Aroundtown MEETS
a photo shoot by the next morning. “I didn’t have anything like the
dress they described, but I lied and said I had just the thing - I wasn’t about to let the door shut that early. But it was 4.45pm, the fabric merchant closed at 5pm and I didn’t even have enough money to cover the rent never mind pay for fabric with a price tag longer than my phone number. “I spent my last few pennies
on the fabric and stayed up all night making this beautiful gown. Off I went at 8am sharp to the publication’s office to be told by the deputy editor they’d managed to source vintage Dior instead. I knew I couldn’t compete with that.” Emotionally, financially and
physically drained, Debbie summoned the true Yorkshire grit from within and demanded to speak to the Editor-in-Chief and explain her story. Like the fictional Miranda Priestly, they retorted ‘Do you even know who she is?’ “She eventually came down
and I asked her to at least look at what I’d made. She unzipped the garment bag with her nose
‘‘Debbie started making finale pieces for big fashion houses... her designs were being shown in Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Elle, Glamour and Hello’’
upturned like I’d handed her a steaming bag of dog poop but said it was alright. “Then she turned to me and
said, ‘Can I offer you some advice? Stop now because with your northern accent and figure, you’ll never work in the luxury industry or be the face of a brand.’” At six-foot-tall, Debbie had
always been a larger than life character but the cruel words got to her. After walking out with her head held high, she crumbled on the phone to her mum who told her to come back home. While debating her next steps,
Debbie received a phone call from a familiar cold voice the next morning asking her to bring eight dresses to the showroom which they may or may not use over the forthcoming six months. With only eight dresses in her
lifeline of a collection, Debbie had neither the time nor money to create another eight samples but she decided to go for it. Her risk paid off and four of the dresses were used in the glossy pages of the magazine. “She said on the phone that she
saw of lot of herself in me. Perhaps it was my bravery and bolshiness at just 21. But I had the last laugh in the end. I saw her again some time later at a fashion show where she said she’d been wrong about me and that I should be grateful she gave me the incentive to try harder. “She then said she might even
wear one of my designs to her next event. Now I’ve never been a catty person but I said to her, ‘Oh,
darling. Surely a piece made by a Yorkshire girl would never be good enough for you,’ and walked off.” Debbie’s celebrity client list was
growing and she started making finale pieces for big fashion houses under non-disclosure contracts. Soon, her designs were being shown in Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Elle, Glamour and Hello. They also made their way
to the small screen, appearing on Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. Yet none of this work was under
her own brand. Following years of ghost
designing, Debbie decided it was time to do her own runway show and what better place than at the home of the A-listers in Hollywood. In 2009, Debbie launched
her debut collection as part of LA Fashion Week, with models walking poolside at the iconic Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard. This Grecian-inspired collection
of red-carpet wear captured the interest of a range of stars such as Katy Perry, Dita Von Teese and Kate Winslet.
‘‘My collection was called Noir, I was always dressed in black and with long black hair I’d been called the couture version of Morticia Addams. Plus I was a coal miner’s daughter’’
Back on home turf, she
was also invited to be a guest judge on season five of Britain’s Next Top Model where the contestants wore her gowns for an underwater shoot. While home from LA, it is here
that Debbie met her now-husband and embarked on a whirlwind romance that would inspire her future fashion standing as the world’s most expensive designer. “We got engaged really quickly
just ten days after meeting and my husband proposed to me with this black diamond ring. I’d never even heard of them before but he wanted to get me something that matched my quirky personality. “Black had become my
signature colour. My collection was called Noir, I was always dressed in black and with long black hair I’d been called the couture version of Morticia Addams. Plus I was a coal miner’s daughter.” A blonde bombshell once sang
that diamonds are a girl’s best friend and Debbie’s new sparkler sparked a fascination with these rare black diamonds that would become her muse and change her life overnight. Following a two-year sabbatical
to spend time with her husband and his two young daughters, Debbie was looking for ways to relaunch her career with a bang. She’d always tread in the well- heeled shadows of someone else’s shoes and so now was the time for her to rightfully claim her own recognition. Inspired by what lie wrapped
around her finger, Debbie came up with the idea of creating a black diamond dress as media exercise
aroundtownmagazine.co.uk 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
