Julien Macdonald is the modern-day Billy Elliot of fashion. He's dressed everyone from Naomi Campbell to Kim Kardashian, Shirley Bassey to Beyonce, and has enjoyed an incredible twenty year career spanning high and mass-market fashion in a swirl of sequins.




Julien's life has been devoted to making women look, and feel, good. It's the perfect time to tell share his story of hard work and high heels, a journey inspired by the woman he met along the way...




I'm originally from a small valley town called Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales, and (obviously) I think that my life story is a bit like a fairy tale. Like every young child I had a dream...and my dream was to leave that place. I think it was my father really, he said to me when I was fifteen `don't worry, I've got you a job at Hoover'...and I thought no frigging way.




It was the knitwear that really made my career and I think that was probably due to my mother and sisters. Lots of people want to be a fashion designer but you must have a gimmick: I was a boy that did knitwear.




I love the dresses because each one is like a sweet. And I love sweets. The biggest fulfilment of myself as a designer is seeing a woman in the dress...because then it comes alive.
I make glamorous clothes. I make women feel empowered, happy and glamourous, it's as simple as that.