An Interview with Helen Steele.

Already an award winning artist, Helen Steele is a woman who takes you by surprise. She's petite and rather shy, in stark contrast to her dress sense. She looks nothing like what you might expect from a woman whose art consists of paint splattered canvases. But then you notice her outfit - Print on print, and colours that remind you of your childhood kaleidoscope. She manages to look both chic and street all at once with a flair that you might not otherwise witness on Irish shores. Her eyes are bright and vivid, her skin is as luminescent as her shaved on one side ash blonde hair but, it's her clothes that really set her apart from, well, everyone! She looks like a celebrity with a familiarity you get when you meet someone that you would normally only ever see in print. She is recognisable, oddly because she looks so unique and you automatically assume she is of importance before she has even opened her mouth. The Helen Steele you meet however, is as down to earth as they come. She's a print ambassador, self proclaimed colour addict and now a fashion designer. Helen Steele has created a new brand that is rapidly going global. I met with her to discuss her move into fashion, her influences and her plans to build a brand like no other in Ireland.

Q. When did you launch the brand and how did it come about?
A. I launched Helen Steele SS12 at LFW and PFW (London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week) September/October 2011. I had done a collaborative print collection with Joanne Hynes that we showed at Vauxhall fashion Scout for AW 2011 but really went solo for SS12 and I went from 12 international stockists in SS12 to 18 for AW 2012, which I'm pretty pleased with ( Helen is now stocked in boutiques in Russia, Spain, Italy, South Korea, China, Japan and Costume on Castle Market here in Dublin). I studied fashion and art in college, when I graduated I knew that for me that I needed more experience in art if I wanted to pursue my dream of creating a label based on action art brought to life through the medium of clothing. I want to create walking canvases and I think I'm well on the way . I thank God/Buddha/The Universe everyday for letting me create everyday and for letting me work at something I adore and worship.

SS12

Q. How did you make the transition from Artist to fashion designer?
A. Fashion was always the plan, I had a minor detour for a while when I was in a thrash metal band. I feel that all of the experiences life brings you through influence how and what you create, so I am thankful for three years on the road! I suppose fashion is one of those things that your either born an addict or it gets you along the way. For me I was always obsessed with colour, painting drawing, making clothes , changing my own and my sisters clothes with the kitchen scissors which drove my mum mental. My grandmother was a seamstress and I would lose myself in her workroom for days as a child, she made the most beautiful dresses for myself and my sister and my mum, with amazing smocking. My other grandmother was and still is a very elegant woman, I have great pics of her in the most wonderful Hermes scarves and wonderful Irish tweed jackets, she was a big fan of Ib Jorgensen and Pat Crowley. My mum and two aunts were demons for John Rocha and Michael Mortell, Katharine Hamnett and Galliano in the 80's. So I think that all had an influence on me. I made the transition from artist to designer quite easily as my heart has never left fashion, it was always the plan to put into practice what I do in the studio and on canvas, to translate that onto fabric and print and to end up on the ultimate canvas of all - the human body.

Q. What inspires you as a designer? Is it different to what inspires you as an artist?
A. What inspires me as a designer is the same thing that inspires me as an artist and that is colour, an image, a spectacular field of rape (the plant that produces rapeseed oil in case you're getting worried!) set against a blue sky, you can't help but look at that view and think of what you could create from that one idea. What I love is that in fashion nothing is constant, it changes all the time. The pursuit of perfection and of the new is endless.

Q. The collaboration with Harvey Nichols on their SS show in 2010 was a career defining moment for you. Is that when you realised you wanted to work in fashion?
A. The Harvey Nichols shows were a delight to do they are a wonderful team to work with. And for the first time I created dresses from canvas and painted them in a video performance piece with chainsaws which was the start of it all really for me.

Q. What was it like being involved in London fashion week? How did you feel seeing your clothes walk down that infamous catwalk?
A. Great. Very very expensive though, I would not recommend it to a young label. It's a costly affair! My advice would be to put your money into your product and getting sales. However, it was a real eye opener. All of that blood, sweat and tears for what only lasts a few minutes. I created a print collection to collaborate with Joanne Hynes at AW 11 collection. So it was amazing seeing the collection from creating the prints and the designs to seeing the finished pieces walk down the catwalk! I also created a 1 minute short with film producer and director Dara McCluskey that opened the show, it was amazing to see and to hear the reaction to it too. In the run up to the show we pulled a few all nighters to get the work done. We had amazing help from our team of interns, and I had asked stylist Sarah Jayne Ffrench O' Carroll to help me out in the lead up to the show. Stylist Annmarie O' Connor styled the show for Joanne Hynes and they were both a delight to work with. Our style however does differ and I may have been a bit bolshie as to what my print collection should look like on the catwalk, but other than that it all ran smoothly until the last few minutes before the show which was absolutely MENTAL!! But, it passed. The madness was backstage, out front it was a bit of a sugar rush as we had goodie bags with Football Special, Moondust that pops in your mouth, flying saucers and skittles. My family were watching the show and my two girls loved it. My niece wanted to pull a few cartwheels but was restrained by her mom and my pal. We had a huge amount of help from the team at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, they were amazing and a really good guide through choppy waters. We were also really lucky to have great hair and make up all supplied by Vauxhall Fashion Scout and Toni&Guy. Our models were fantastic too, really professional and really rocked the looks! I think that I spotted you at LFW too? (I was working with Vauxhall Fashion Scout at the time, when I heard the Irish were in I requested front row seats immediately!) At the end of the week I was a sleepless mess, and broke. But, it was fun. After fashion week the print collaboration was taken to Paris fashion week with Snow fashion agents which was brilliant. During this time I was also starting the Fusion project with the University of Ulster on developing a range of down jackets with my husbands down from his ducks (my husband is a second generation duck producer and owns Silverhill Foods, who breed and produce "the perfect Peking duck" according to Chef Heston Blumenthal and the BBC!) so things were mental busy.

Q. What's involved in the design process for you? How does something go from being an idea to actually becoming a garment? What is in the Helen Steele brand DNA?
A. The process as explained before always starts in the studio with paint. Myself and my team of two (Karen - design assistant and Zara - print assistant) will get layers of multi-coloured paint and propel them into the air with the aid of wind machines, leaf-blowers and chainsaws. This makes the paint move fast. I pick each colour with colour therapy in mind, I use colours to help balance your mood and lift your spirits. We then film the process taking stills from the footage and create our prints from this. When it comes to design we look at each design being a blank canvas, the print dictates the shape of each garment.

Q. For the new collection AW12 you have expanded the range with the introduction of some leather pieces and it looks as though a lifestyle look is forming or the brand image is strengthening. What other brands or designers influence or inspire you? And what do you see in the future for brand Helen Steele?
A. For AW 12 we introduced some leather boxer shorts and down jackets and capes. It was always part of the plan to make use of my husbands beautiful down. For winter we created water proof, wind proof and breathable coats and jackets to shield and protect from the weather. They keep the wet and wind and damp away and to also let the skin breath. We spent a year researching and sourcing the perfect outer shell for our jackets and capes. I thought the idea of a "compactable" cape was a good idea as it would be good for early winter over a leather or canvas jacket or for cold nights and early mornings. Our jackets compact so easily and can roll very simply into your handbag. For SS13 our down jackets will all have our print on them, we have just got our samples back and they are super!!

AW12

Q. Being so very stylish yourself, do you see a lot of your personal style in your collections? Victoria Beckham is famous for saying that "if it's not right for me, then its not right for the collection", does the same apply for you?
A. I think it's a bit arsey for me to say I am stylish, I do have a certain sense of style and I am anal when it comes to styling our Look-books, but thank you for saying so. I would agree with Victoria Beckham, I remember hearing her speak at the International Herald Tribune conference on Luxury Brands, it was just before the launch of her second collection, she was really down to earth and very focused. Every woman in the room was listening intently to what she was saying. I think there was more attention and reaction from the room when she spoke than when Paul Smith, Christopher Bailey or even when the Missoni family where on stage. It was really interesting hearing what they all had to say about building a brand in today's world. I think you need to know your product inside out. I test and wear every sample and if its not right then its back to the drawing board.

Q. Staying with your personal style for a moment, can you describe your perfect outfit? What celebrities or non celebrities do you admire for their personal style?
A. Perfect outfit for me would be (due to lifestyle i.e. kids, work, travel etc.) our hot robot printed tee and leggings from AW 12 with a leather jacket. It can take you anywhere. I admire some of the Russian mega bloggers, such as Miroslava Duma and Elin Kling. I admire Vivienne Westwood's style and Jessie J too (she is a fearless dresser and has an amazing body). Erika Badu is pretty cool as is Charlotte Gainsbourg and Greyson Perry. I really like Japanese street style too.


Jessi J wears Helen's designs onstage.

Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud is also a fan of the Irish Designer!

Shingai Shoniwa, lead singer of Noisettes wearing Helen Steele.

Q. Your collection is now stocked in numerous international boutiques including Costume in Dublin and you have a massive Asian following. What is the future of the Helen Steele brand?
A. The future is upwards and onwards! Its all hands on deck for AW12 which lands in Costume in September, they have sold out of our collection for about a month now. We are also sold out in three of our stockists in Japan and all of our three stockists in Seoul in South Korea!! We are just finishing up on the samples for SS13 which is soooooo exciting really fun stuff so watch this space.

Q. On that note, what does success mean to you?
A. Happiness .

Q. And lastly, because I have to ask really ;) what advice would you give to someone starting out in the fashion industry?
A. Never mind the bollocks!

Helen Steele is an artist, designer and a creative force to be reckoned with. Based on a duck farm in county Monaghan, Ireland she creates walking pieces of art. You can shop her collection here www.costumedublin.ie and browse her art here www.helensteele.com.

At this stage I think its fairly safe to assume that the "Man Bag" has become accepted as an appropriate accessory for the modern male. No longer taboo or ridiculous, but practical and in some cases (mine being my main example) a complete neccessity! (I cannot leave the house without one!!) . It is easy to see why we have grown to accept this gender switching in fashion terms because lets face it, men have been carrying briefcases since, well forever! Not technically true but you get my point and its not like we're condoning men in skirts. With their varying shapes, sizes, colours and textures the man bag has become as important to some fashion houses as the latest "It bag". Celebrity man bag lovers include Pharrell Williams, Robert Downey Jr., David Beckham and the king of sartorialism Tom Ford. My ethos on bags in general is that you should buy the most expensive that you can afford (it will last longer), only buy one that you fall in love with and always choose a style that has proven staying power. The same should apply to mens bags with one exception, only a classic, natural leather colour will give you that sophisticated edge that the man bag should bring. Colours such as chocolate brown, black, tan and in rare cases, depending on the hide navy or grey will have the desired effect.

Recently however, there has been the explosion of the male clutch bag. Known to some as the "Murse", the "Mlutch", the "Pochette" and to those that use them for their intended purpose a "Document Holder". This trend has been growing since SS10 when it was featured on the runways of Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani and Prada. So far they have been endorsed by footballer Christiano Renaldo (yep, me too!) and more notably at this years Oscars under the arm of Best Actor Nominee Terrance Howard.

(some examples of my favoured way of wearing the clutch)

For the coming season we are seeing more examples of this mini briefcase, and in some cases they are down right tiny! At Hermés we see that they have fashioned a normal sized bag into a clutch simply by making the models carry it in a clutchy way. They are prevelant too in the collections of Louis Vuitton, Burberry Prorsum and Salvatore Ferragamo. Each one more gorgeous than the next. I wonder will this trend catch on? There is major evidence from images of London and Paris fashion weeks that the men there are really taken with the practicality of a smaller concealer of those essential, everyday objects that are just to uncomfortable to carry in your pockets. Up until recently in order for a bag to be considered masculine it needed to fit all of the contents of your house in it, and I'm not ashamed to say that I liked it like that. When it came to bags, for me, bigger was always better and I am constantly asked "What on earth do you have in that thing?". This is why I am so surprised at my recent infatuation with the clutch. An infatuation that will soon become a love affair as I have my eye on the brand spanking new Victoria Beckham document holders that she created for SS12. Its slim, minimal, has enough room for an iPad, iPhone and wallet and is just bigger than an A4 peice of paper. Perfection!