Aroundtown MEETS


From


Despite its flawless facade, a diamond starts life as a piece of coal that transforms under time and pressure into the glittering end result.


And just like the jewel that


propelled her lustrous fashion career, Mexborough-born Debbie Wingham used the stress, adversity and knockbacks she faced to remodel herself from an undervalued diamond in the rough into a polished and priceless designer to the stars. Holding the crown as the


world’s most expensive couturier and cake artist, 36-year-old Debbie has become a notable name in the luxury sector, using millions upon millions of pounds worth of jewels in her designs. But while her journey to a


sparkling career hasn’t always run smoothly, she has never let anyone along the way dull her shine or break her. The daughter of a coal miner,


Debbie grew up in the South Yorkshire town of Mexborough where she had her first taste for


diamonds to


she excelled artistically at school rather than academically and so became very focused on a creative career. Aged 18, she followed her


fashion as a young girl. When most children would have


been playing dress-up with dolls, Debbie was designing real-life outfits at just eight-years-old. Debbie picked up the basics


while watching her mum, a skilled self-taught seamstress, sew. Inspired by what could be fashioned from a piece of fabric, Debbie would spend hours drawing her own designs in the hope that mum would make them. “She’d always say no, you can


try and do it yourself. She still has some of those early drawings now; proper Debbie Wingham Vintage,” Debbie says. As an 11-year-old first year at


Mexborough Academy, Debbie began making clothes for the sixth formers. She’d also help out in the school’s wardrobe department for drama productions. Having dyslexia, Debbie found


dreams to London, the land of inspiration and opportunity. Moving from a laid-back life in Mexborough to the capital’s diverse and chaotic streets, Debbie knew her only hope of launching a clothing empire was in one of the iconic fashion capitals of the world. Choosing to by-pass studying,


Debbie jumped stilettos-first into the working world, making quirky women’s wear which she sold on the cool markets of Portobello Road, Greenwich and Spitalfields. “It certainly wasn’t glamorous


in those early days. I was hustling really and teaching myself new skills while out in the field. Admittedly I made lots of mistakes but I took them all as lessons that I’ve never forgotten.” After a few years of trading on


the markets, Debbie was fed up of standing out in the cold for long hours and so teamed up with other


designers to open a collaborative boutique in Hoxton, East London. They moved to the West


London shopping district of King’s Road in Chelsea where chance saw a socialite stop by one day – a day that would become a turning point for Debbie. “The girl was admiring a top


and skirt that she liked and asked me if I could make her a specific dress. I said, ‘If you’re paying I can make you whatever you want.’ “Little did I know that she was


going to wear it to the BAFTAs. My friend called the next day telling me to check the papers; journalists were calling her the best dressed of the night and questioning who this mystery designer was.” This was back in 2005 and


a 21-year-old Debbie had spent three years trying to find her feet and make a name for herself. As her first proper dress, the


publicity and critical acclaim helped Debbie realise her forte lie in red-carpet wear, switching up her signature style. They say the more cuts a


diamond takes the brighter it sparkles and for Debbie, she had to keep bouncing back stronger from the many rejections she faced. Not long after the BAFTA


dress, Debbie had her first real ‘Devil Wears Prada’ experience that almost made her pack up her sewing machine and move back up north. After spending months trying to


get her name known by magazine editors and journalists, Debbie eventually received a phone call one evening requesting a dress for


4 aroundtownmagazine.co.uk


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