O COLLECTIONS

One of the most exciting moments was creating the campaign video for the launch of O Ready-To-Wear (RTW) and accessories. If you remember I mentioned that I am a hybrid, part creative, part commercial. O was created as an accessories concept, but I felt that for the launch, we should not use any other brands for our model to wear, I wanted it to be only O products. Therefore, I decided to design an exclusive collection of RTW for O so that the model could wear it, that complimented our accessories and that represented the women we were speaking to.

I created it under the brand name “140” (translated to “one for O”, thank you to Sami my buyer who came up with that, as we sat around thinking of brand names). 140, is my debut for O, I designed each and every single piece of RTW. I was in my element, doing the thing that I most loved to do, design beautiful things. We literally had no time to do this, I flew to India with my design assistant and merchandiser, utter madness, three crazy days, where night merged into day and day into night, designing at the speed of light, using my most favorite factory, 149 options later (RTW and accessories) I was done.

The thing is, you have to understand, when I am in my creative mode, then its absolute madness, no one is able to keep up, I am in the ZONE. It’s something I cannot explain, I work at lightning speed, it’s as if every creative thought is coming out at once and I have no way of stopping it. My senses are heightened, detail, colour, texture. I usually don't sleep the entire time I am in India designing, I mean I will go on for days without any sleep. I have to sneak a 15 minute power naps in the showroom at the factory. I have a ritual every day, no one speaks to me on the way to a factory, hardly, its best. I am too exhausted to think and have to save my energy. My amazing Saty, longtime friend and confidant stops at a Costa coffee, he knows, my day doesn't start without a Costa coffee. My husband and I are famous around the world, I really think that every major city in the world knows us and our Costa Coffee. We arrive at the factory, those who work with me know that it’s an exhilarating experience and you learn a lot. We start. My teams have now learnt, thanks to the valuable advice my husband has given them, “video everything, because you will never remember” and they do, it’s the only way.