A few days before my interview with Clio Peppiatt, Taylor Swift turned 34. This would have been an irrelevant detail had the singer-songwriter not chosen one of the British designer’s dresses in which to celebrate.
‘It was a really, really big surprise,’ says Peppiatt, explaining that the dress had originally been lent to Swift for another event, which didn’t end up materialising. ‘I understand that, you know, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. We were told she’d like to hang onto a couple of pieces. And that was as much as I knew.’
That was, until Swift was photographed outside New York’s The Box, where her 34th birthday party took place, and the image was circulated on the Clio Peppiatt team’s WhatsApp group. The dress in question? The Lucina – a shift-style mini (a signature silhouette for the designer), liberally embellished to resemble a night’s sky, complete with a moon and constellation of stars.
‘It’s been crazy,’ continues Peppiatt. ‘Not only did we sell out of that dress within 24 hours, NET-A-PORTER did as well, with much larger stock than we have.’ Such is the power of Swifties, the moniker created and adopted by Taylor’s fanbase.
Not only did we sell out of that dress within 24 hours, NET-A-PORTER did as well.
A graduate of London College of Fashion and Ravensbourne University, Peppiatt worked as a print designer for Alexander McQueen before setting up her own brand in 2015. The antithesis to fast fashion, Clio Peppiatt’s dresses take time to conceive and craft, with much of the design and making process executed by hand – a rare thing nowadays.
‘I hand draw everything myself,’ Peppiatt says. ‘And [the garments] are hand-beaded using a technique called tambour beading. Our incredible beaders have been doing this for 10, 20 years, they’re super experienced – artisans of the highest level.’ Generally, Peppiatt tells me, there tend to be four craftspeople working on a garment at any given time – two on the front and two on the back – to speed things up.
That’s not all. After all of that beading work, the dresses have to be left to rest for a while – yes, really. Peppiatt laughs. ‘It’s the type of fabric they’re on – they need some time after they come off the loom before they are stitched together. They’re stitched by a machine but there is lots of hand beading. It’s a really intensive, craft-focused process.’
They’re heirloom pieces, I say. ‘Yes, that's the idea,’ Peppiatt replies. The designer’s bridal customers often tell her they are planning to keep their dresses forever, to pass down the generations, and some even have them framed.
‘Whenever we're making new collections, I look at every piece we're doing and wonder if it will feel special – not just now, not just for this season, but in 20 years time if it was found in, say, a beautifully curated vintage shop,’ says Peppiatt.
I love the idea of partywear being like jewellery.
To this end, much of the designer’s inspiration is found not on the runways but in history books and museums. Peppiatt’s latest partywear line-up – in which Swift’s Lucina dress features – was inspired by Victorian jewellery.
‘There’s so much symbolism,’ she says, ‘They had so many beautiful romantic motifs – things like lover’s eyes, and serpents, and doves. I love the idea of partywear being almost like jewellery, in that it's decoration, isn't it? There’s a nice parallel between women getting dressed up and adorning themselves with jewellery. So I wanted to capture that feeling in the collection, and create something very high octane, glamorous, and hopefully, really special.’
Peppiatt’s favourite piece from the collection is the Fabergé dress, a strapless, drop-waist design with an embroidered panel inspired by the famous jewelled eggs. Made with a crinoline, it exemplifies Peppiatt’s commitment to traditional couture techniques. ‘I always get really excited by the pieces that are the most challenging to develop and make, because of how great it feels when it finally works out,’ she says.
In the eight years since it launched, Clio Peppiatt’s self-named brand has garnered a cult following that includes Emily Ratajkowski, Kendall Jenner and Kim Kardashian (who wore the Leo skirt, which then promptly sold out), and retailers including NET-A-PORTER and Selfridges. I ask Peppiatt what she is most proud of. ‘I think a highlight for me has been building an amazing team. I had many years when I was working on my own, without a team, so that’s definitely a big milestone.’
Despite being intricately made, Peppiatt’s dresses are surprisingly comfortable – something that’s all-important to the designer. ‘You can dance in them, you can eat in them, you can enjoy yourself in them – it’s not just about looking great for a photo. [Editor’s note: they also look incredible in photos.] I think that comes from me designing quite personally.’
Indeed, this New Year’s Eve, she’ll be practising what she preaches and wearing the Charm dress, another of her favourites. ‘I’m going to St. Lucia on Boxing Day. I cannot wait. I don’t actually know what my boyfriend and I will be doing on New Year’s Eve, but hopefully we’ll be on a beach somewhere.’ I ask her if she’ll be going barefoot, in that case. ‘I’m tiny,’ she laughs. ‘I’m five foot two! So I am so accustomed to wearing the highest of heels in even the most uncomfortable of situations, so I think I will try. I’ve got some lovely Rene Caovilla crystal shoes that match beautifully.’
Peppiatt is a proponent of a ‘more in more’ maxim – a refreshing change to trend for ‘quiet luxury’ that has pervaded runways in recent seasons. ‘Some may automatically think that because the dresses are such statement pieces, that they should go simple on the styling,’ she says, recalling the favourite ways she’s seen her dresses styled. ‘[One customer] was wearing hers with big earrings, three necklaces and a decorative bag – it looked amazing. I’m a maximalist at heart.’ The designer’s fans (myself and Taylor included) wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shop Clio Peppiatt's latest collection at cliopeppiatt.com, or for delivery in time for New Year's Eve, net-a-porter.com
