Queen of the night
We meet British designer Jenny Packham, whose signature beaded eveningwear has been dazzling fashion-lovers in Moscow and beyond
From London to Moscow and every jet-set capital in between, Jenny Packham is on a roll. Described as one of the highlights of Russian Fashion Week, the British designer has wowed celebrities and fashion critics alike with her grown-up glamour
Words: Robina Dam
WHEN YOU HAVE A-list celebrities such as Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Hurley and Keira Knightley wearing your dresses, it’s inevitable that the spotlight falls on you.
Fashion designer Jenny Packham (left), whose signature style is intricately beaded, glamorous evening gowns, has largely been content to let her frocks do the talking during the past decade-anda-half of her career. But now the British designer – who has retained a relatively low profile among the general public, although her dresses are garnering a global following and she is well-regarded by fashion editors – is stepping out into the limelight. And what a stage call it was when she was invited to Los Angeles to receive the Hollywood Style Designer of the Year award by Movieline’s Hollywood Life magazine last October. It would be enough to make any designer hyperventilate with excitement. “When they called my name, my knees started shaking,” Packham recalls. “Normally I don’t have a fear of public speaking and am such a prepared person that I would have a speech, but on this occasion I didn’t.
I got up to get the award and saw Janet Jackson sitting in the front row and the cast of Desperate Housewives, which was slightly unreal.”
IT DEMONSTRATED HOW much of a recognised brand the Jenny Packham name has become since she launched her label in 1988 after graduating from St Martin’s College in London. As a fixture on the red carpet, the glamorous gowns have all made a statement and hence are adored by those who love to indulge in “performance” frocks. No wonder singers like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Anastacia – women who are confident in themselves – have snapped them up.
One of Packham’s designs even took on a starring role of its own when it featured in the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale. “I had worked with Lindy Hemming [costume designer for the past few Bond films] previously when we were asked to do a dress for Die Another Day. You can catch a glimpse of it on the screen for a moment before it falls in a puddle on the floor! But this time it was great to see how prominently the dress was used on the new Bond girl, Eva Green. When I saw the film at the cinema, I was delighted.”
As indeed you would be to find that not only did the bright tangerine full-length silk gown steal the scene, but that it was plastered on billboards across the country advertising the movie.
From Bond stars to bridal girls, the Packham line is in demand with sophisticated women with an eye for detail. In February last year, the first Jenny Packham bridal shop opened in London’s Belgravia with off-the-peg gowns starting at £1,200 and going up to the high thousands. “For us, the bridal business is huge. Within a year of opening the boutique, we doubled the business and it is still growing fast,” she states. A ready-to-wear boutique is planned for Mayfair later this summer.
Now, her international appeal is also growing exponentially. Despite looking and sounding like the quintessential English rose, Packham’s kudos with the global fash-pack has risen fast. Recently, Vogue.com called her the “first lady of partywear”.
She is one of a handful of British designers to show at Milan Fashion Week for the past few seasons, which ranks among the more prestigious vehicles of the style calender. So why not show at London Fashion Week? Packham gives a considered reply: “Milan is the best place to show an evening collection, which is the thrust of my work. And it’s also the one attended by the buyers for the Middle East, Far East and other international markets.”
TODAY, SHOPS AS far away as Hong Kong, Japan and Australia stock her clothes, but her business broke into another market when she was invited to show in Moscow.
“I was really impressed at how the Russian Fashion Week is run and the opportunities there,” says the designer, who will again show during Russian Fashion Week in late March to early April. “The parties that are thrown there are quite something else. I went to one where Bananarama were flown over for the event, with Boy George DJ-ing and a boxing room with bikini-clad models pretending to box!”
With the stratospheric disposable income of Moscow’s elite, it is no surprise that Jenny Packham dresses are hanging off the rails of a handful of exclusive stores (such as Podium, Vesna and Mercury) but that’s not the only reason the designer has a soft spot for the city. “Moscow has a real ‘big city’ feel and I’ve been to some amazing over-the-top restaurants there but I also love the architectural design of the place.”
For all the razzmatazz that has been a part of Packham’s life of late, the elegant 41-year-old remains resolutely down-to-earth. This is partly due to her family commitments as she and Mathew (her husband and business partner) have two young daughters – Georgia, 13, and nine-year-old Isabella – which is why she deliberately keeps her studio in Kensal Rise, north London, so that it is close to home. “Of course I work hard but then the time I have with the children is totally concentrated on them. And the good thing about having two daughters is that you can involve them in your work. Imagine if you’re a little girl and your mother’s work involves clothes and dressing up.”
Instead of the businesses of old that tended to be Joe Bloggs and Sons, will we in due course see Packham and Daughters? The proud mother gives a throaty chuckle: “Who knows? I won’t push them into it, but if they choose to go into this then that would be fun.”
Jenny Packham Bride, 75 Elizabeth Street, London SW1; +44 (0)20 7730 2264; www.jennypackham.com
Photography: Chris Dunlop. Stylist: Deborah Brett. Jewellery: Erikson Beamon. Shoes: Emmy for Jenny Packham.
