Chapters In My Life: Amanda Wakeley

“I left school at 18 and moved to America. I realised that further studies weren’t my thing and I just wanted to get out into the world, be a grown-up and be independent. Uni wasn’t taken for granted back then as a rite of passage, but I guess I went to the uni of life. Initially, I moved to Florida – it’s such a Brit thing to do, moving to an English-speaking country in the sun! I fell into modelling there and that took me to New York where I ended up for a couple of years, doing a bit of modelling but also working in and around the fashion industry for an incredible designer and retailer called Henry Lehr. His collections really influenced me and still do. He had one line called Surplus which was brilliant – he and his team would come over to the UK to go through all the army shops and were doing wonderful Japanese-style combat pants and shirts, and all those oversized pieces from the 80s. They then evolved the concept into a sand-washed silk that was all garment dyed – so you got these gorgeous, super-soft army surplus-inspired shirts, parkas and combat pants. They’d recolour the collection every season – every piece just felt delicious to the hand, looked fantastic on the body, and it was a great way of dressing. Gosh, I wish I still had some of those pieces now!

“The early to mid-80s was a phenomenally exciting time to be in the garment district in New York. Henry Lehr had buyers coming from all over the world and, though I started off working for them as a model, I didn’t keep my mouth shut. Being English, I was considered quite quaint and they were always asking for my opinion and how I was putting on the clothes. So that is how I ended up doing some of the sales, which I loved. In fact, as a teenager in Cheshire I had worked in a men’s designer clothing boutique during the holidays, and I just loved the whole process of finding out what people needed and then finding the right thing for their look. Nothing has changed!”

“I loved New York. The club scene was so inspiring – there was a downtown one in particular, called Area, which was pure theatre as well as great DJ sets. Living and breathing that was an incredible experience. However, a husband brought me back to the UK! I did get married quite young and it took me a long while to settle back here. I had got used to New York where everything was fast moving and positive, everything got done so quickly and seamlessly, nothing was a problem. Moving back was an eye opener for me but I soon saw that the pace of London was actually a kinder one to live at.

“I had always made clothes for myself from a young age because the high street wasn’t what it is now. I did a lot of walking around second-hand shops, buying things and customising them, as well as making clothes for myself and my friends. I used to get stopped in places like Browns on South Molton Street and asked where I had got my black floor-length duster coat from. This happened quite a few times. I soon realised there was a gap in the market for the kind of clothing being designed by the Ralphs, the Donnas and Calvins which were all on the cusp of coming to the UK – that lovely, clean yet glamorous aesthetic that I loved and had evolved in my own way. That is what inspired me to do a little collection of my favourite pieces and sell them to friends and friends of friends to order. I quickly realised there was a demand for it and that I needed to start properly, which I did in 1990. I wish I could say I had a massive business plan, but I did what I did because I had a passion for beautiful things. I got a loan of £20k from my father and I had to be very, very careful with that, hence the whole made-to-order approach of the business to start with, so there was no huge capital outlay.”

“I had a teeny design studio in Ifield Road in Chelsea. In fact, it was a little flat, not an official studio, but it had a lovely feel to it and that is where my customers came. I first met Princess Diana in 1992. I was introduced to her by Anna Harvey who was the deputy editor at British Vogue and Diana’s stylist. She used to visit me in my design studio and the first outfit I made for her was a beautifully cut midnight-blue crepe skirt suit. It was double breasted and, as I’ve never been a huge fan of buttons, it had invisible ones with a hand-made seed pearl tassel as the fastener. She was great fun to dress and I made so many dresses for her; she was very easy and enjoyed my style. I wouldn’t say we were good friends but, whenever we met, be it at the gym or at appointments, she was incredibly warm and friendly – there were never any airs and graces.”

“I have dressed some incredible women through the ages: Diana, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta Jones... It was wonderful to see so many of the big actresses choosing to wear my clothes on the red carpet, but this was often done via a stylist rather than one on one. However, it’s also wonderful to see a woman in the store who is a bit lost about her style and then comes out of the fitting room walking a bit taller, shoulders back, with a bit of extra confidence. So you have the two – incredibly iconic women like Diana and the Hollywood stars all the way through to one of us who is just looking to evolve her style and use clothes I have designed to empower her. It doesn’t have to be a sharp-shouldered suit to empower you either; it’s all about feeling good in that moment.”

“I have always felt very, very passionate about signature staples that should just slot into most of our wardrobes. Of course, if you are a fashionista and your whole life is about getting dressed, it’s different. But 99.9% of women actually want to look great, know their own style and get on with their lives. So I perfected the perfect pant, for example – the wide leg, the flare, the peg. Finding perfect pants is like finding perfect jeans, the perfect lipstick or nail polish. They are all quite hard to find, so once you’ve found them it’s really bloody annoying when they discontinue them. Other signature items include the perfect blazer in the perfect shape for you, whether it’s a boyfriend or a lovely nipped-in blazer in a beautiful cloth that holds its shape with a little bit of give but without being thick with lycra; the perfect white shirt that has been exquisitely designed; the perfect black rollneck cashmere sweater – those are your friends in your wardrobe. Fashion has a horrible way of saying, ‘That is so last season so it’s not relevant’, but that is absolute rubbish and never more so than now. That is why I came up with the phrase Signature Wakeley Wardrobe, because I didn’t want those items to be relegated just because they were designed last year, or indeed three years ago.”