Fashion moment with British designer Henry Holland

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - British designer Henry Holland, who first made a splash in the fashion world with his cheeky slogan t-shirts, says London Fashion Week is becoming ever more business-savvy, while retaining its creative edge.

Holland, 25, started his career as a style journalist for a teen magazine, but took a detour in design and now sells clothes across the world in London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo under the label House of Holland.

His clothes have become ever more innovative and luxurious, with his latest collection featuring purple tartan miniskirts and laced boots for women, delicate velvet slippers and long mohair cardigans for men.

He showcased the collection at his first solo show at London Fashion Week in February, where he sent his best friend and model-of-the-moment Agyness Deyn sashaying down the catwalk in a tartan wedding dress and antlers.

Holland was among the five designers this week to win the British Fashion Council's prestigious New Generation sponsorship for a catwalk show at London Fashion Week September 2008.

Sporting a purple jacket, skinny black jeans and a platinum blond quiff, he spoke to Reuters about his inspiration and business sense.

Q: How commercially viable is your brand?

A: When I graduated, I was a journalist, so when I decided to make the decision to do (fashion design) properly, I had to make sure that it worked for me money-wise because I had a mortgage and bills to pay. I wasn't going into it as a fashion student who had never known having a wage.

We started out with a really commercial product - slogan t-shirts, possibly the most commercial thing there is. So my stuff has always had to sell.

Q: Why do designers often showcase unwearable clothes on the catwalk?

A: It's more about projecting an image and it just works in unison with the more commercial pieces that you then do go on to sell.

In my collection for instance there is a piece -- the wedding dress -- that, if I were to make it, would cost 560 pounds ($1,098) to make. There was interest in it, but once you speak about prices it just doesn't seem viable to make, it's more about capturing the image.

Q: Now that you have New Generation sponsorship, you will get business advice for your brand. How important is that?

A: Being a fashion designer there is a lot of business stuff to do, and it is something that you are not really prepared for when you start out and that suddenly just hits you.

You need to know about figure forecasting, production costs, mark-ups and percentages. Previously there hasn't really been any (business) support and I think that is what stops a lot of people carrying on perhaps where they would have done.

Q: London fashion week has a reputation for being innovative but not commercially viable. Is this still the case?

A: New York is known for the business angle, commercial stuff but I think London has taken note of that over the past few years and … not only are they producing amazing creative talent that is making the world sit up and take notice, but they are also commercially viable.

Q: Which designer do you find most inspiring?

A: Oh my god, it's so hard, there are so many. I just think the new breed of London designers (are) really inspiring .... people like Giles and Christopher Kane and Gareth and Jonathon Saunders. They are the ones that, with their talent and creativity, have really brought the attention back to London which is helpful for us all.

Q: You designed and registered your own tartan for your show last February. Will it continue to be a feature of your brand?

A: Now that we have designed the tartan, it is our own family tartan and will be a recurring theme in and out of our collections as the seasons go along.

It's the same as slogans, I am sure they will come back in some way or another because we are trying to build up our trademarks.

Q: You are known for not taking fashion too seriously, and seeing it as an occasion to simply have some fun.

A: When it becomes a business there is an element of seriousness to it, but the actual reason why I am in it is because I love it, and I enjoy it and I have fun with it and I like the idea of playing dress-up with nice clothes.

Q: What are your ideas for the next season?

A: That would be telling...

(Editing by Paul Casciato)