“Life could be so boring if you just sat in a house and did nothing all day. When you keep yourself busy, you keep yourself alive and active.”
The famed Welsh designer was in Dubai recently to launch his latest collection for Star by Julien Macdonald, his massively successful line for department store chain Debenhams, and to meet his fans.
“I’ve just come back from Madagascar where I cycled from the north to south for a children’s charity,” he continues. “I’m constantly trying to do things, to look for something to inspire me as a fashion designer. I get inspired by the people around me and the places that I go to. I think I need that stimulus to inspire my collections.”
Judging by what he’s done in the last two decades since he began his career, it looks like the 43-year-old has never been short of inspiration. His latest collection for Star by Julien Macdonald is his 22nd, after its launch in 2003.
“I love Debenhams. It’s one of the best department stores in the world,” he says, when asked why his relationship with the British chain has lasted this long. “It’s where my family goes shopping. It’s a great family store where you can buy great things.
“I think people like my collection for Debenhams because I offer a piece of Julien Macdonald glamour. Through the years, I’ve dressed some of the wealthiest and richest celebrities in the world. I take inspirations from my own catwalk collections and I translate that style into the clothes that I design and make for Debenhams.”
Having dabbled in reality shows, as a judge for Britain’s Next Top Model and as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, among other things, Macdonald says he’s always lived by his life’s mantra: ‘Never say never’.
