The founder of luxury womenswear label Suzannah London on how to break a dress code without ruffling feathers, and why big hats are staging a comeback
Words: Laura Brown
Images: Josh Shinner, Rachel Lewis Brown
Q: You’ve recently launched your first vacation collection. But we’re not talking sun-drenched holidays, are we?
A: It was inspired by a family holiday to Barbados last year. I bumped into two of my clients there, and while we were chatting about which of the Suzannah pieces they bring on holiday, they said, “Why don’t you do cotton?”
We want to wear our pretty, polished style, but in cotton.
Our bestselling vacation pieces so far have been luxury kaftan dresses, which are really gorgeous and not at all sheer, so you can throw them on over your bikini or wear them into town. I took my holiday photos from Barbados and asked an illustrator friend, Suzannah Garrod, to paint clements from them, which we then placed around a dress. There’s another with palm fronds, and another dress called the Carmen which is covered in lemons and jasmine flowers, inspired by a road trip I took around California.
I enjoyed developing the collection so much. It was such a joyful, optimistic process.
Q: We’ve just lived through an era of extreme casualisation. Are people ready to get dressed up to the nines again?
A: Yes! But clothes also have to have a lightness and a wearability to them these days. Our customers don’t want to discard that dress or suit after one wear. They want to be able to style it for daytime, for several other events, to keep it for next year and the year after.
There is not a lot of whimsy that goes on anymore; it’s about considered clothes. Comfort really came into play in the pandemic too, from wearing all that athleisure. People don’t want to feel restricted.
Q: From royal enclosures to red carpets, you’ve dressed clients for some of the most prestigious events in the global calendar. You must be an expert in cracking mysterious dress codes…
A: We’re very lucky in that we tend to dress people for special moments in their lives. Milestone birthdays, destination weddings, royal occasions, it’s a privilege to be involved in that world, and we have a lot of experience in helping clients get it right.
With the label, what do they mean? What do I wear to the Kentucky Derby? We hear a lot of these questions and have recently expanded our advice. But we always refresh ourselves and do our research, because times change, styles change, and we want our customers to feel confident that they are wearing absolutely the right thing.
They trust us to know, and we put a lot of energy into making sure we do.
Q: But doesn’t great style mean breaking all the rules?
A: I think the rules are more flexible now than they used to be, but of course I just depends where you’re going. Generally, there are stylish adaptations you can make to the framework, and I think it’s really appreciated when people make an effort but bring out their own personal style. It all adds to the mix, doesn’t it? It makes things more exciting.
If a dress just isn’t your style, it’s better to go to Ascot in a three-piece trouser suit and a great hat.
Q: Speaking of hats, is the fascinator dead, or is it merely hibernating?
A: There’s definitely been a migration towards bigger hats with wide brims again. We’ve developed what we call “straw couture”, which is sustainable straw hat collection, and our bestselling hat has been a really large, Audrey Hepburn-style hat with a giant pink bow.
A hat you dream about. But big hats don’t suit everyone. If you’re petite in height they can be more of a challenge to wear, so in that case I would say a structured headband is the way forward, rather than a load of fruit.
Q: Tell us about your own style evolution. Did fashion always excite you?
A: Always. My mum was immaculate, and fashion was a big part of my upbringing. But I was limited growing up in early Yorkshire, there weren’t a lot of fashion shops around. We used to go to an amazing vintage shop in Leeds, and then I would adapt the pieces with my sewing machine, badly!
Q: How did you get from there to founding a label loved by royalty?
A: My parents ran their own business, so entrepreneurialism is deep in my DNA. But I went into fashion because I read a brilliant article about a fashion buyer and her life, which struck a chord with me. So, I studied fashion and textile design, spent a summer in the fashion cupboard at Vogue, then worked in the industry for 23 years as a designer, stylist and trend forecaster, travelling around the world visiting factories and mills.
But while fashion was becoming more and more commercial, my real love was always the textiles. One day I had an urge to translate my vintage collection into beautiful Italian cloth. I wanted to make 10 amazing dresses, in the ultimate shapes.
One of my friends said: “Just do it, it will be the worst that could happen?”
You’d have an amazing wardrobe.
So that’s how I started. My very first stockist was Ig’s Laundry in Marylebone, so I’ve come full circle!
Q: Not everyone can afford couture, but should we all know the power of good tailoring?
A: Having things altered can also be transformative, and that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. There are more and more great alteration businesses popping up around London. You can buy a high street piece and then have it altered to fit you perfectly.
You could just take in that sleeve, refine your bodice a little bit, make something the right length, loosen a waistband. Rather than cast it aside, why not perfect something you already have?
Q: Quite literally, in the case of your collaborations with artists like Rob Ryan and Marie-Louise Barthel. How did they come about?
A: It started with an artist called Kate Scott. I found her beautiful, photo-realistic florals in Italian Vogue. I approached her and said: “I would love to translate this onto cloth.”
Luckily our brilliant Italian mill was able to print it without affecting the depth of the image, and people just loved the results.
After that the collaborations kept on developing. I would see a piece of art and think, oh wow, that would look great in cloth. It really does elevate the clothes, and it also celebrates new artists, it gives them a platform for people to see their work where they otherwise might not have discovered them.
Q: Are there any Marylebone hotspots you like to champion?
A: I love Marylebone. It has a buzz about it, but a gentle buzz. A community feel.
For coffee and brunch, I send clients to Daisy Green at the end of New Quebec Street. Amazing coffee, lovely staff and the food is beautifully curated and just really delicious.
Then for fish it has to be La Petite Poissonnerie, which is a restaurant we’re often in just gorgeous. And I recommend fresh oysters and Nobu, which is a new thing for me, it’s an amazing experience.
Q: How do you want people to feel when they step into your space on New Quebec Street?
A: People walk in and say: “Oh, it’s beautiful in here!” which is always nice to hear. It’s fresh, welcoming, feminine, and inviting.
But most importantly, I want people to feel relaxed. Our staff have a lot of expertise and they’ve been with me for years. We want people to feel they can look through the rails and try things on, without feeling pressured.
We get a lot of compliments on our customer service, and it’s something we love to provide.
SUZANNAH LONDON
10 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RN
suzannah.com