') Put simply, these clothes make you look really good. And there's excellent news for men: there's no need for them to feel left out as this year Madeleine is applying her knitwear flair to making men's fine-knit v-necks.
Madeleine, 36, always wanted to be a fashion designer. 'Ever since I can remember, I had a sewing machine. I suppose that was my equivalent of a TV. I'd just stay inside cheerfully making something or other.' After two years at the Canterbury College of Art she moved to Ravensbourne College of Design in London to take a degree. She eventually set up cult 1990's label Press & Bastyan with Tonia Bastyan, which was sold to Karen Millen in 1997 and rapidly transformed into a large-scale operation. Madeleine's heart wasn't in the new incarnation and she soon left to go solo. Meanwhile, Stuart and Madeleine, who had first met in Canterbury as youngsters and dated on and off, finally got together and married in 1999. Stuart, 42, a former Account Manager who ran his own website business in the early days of the Internet, joined Madeleine Press Ltd. In 2003 the couple opened a shop in Marylebone High Street, but that proved to be a distraction from the real creative work and didn't turn out to be as much fun as they had imagined. So now Madeleine is back doing what she enjoys most, designing desirable clothes that make her proud (she also flies to Japan several times a year to work as a consultant to the Japanese brand Manouqua).
Chiswick has been the personal and professional base for Madeleine and Stuart since they launched the business and set about building up the label, which now sells in boutiques and department stores worldwide - Barney's in New York regularly re-orders Madeleine's popular coats. Most of their spare time is spent in W4 with Ava, their two-year old daughter who is already a devout fan of her mother's skills, taking any toy she breaks or even torn magazines to her mother to 'sew up'. She also firmly believes that Mummy makes all her clothes, even when they come from Gap!
While Madeleine's clothes are mostly associated with a classic palette of mineral grey, black, cream and blue, her most extensive press coverage has come from the beautiful raspberry pink dress that Lily Allen wore in the video for her hit single Smile. The switchboard at the Madeleine Press studio promptly lit up like a Christmas tree as fashionistas desperately tried to get their mitts on the same frock. They were frankly taken aback.
'I don't do this for ego or fame,' explains Madeleine. 'I get so much more satisfaction from seeing a woman walking down the street in something that I've made.' But doesn't she want to rush up and declare her artistic interest? Stuart answers: 'We were on a train recently and a woman was obviously eyeing up Madeleine's outfit. When we finally went to get off, she eventually came up and asked us where it was from. Madeleine said: 'Madeleine Press' and then ran off. It was left to me to explain that she was actually the designer!'