I saw a fashion show, on style TV, the other evening, featuring a range of Alice Temperley designs and instantly fell in love with her work. Her ultra-feminine designs and romantic flair appeal to my sense of fashion.
Alice Temperley was born on 22nd July 1975; she grew up in Somerset on her parent’s cider farm before moving to London to study. She graduated from the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins before setting up her company “Temperley London”. She launched her fashion label “Temperley London” in 2000, along with her then boyfriend, now husband, Lars Bennigsen.
She cleverly crafted a niche for herself in the fashion industry with her attention to detail; focusing on beautiful fabrics and hand-finishes. She was hailed as “the designer making the biggest waves in British Fashion” by “American Vogue”.
Her designs, for me, are effortlessly elegant, creating a long-lean silhouette – with a side of goddess glamour!
“Temperley” produces four collections a year: Autumn/winter, Cruise, Spring/Summer, and Pre-fall. They have four stand-alone boutiques in London, New York, LA and Dubai. Their designs are also sold in 300 stores, in 37 different countries. They also ship items world-wide, yes even to South Africa – who knows I could be wearing an “Temperley London” design to my brother’s wedding in December! Well – maybe not, as the dresses start at around £800 pounds – it’s ok to dream!
For those of us with a smaller budget, the company launched a sister range called “Alice” in 2010. This more affordable, easy-to-wear range, inspired by the London girl of the moment, already has an international following. For a look at the current collection, go to “Alice by Temperley”.
Alice Temperley has also written and published a book called “True British” which catalogues the past ten years, which she has spent building the “Temperley brand”. The book includes mood-boards, detailing the colours and fabrics used to create the designs, along with pictures of the finished items. In the book she has also combined snippets of her personal life, along with the evolution of her fashion brand.
All the designs I have featured, in this post, are from the “Temperley London” Spring/ Summer 2012 collection. You can see more of the collection on the “Temperley London” website.