HOL LY FUL TON
CREATED BY AMBER JACKSON
H O L F U L W R IT TEN BY A N DER S
LY T O N I’M V ERY M UCH A N OP T I M IST
CHR ISTIAN MADSEN
H o l l y F u l t o n’s s t u d i o looks exactly like her collections. A fabulous composition of alluring objects, some of them of an Art Deco nature; ot hers Pop A r t-y a nd charmingly odd. Such is the world of the 33-yea r-old Scot t ish d e si g ne r, w ho not m a ny seasons ago stunned L o n d o n F a s h i o n We e k with her animated and highly modern take on good old-fashioned g la mou r. “I have a lot of objects around me. It ’s p a r t o f t h e w a y I l ive, just l i ke I ca n’t imagine not putting on jewellery and lipstick e v e r y d ay. T h e s e t h i n g s make you feel nice, w h a t e v e r y o u’r e d o i n g . If I ever got lazy about getting dressed up, that wou ld b e a bad sig n,” Holly Fulton says, her red lip-shaped earrings poking out from her b o u n c i n g b l ow- d r y.
“If I ever got lazy about getting dressed up, that would be a bad sign”
I t ’s r a t h e r a n e x c i t i n g time for Fulton. With 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 AW b a s e d on the passionate love affair between Coco Chanel and The Duke o f We s t m i n s t e r , s h e is putting the final touches to her 2012 SS effort: a collection, which has above all been influenced by the new man in her life. “I have a n e w l ov e r s o I’m re a l l y vibrant and fun at the m o m e n t . I t ’s n i c e . A n d it does change how you w o r k , i n a g o o d w a y ,” she smiles, batting her e yelashes. Its more a personal approach for F u l t o n , w h o ’s a l r e a d y made a reputation for herself quoting the f a s h i o n ’s p e r h a p s m o s t awesome references in her press releases.
big Scottish country castle. These were supposedly the happiest d a y s o f C o c o C h a n e l ’s life, because she was in love and got to dress in m e n ’s c l o t h e s a n d l i v e a different life. There are so many classic things in CHANEL, so I thought it would be interesting to reinterpret her through that story instead. The affair ended up being expressed quite literally in the lip print, f o r i n s t a n c e ,” F u l t o n explains. Labelled ‘triumphant’ by critics, the collection merged hand-woven Scottish t w e e d s w i t h C h a n e l ’s iconic silhouette within the Art Deco universe t h a t ’s b e c o m e a Fulton trademark.
“The inspiration for 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2 AW c a m e about when I went on a fishing trip around the D u k e o f We s t m i n s t e r ’s
Tr a d e m a r k s a re p e r h a p s the most vital part of F u l t o n’s s u c c e s s . W i t h just six show seasons b e h i nd he r, s he h a s
managed to create a signature so strong you almost knew it before you knew Fulton. she says. Raised in Edinburgh in a family of “avid collectors of e ve r y t h i n g ”, Fu lt on earned a BA in Fashion from the Edinburgh C ol lege of A r t i n 19 9 9. She went on to work on L A N V I N ’s a c c e s s o r i e s team in Paris for some time before launching her own label and eventually taking it to L o n d o n F a s h i o n We e k . A f a n of V E R SAC E a nd MOSCHINO, Fulton k nows her prints. She draws her own prints by hand; a time-consuming part of the design process, but nonetheless the part she finds most e n j o y a b l e . Ye t i t ’s h e r all-encompassing feel of l a d y l i k e g l a mou r, which has made Fulton one of the biggest stars on the London fashion
scene. “Someone told me I was the Scottish R O B E R T O C AVA L L I . T h e n t h e y a s k e d , ‘A r e you a lright with that?’ I w a s l i k e , ‘ Ye s ! ’ I w a s a b s olutely del ig hte d ,” s h e e x c l a i m s . “ I ’m v e r y much an optimist, and I ’m a v e r y h a p p y p e r s o n . Our work is important but I also think it should be a bit tonguei n- c he ek ,” Fu lton s ay s . When it comes to her p e r s o n a l i t y, s h e ’s a s much fun as you’d hope she’d be looking at her collections. When it comes to her l o o k s , s h e ’s e v e r y b i t the dazzling power lady her work portrays. We a r i n g a d r e s s c o v e r e d in lips and bright red l i p s t i c k , i t ’s e v e i d e n t what sort of lady Fulton admires. “Jeanne More au”, s he s ay s . “I f I could be anyone I’d b e Je a n ne More au .”
“I feel lucky to be where I am. Everything is going quite well”
No t s o s u r p r i s i n g l y, the reference for her 2 011 S S c o l l e c t i on was nothing less than ‘Joan Collins goes on a c r u i s e .’ “I s ay no t o most celebrities who want to borrow dresses but I’d love to dress the women of the older generation, such as Joan Collins or Angelica Huston. Someone u ne x p e c t e d ”, Fu lt on says. As for the woman she d e si g n s for, Fu lton s ay s t h e r e ’s n o t h i n g b e t t e r than diversity: “I have a love for women, and I love nothing more than seeing my work on a variety of women as opposed to just myself a n d t h e m o d e l s .” It ’s namely this philosop hy, w h i c h m a k e s F u l ton a fashion industry treasure. “I’ve got a CHANEL suit, which I bought from a charity shop in Edinburgh for £10 0. I fou nd it a nd it
“If I could be anyone I’d be Jeanne Moreau.”
fits like a glove. When I wear that suit people actua lly treat me differe nt l y, a l m o s t w i t h m o r e respect. That suit makes me fe el s o g l a morou s ,” Fulton says, and looks u p : “ T h a t ’s e x a c t l y h o w I want women to feel when they put on somet h i n g I ’ve m a d e .”
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