Having designs

FEW overnight sensations actually happen overnight, but 24 hours was all it took to change Ann-Louise Roswald's life for ever. One day she was a fashion student at Central Saint Martin's College in London, and the next she was taking phone calls from Liberty, Kenzo and Versace.

Five years on, her collections of distinctive vibrant prints are available in Saks, Barney's and Bergdorf Goodman in the USA and Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges in the UK. Last month, she launched her only concession back home in the North, selling through Lynx in Harrogate.

Ann-Louise, right, of Scarborough, had an interest in fashion from an early age. Her mother studied dress-making at college, and both her parents ran a clog-making business.

"I used to make all my own clothes," she said. "I bought things from second-hand stores and customised them. You could say I started as I meant to go on, I suppose."

Her love of design eventually led her to Central Saint Martin's and that life-changing graduation show in 1998.

"My degree show was based on my travels in India," said Ann-Louise. "I spent a lot of time in Dharamsala, which is where the Dalai Lama lives. The clothes had layers of different prints, using sheepskin, devoree and silks that I had bought in India. The prints were inspired by the decorative architecture of the Tibetan people."

She was pleased with the collection but could not have predicted what would happen next. The reception was red hot.

"It was incredible," she said. "Even the press were kind, and I got great write-ups in Vogue, The Guardian, Drapers Record and the Independent. Then the next thing I knew Kenzo, Liberty and Versace were on the phone."

Ann-Louise decided to join forces with Liberty, which asked her to design an exclusive collection for the store under her own label. She admits to getting "a massive buzz" out of seeing her designs on sale in Liberty stores - a feeling she still gets to this day, whether her clothes are on the rails at Barney's in New York or Lynx in Harrogate.

"It's a really good feeling," she said. "I can honestly say the buzz is still as good."

Ann-Louise's design classics are all about the fabric. She creates her own prints, giving her clothes a distinctive signature look.

"My style has not really changed since my student days," she said, "but it has definitely developed as the company has grown."

Her designs have evolved as she has gained a clearer idea of who her customers are, what they like to wear and, more importantly from a business perspective, what they will buy.

"My customer dresses for herself rather than to look sexy or glamorous for other people," said Ann-Louise. "She buys clothes because she loves them.

"I don't design with a particular woman in mind. The nice thing about my clothes is that all shapes and sizes can wear them. I often hear women say 'I'll wear it and so will my mum'."

These days you can't switch on a television, flick through a magazine or turn to a newspaper style section without someone telling you what to wear and - usually more vociferously - what not to wear. But while we are undoubtedly well-informed, do modern women know what suits them, or are we just doing what we are told?

"I think that women now wear what they want to wear and what they feel comfortable in, rather than following major trends," said Ann-Louise. "They want to find something that is a little bit different and exclusive - not something that all their friends are going to be wearing."

When it comes to her fellow designers, she particularly admires the work of Dries Van Noten, Marc Jacobs and Givenchy (the original look, not the contemporary equivalent). She won't be drawn on which celebrities fail when it comes to fashion, but she is happy to shine the spotlight on those who get it right.

"I really admire the style of Kristin Scott-Thomas, Cameron Diaz and Kate Moss," she said. "They all have very different styles, but they all choose very well. They wear what suits them, not what someone tells them to."

The past five years have been a rollercoaster ride: fast, furious and occasionally scary. But Ann-Louise has loved every minute.

"It has been fantastic," she said. "I have got busier and busier, but that just means it's got better and better.

"I have a few more employees now than I did in the beginning and they are helping me to keep the business moving forward, growing one step at a time."

And what of the next five years: if we visit her again in 2008, where will she be?

"Hopefully I'll be right here doing what I love," she said. "If I can just continue doing my own thing, I'll be happy. Well, maybe the company could be a little bit bigger..."

Watch out world, here she comes.

Updated: 09:39 Tuesday, November 04, 2003