Wish You Were Here!

Check out Amiee and Helene with our friend Loretta on the boat in the Hamptons!

 

Now that’s fashion!

Teri Hatcher's Celebrity Yard Sale

Hi all, Amiee here!

I'm back at Sara Berman LA HQ after a manic weekend including Teri Hatcher's Celebrity Yard Sale for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and RockSTAR Music Education.

We had a great time and the atmosphere was amazing!...

A Trip To Palm Springs

So Palm Springs was an amazing surprise in the middle of the desert. The drive out of LA was less than stunning and then suddenly you hit the desert. And you are in one of the most amazing landscapes in the world.

Palm Springs

Lessons From Gilby Clarke

Lovely dinner at Amiee's house in the hills. Gilby Clarke says Ginger #1 needs to practice her guitar scales. Luckily he was able to give her a signed pick to use. Given the first album she ever bought was Guns N' Roses, she was suitably impressed and may even take heed. I have since claimed the pick. Obviously.

Outnet leather samples in!!!

Amiees exact words on seeing the samples were ‘Damn I’m good-I actually want to have sex with myself!’

Indian Experience Part 1: Delhi

First and foremost I cannot believe that it has taken me 35 years to get to India. This insanely amazing country somehow never happened for me until now. And now I am hooked. They say that India is either in your blood or it isn’t and for me it most definitely is. And to be clear-my blood is also in India simply through the ridiculous number of mosquitoes that made it their business to feast on me daily. I practically needed a transfusion. But first things first…. Delhi…. This is one crazy city. I was lucky enough to stay with a friend of a friend and to have this part of my trip made incredibly easy for me. My great friend Neha organized everything from my accommodation to my driver as well as some sturdy dos and don’t lists of what to eat, what to avoid and a whole host of contacts to call upon for whatever I might need. This did make a huge difference and allowed me to embrace Delhi in all its madness knowing I was safe and only a phone call away from help should I need it. So thus armed I launched myself onto Delhi with gusto…. 

The mysterious incident of the navy tights in the designer's drawer

In the ever changing vortex of taste that is planet fashion there are few truly heinous fashion crimes. Most bad taste can be excused as ‘on trend’ however as with anything in life there are ten comandments which-for the greater good of society and regardless of creative need- should be obeyed. ‘Thou shalt not wear navy tights’ is definitely one of them. Especially if you thought they were black.

Fashion week is an incredibly busy time for us. We are flying madly from appointment to appointment, from launch to dinner to party and somewhere in all that are school runs, parent meetings and tears at bedtime. There is not the necessary time to luxuriate over the choice of ground breaking outfit. The creative dresser within must be reigned in if I am to get anywhere on time and organized the night before. In the dark. Because Ginger #1 is asleep in my bed. And therein lays the problem…. The rogue navy tights luxuriating at the bottom of my drawer undisturbed since last winter have reared their ugly head. Or feet. Whatever.

To be honest it was Amiee that they claimed as their first victim. She rummaged in my drawer shortly before we left for the Value of Fashion launch and she was rocking a beige and black neutrals looks. Except it was beige, black and navy which isn’t a look and in fact an offence and to add insult to injury it only came to light (excuse the pun) under the flash of the photographers camera as her outfit was recorded for Fashion Week posterity. Lets hope they think it’s a new trend.

I was the second victim. Thinking (clearly mistakenly) that the offending item had been taken into fashion custody and were languishing safely in a British Heart Foundation store somewhere I went into the drawer with foolish carelessness. My devil may care attitude was rewarded in the cold light of the taxi cab on route to a charity dinner for HET last night when my vintage Sara Berman lace cocktail dress was ambushed by the surprise appearance of the navy tights. I don’t understand how it happened but I had no choice but to shoulder on, the tights under surveillance. I had a fascinating evening and was enjoying myself greatly until I spotted a fellow fashion body across the room. We did the fashion quick step over to each other and performed the necessary eye sweep and computation. ‘You look fabulous darling! So clever to lift all that lace with navy.’ ‘Oh yes-very next season don’t you think?’

Perhaps I will let the tights out on bail.

She’s Back!

Amiee is back and all is right in my world! Yes - I can go back to my reclusive ways as she is staying with me for the 5 weeks she is here… It’s all good. Actually it is all hilarious… She brought back a whole load of bad habits from L.A the very worst of which has to be top to toe Spanx.

Amiee & Aleim Magazine

She's been in LA a matter of months and already Amiee is making waves for team Berman. Check her out in the debut issue of Aleim Magazine - a brand new magazine dedicated to showcasing the 'photographic, cinematic and creative personalities of our time'. That's a lot to live up to Amiee!

Read more about Aleim here and see the full blog post featuring Amiee here

The Frustrating Incident Of The Volcanic Ash And Fleas

As a rule I try to write this blog about work and not my life in general but due to force majeure my work is on hold. I have spent the last 2 weeks in Tel Aviv and now we can't leave for the foreseeable future due to Icelandic ash. To be fair, I have been stuck in worse situations and am really quite chuffed to be forced to enjoy an extra week’s holiday. However it must be noted that Iceland is proving to be a royal pain in the arse of late. It is quite amazing that such a small country could warrant so much trouble. First their banks go bankrupt, then their country follows suit, they rob a whole bunch of British and Dutch pensioners of their life savings and now their apparently inactive volcano goes and erupts causing chaos and havoc to pretty much everything and everyone. Surely this teeny tiny country is disproportionately irritating by anyone’s standards?

To add insult to injury the fabulous Persian rug which I bought (after considerable and very skilled bartering- for only 1000 shekels -about 200 quid) from a Syrian street vendor, has flees. Afore mentioned flees are now suspected to be living in my 6 year old daughter's hair, which after three days in the same plaits now resembles Dave-the-dreadlocked-dad from school.

The fabulous Persian rug

The vacuum cleaner is broken and insists on spewing more dirt out than it manages to suck up and I am not entirely sure if the dishwasher is done for too, or if I keep forgetting to turn it on. Either way my dishes are dirty, the floor is a mess and the flat is likely a flee pit. This is what happens when I don't I go work!

And just so you understand the enormity of the situation - what with me playing house wife over here, Amiee has popped off to live in LA for a year or so to run SB USA. Obviously I am already missing her to madness but it will be great for the business and I shall be forced to spend time over in sunny California. Very tough. Maybe I will go straight from here!

She just Sykped me to let me know that she is going to Lake Shrine this afternoon. Apparently some amazing spiritual place where according to Amiee the Dalai Lama is buried. Or maybe Ghandi.  She wasn't 100% sure which one but it is a place to go if you want to find yourself. Or various dead spiritual leaders. Five days in LA and she goes all Californian on me.

A Little Perspective

We are finally there. The panic has subsided and we are now firmly entrenched in the selling season and it has been going great guns! I think partly that is down to things looking up for the economy in general but also - may i say it - to the strength of the collection. As a designer there is always the natural inclination to be terribly critical but this season I can honestly put my hands up and say we have done a great job.

This is it - Autumn/Winter '10

I realised when looking back that I started this blog in the middle of the SS10 selling season which made me consider how much things have changed in that time for us as designers and the process we have followed this season. When you design a collection there is always pressure to do more. To make the collections bigger, to target other markets and fulfil every need as expressed by your buyers. This is natural and as a business person of course the instinct is to grow. However we found ourselves in a situation where our brand had grown so extensive in its product offer that we were over burdened by these huge collections and we finding less and less time to enjoy the process of design. I guess that is always the problem when you have a creative and business person in the same body but it wasn’t working for us anymore.

The recession allowed us to take a step back and see how much the design process meant to us in a very puritanical way and how much we wanted to go back to our roots. I think that for the first time in the history of our business it wasn’t about growth but about enjoying what we have built. 

This is me on what was a good design day. Very happy!

The success of our bag business showed us how valuable it could be to focus in on our strengths and how much we enjoyed the detail of design. So for AW10 we decide to indulge ourselves and really concentrate on the things that we loved designing as opposed to trying to tick all the boxes. Please understand that this is a pretty brave move. For years our buyers have been coming to us to see two full collections (Sara Berman and Berman Black) per season – each one a comprehensive, fully merchandised offer. In cutting back and presenting a basically egotistical offer of our favourite parts of a collection we risked alienating those buyers. Thankfully it seems to have paid off. The buyers who have seen the collection so far have been ecstatic! That sounds like a crazy word to use but when you have women dancing around the showroom throwing the clothes on themselves and doubling their orders it looks like a pretty enthusiastic reaction!

This season our collection is all about British. Our knitwear is made in a factory that actually makes for the Royal Guards. We have sourced real Donegal yarn-which is the only yarn still spun in the UK and is of such a beautiful quality it makes you proud that we can still make yarn like this. Our Harris Tweed coats are not only made of a yarn spun in the weavers own homes, but the coats and jackets themselves are made in the best factories still operating in the UK. Our silk dresses are also made in the UK and the whole vibe of the collection is British through and through. Think Dodi Smith's ‘I capture The Castle’ meets George Macdonald Fraser’s ‘Flashman’ with a dash of rock and roll thrown in.

Amiee channeling rock 'n' roll

We have also done a collaboration with British artist Dan Baldwin and are using one of his incredible paintings as a print for dresses and the lining of a couple of our Harris Tweed coats. Imagine opening up your coat to show one of Dan’s amazing paintings! The wonderful thing about this is that I have been a fan of Dan’s work for years (you can actually see one of his paintings in our AW09 mood board) and we came together over many shared ideas and inspirations. Terribly pure, honestly non commercial and a wonderful example for us we can indulge our love of art with our commitment to design. We want our customers to buy from us knowing that they are not buying just another mass produced item of clothing but actually a piece which contains a little soul.

The whole process has been an indulgent pleasure from start to finish. The funny thing is that although the collection has ended up being much bigger than we intended, we realised that we have gone back to the roots of what Sara Berman is all about. We found the pictures of my graduate collection from St Martins and realised that it was all leather, knitwear and tweed! Just goes to show that you will always do best that which you love most.

I Am The Mess-Meister

With five days to go until we start showing the AW10 collection, I thought you might like a very brief update on where things are at in the SB studio.

Frankly things are a little stressful. We haven’t seen one single solitary Harris Tweed finished piece yet. Of the 25 Harris Tweed samples which we need to have ready in five days, we have not got one.

Only 18 of our 30 bags samples are here in the studio. Six are on their way to the wrong address in London thanks to DHL Italiana stupido. Four are on their way from India and may or may not clear customs before Christmas. The remaining two are, in theory, going to be here the day before yesterday. Great.

The studio is covered in tweed, threads, bits of pattern and little gold lions waiting to be sewn onto sweaters-which are everywhere.The place is a bombsite and in the middle of all of it Amiee decides we need a new table. It arrived unannounced at 9am and as it turns out she may have misjudged the size of our studio and now we have a table which is the size of the whole showroom. Please understand that this is not a Good Thing when that showroom needs to be filled with samples not table. Feast your eyes on the monstrous thing below:

My house is also in a state of total disarray as I continue my archiving process. There is nowhere in my life where I am not surrounded by a daft amount of mess. I am the mess-meister.

The Italian silk CAD for our Dan Baldwin collaboration arrived yesterday. Only a month late.  Now they have to print it, send it and we have to make up the dresses and coats -all in five days. FIVE DAYS!

And to top it all off, I left my Val lightning stripe hat in a taxi last night.

And people wonder why designers are highly strung, emotionally fragile and teetering on the brink of a severe personality disorder.

Sampling And Other Demons

It has taken me 2 weeks to admit that January has started. New Year’s resolutions and an optimistic attitude are all well and good but there is no accounting for the sheer drudgery of the first two weeks of January. It just seems to be a bit of a slog which is not helped by the shitty weather (snow was fun for about 5 minutes but I am now running out of outfits which look OK with snow boots) and the enormous amount of work to get through in time for the start of the season at the end of the month. The timing is unfortunate as it has taken 2 weeks to get in to the groove and now it is suddenly upon us and we don’t actually have a collection as yet.

There are always changes to a collection at the last minute because design is a process. We will be going down a creative path and then suddenly it will just feel wrong. And once it is wrong it is wrong and it has to change. It isn’t a matter of getting it right from the beginning of the process because as a process it changes and what was right becomes wrong. Clear?

As of last week we cancelled half the knitwear… We are using an amazing Irish Donegal yarn which is actually made in Ireland (you would be surprised how many Irish Donegals are made elsewhere) and looks so good we want to use it for another story and on the other side, a knit piece that we thought would be central to the whole collection has come out like a bag of spanners so we have had to re think the whole knit section of the collection. We have changed 2 of our 5 bag stories in order to accommodate some fabulous gold hardware we found at the last minute and  so now we are waiting on 1^st stage samples to come back for those designs and 4 Harris Tweed coat patterns are not even in work as yet due to our inability to edit on time. With 10 working days until our first appointment this is not a good look.

There was a time when this would have filled me with fear, horror and a mounting sensation of hysteria. But as a 10 year veteran of fashion weeks I am aware that with a fair amount of stress, a pinch of panic and just a little help from the fashion fairies it will somehow happen and a collection will materialise in our studio.

For your amusement please see below for an idea of what it looks like in the SB studio when Amiee and I edit the collection.

A very serious discussion...

Which quickly descended into chaos

Trying to get to grips with the Harris Tweed swatches

On the upside the NYR’s are coming along swimmingly (See 2010 Resolutions 10 Clause Contract for a recap) …

1. I am starting the year with a Mc Sweeney’s short stories collection. I am a big Zadie Smith fan and she has a wonderful little tale in there.
2. I have cooked several sensational suppers these last couple of weeks, one of which included an apple and pear crumble which will go down in history and has been my complete and satisfying meal for the past 2 nights. Food is the new Fashion.
3. This very morning I met my new (and very buff) personal trainer. He is going to whip my m****** f****** arse into shape by Easter. Apparently if I cry every time I try to ease my aching body out of a prone position it is a Good Thing. 
4. Reminded of this again today when chasing samples from Italy. I can’t be certain but it is possible that I am getting the words for ‘I promise you will have them by Thursday’ confused with ‘I want to have sex with your sister’. 
5. The builder has been in to give a quote and there are clothes all over the house in various stages of the ‘archiving process’. I feel the need to stress the difference between ‘archiving’ and ‘tidying up’. Big difference. Huge. It is possible that my husband may divorce me over the mess. On the upside there is now a nice empty room for him to move into. 
6. Bring it on. I am off to Paris for the shows at the beginning of March which I love. I stay at the wonderful boutique hotel - Bourg Tibourg in the Marais which I have been going to for so long it is like a second home. 
7. I am trying. It’s the first month of the year. I have another 11 months to perfect this.
8. Did you see our photos? Got to laugh through the pain. 
9. Whatever. 
10. Super mum! Obviously. Even made pancakes this morning. I swear! Amazing how good a little Betty Crocker can make you feel about yourself!

The Paradox Of Luxury

Well nothing like the harsh truth to spur a girl on… Having been told in no uncertain terms that my last blog on Harris Tweed was bordering on the obsessive and frankly a bit dull I am back to my witty form and hope to regale you with tales of fun and frolics from The Studio.

But before I do I am anxious to fight my corner on the Harris Tweed front. Not that I want to make a whole Thing about it, because I don’t… But actually I do because I think the point is being missed. It isn’t just about tweed, it is about the Value and Virtue of Luxury. I can understand that not everyone’s idea of fun is a woolly factory in the Outer Hebrides. But I certainly can’t make any excuses for the fact that I think cloth woven by hand in the homes of crafts people is the ultimate in luxury whilst others paradoxically prefer to define the virtue of luxury by measure of abundance. I am bemused by people who think that the luxury status of a product is defined by the amount of money something costs as opposed to its rarity or emotional value. I find it incredible that we have reached a time where in some cases the cost of something can be inversely proportionate to the amount of time spent in its creation. I understand that one could justify expense as a definition of luxury by arguing that the more something costs the harder it is to afford it and thereby creates a scarcity value in so much as less and less people have the disposable income to be able to own it. However to my mind this is a shame because it creates a univalent relationship between money and value which disregards the properties of time and emotion as defining factors. For me craft will always be the ultimate in luxury because someone somewhere has spent time working with their hands, dreaming their dreams and thinking their thoughts whilst working on that piece, product or item whatever it might be. To own that item is to own a little of that persons skill, a smidgen of their time and a fragment of their dreams. There can be no higher value than that.

This probably all sounds a like a rant and slightly left of field but luxury has been on my mind... Last weekend Amiee, Helene and I hit the streets of Florence on our annual girl's trip. Every year at the same time we spend 3 days in this beautiful Italian city. We stay at the super chic J K Place where we share a room and giggle like teenagers. We eat at fabulous little restaurants (one is so little they seat only 16 and serve the finest wines with delectable cheeses and salamis) and get happy on red wine whilst propping up the bar at the wonderful Ringo’s at lunchtime (the best cheesecake in the world. Bar none). And we spend a serious amount of time enjoying the shops, the streets and the markets. Everything is a pleasure to look at and engage with because the Italians really understand beauty and craft. They also understand time. Nothing happens in a hurry, everything is exercised carefully from the hand crafted leather bag to the care taken over the preparation of a simple salad. It is this attitude to life, that anything worth having is worth waiting for that makes Italy the centre of luxury as time is the greatest luxury of all.

Amiee The Luxury Gimp!

On a lighter note, last night we had Team Berman Xmas shindig. We had a big round table at our old favourite San Lorenzo. Totally traditional and delightfully delicious. We had a blast. It was emotional. But most of all I want to take this opportunity to raise our glasses once again to our wonderful team. It has been a roller coaster of a year and you guys have been the bomb. Thank you for everything - your hard work, your integrity, your confidence, your power and your laughter. You make everyday possible and everyday a pleasure. Big up Team Berman.
x

Team Berman


Millie - Guest Of Honour

Pole Dancing

For the past few weeks there has been a palpable buzz in the SB studios. There has been whispering around the toaster, giggling over coffee and hysteria over afternoon chocolate which seemed disproportionate to any kind of sugar rush. When words such as ‘Spandex’ and ‘Orange’ started being bandied around I was forced to step in get some clarity on whatever it might be that was making our girls so excited... It turns out that after several months taming her inner sex kitten with pole dancing classes, our production manager Danielle had entered into a pole dancing competition held at the O2 Center. Once Amiee and I got wind of this we were not going to miss it for the world - it isn’t everyday you get to see your number one employee dancing around in (orange) spandex underwear!

So last night Amiee and I set off to watch the great Happening. We were meeting the girls there and had intended to get the tube as laughingly recommended by Danielle but it was dark, raining and a deeply unappealing idea so we decided to drive. We put on the Sat Nav and set off with Eve Karpfs’ dulcet tones guiding us our merry way. And we were motoring along just fine until we got to Shoreditch High St where they had closed the road. Obviously this sends Eve into tailspin-her now irritating monotone advising us to ‘in 100 yards turn right’ onto a no right turn one way system and subsequently driving us in circles around the Dickensian streets of Shoreditch in the pissing rain. In my great wisdom I had also printed off a map from Google but the stress of Eve’s ridiculously calm voice advising us to turn right had forced me to open the window to have a cigarette and the driving rain had soaked the map which was now illegible.

So we find ourselves lost in East London with no map and a confused Eve whose only advice is still to keep turning right. So we decide (with the logic of fashion designers) that if we drive a long way in what is clearly the wrong direction we will sufficiently confuse Eve to force her to find an alternative route (at what point we thought we could reason with a computerized voice I don’t know but at the time it seemed to be a good idea!). So we drove in a random direction, through a very long tunnel and eventually Eve stopped telling us to ‘please do a u turn’, shut up and obviously went to sleep. At which point we saw signs to Greenwich…

Everyone knows the Millennium Dome is in Greenwich so we figure that if we just get to Greenwich we won’t be able to miss it. The Dome is a 50ft Marshmallow with huge great lights sticking out of it which cost the country something like £800 million pounds. It must be hugely, highly, revoltingly visible. The least one would expect is a sign post. But no. Nothing. (Quick personal rant: First they spend £800 million 800!!!!! on a 50 ft marshmallow which is somehow meant to represent Great Britain and then they go and rebrand it O2 in the name of a Spanish Telecoms company! And on point of principle I will not refer to it as such.)

Not only could we somehow not see this 50ft structure but there was not one single sign. Not one! So out of pure desperation we stop the car and start asking the good residents of Greenwich if they could point us in the general direction of The Dome... Dome? They asked blankly with engaging intelligence… The Dome? Yes you know, that enormous £800 million pound marquee that is somewhere in this small district of Greenwich… Perhaps you noticed it whilst out walking the dog? Nothing. (worrying in itself I feel… Something in the water?).

And then, like a beacon of light, a mirage we spot a police station. I run in and ask the good policemen of Greenwich to help two girls find their way to a pole dancing competition. Admittedly some eyebrows were raised but once I explained that I wasn’t going to be the one up the pole they were very amenable, told me we were minutes away and gave me a whole new map. And off we went again with renewed vigour. So what if the residents of Greenwich hadn’t noticed the 50ft marshmallow? They do have a wonderfully modern police station.

But then we realise that despite the map we had gone wrong again and had no idea, once again where we were. So we pull into a petrol station. I need more cigarettes and maybe a new map. But guess what? Closed. And here is where I lose my temper. I turn around to the two young men who are walking across the forecourt towards the shop and start screaming at them about the inadequacies of the Greenwich petrol station and to be honest I was fully expecting them to look at me blankly uttering ‘petrol station?’ But they didn’t. And although they clearly thought I was a raving loon they stopped to ask if they could help. Once I explained that we were on our way to a pole dancing competition at The Dome they perked up considerably and offered to hop in the car and take us there. Honestly speaking I would be a little disingenuous if I pretend not to realise that these two lovely young men had clearly just thought they had pulled big time but needs must. They were so excited that they left their friend (who they later told us was waiting at home for them to bring back supplies for their evening on the Playstation!) and hopped in the car with a promise to take us to The Dome. Their disappointment on encountering the baby seat in the back was palpable but they handled it with good grace and chatted drunkenly with us all the way to The Dome. It turned out that Dave and Gareth were older than we first thought at 26 (worryingly I thought they were about 21 compared to my worldly ways!). They turned out to be charming, good looking and very sweet boys and we were delivering them straight into the hands of our girls! That is what team building is all about!

And they were good to their word. Thank you Gareth and Dave. We got there seamlessly (we never, ever would have made it without them). The girls were thrilled to meet Gareth and Dave and Gareth and Dave were thrilled to be there. And most importantly we got there in time for the big moment...

And then there was Danielle… The epic journey was worth it as she was amazing. Hundreds of people, a huge stage, long slippery pole. She worked that body (clad in orange spandex) and was utterly brilliant. Less stripper- more gymnast. Worryingly as her boss, it was one my proudest moments in her career to date!

Unfortunately I can't get hold of the video to post for all to see but here's the picture of Danielle that graced the front page of The Muswell Hill Journal...

And here's the latest move to be perfected by our genious gymnast!

The Eugogoly: Roxy this one's for you

I realise that most of you reading are doing so because you love fashion, but today is not about fashion. It is about Roxy so if you are not interested just log off. And if you are I am sorry it is going to be sad but it needs to be done as we can’t let her slip from our lives unmentioned, uncelebrated or unnoticed. Roxy has been Amiee’s faithful and adored companion for 5 short years but today Amiee has had to take the painful, heart wrenching decision to let her go.

For the last year Roxy has been losing the feeling in the base of her spine. She was brave and stoic and didn’t give in. Roxy had a huge love for life and her favourite thing was to run with Chester on Primrose hill. It is no small feat for a smaller than average French Bulldog to keep up with a larger than average chocolate Labrador but she did it with joy and enthusiasm until she truly wasn’t able any more. Slowly Amiee has watched her condition deteriorate until she can no longer go for her beloved walks, or control her bowels. This wonderful, beautiful dog lived her short life to the full but it was no longer fair to allow her to continue to suffer.

Roxy has spent every day in this office laying snuggled behind Amiee’s back. We will desperately miss the not so gentle snoring and less than subtle farting now that it will no longer be there. The most mellow, friendly, beautiful dog (looks a little bit like Diana Ross.-In a good way). She has been a loyal friend to Milly who will miss her and her left-overs greatly. She has been an adored sister to Chester who will be utterly bereft without her. Instead of being jealous at the arrival of Cydney, Roxy was warm, inclusive and protective with Cyd’s love for her furry sister evident as she chases her around on all fours. I truly believe that Cyd’s efforts to walk have been hindered by the fact that she believes she is a dog.

So Roxy, this one’s for you. We will miss you. So, so much.

London Fashion Week: Outfits At The Ready!

If you are reading this blog, the likelihood is that you have some interest in and awareness of fashion. Therefore I feel I can adopt a somewhat ‘knowing’ tone with you. You will be aware that London Fashion Week kicks off today with all the hype, hysteria and general hoopla that entails. I have to confess that after 10 years in business and a degree in Fashwani from the University of life it no longer fills me with the same levels of excitement as it did in the days when I would throw myself over a fence, under a train and snog a bouncer just to stand on tippee-toe at the back of the hottest, newest, I-buried-my-collection-in elephant-shit-and-am-now-selling –it-exclusively–to-one-shop-who-wont-pay designer of the moment.

That said it does still excite me in other ways. I love the outfits, the energy and the passion LFW whips up. I love the way that LFW gives the perfect excuse to unleash the fashion beast within. Clearly this enthusiastic approach generates a few odd looks in my direction on the school run-even if I do take the precaution of removing my white plastic star glasses (Alexa –I was following your ‘cool rules’) but on the whole I feel it is appreciated. One should always make the effort and if one can’t, then one needs to buy a very big and fabulous coat and cover up whatever hasn’t been appropriately styled. To within an inch of one’s life.

Obviously LFW is a very important time for us. It involves multiple outfit changes daily as we meet with the buyers, taste-makers and fashion mavens who buy our collections. It is incredibly hard work as I need to plan each outfit with meticulous care at least 3 days in advance…And the weather is just so unpredictable at this time of year…. I start off channeling a Belle de Jour meets Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights not the Ginger cat) vibe in a Harris Tweed Lou Trench and end up somewhere near Xanadu in a neon pink Alicia bubble dress due to a change in atmospheric conditions. All valid looks but incredibly difficult to pull off in terms of accessories all in the same day. I deserve an OBE.

Actually The Oracle and I will be off to New York bang in the middle of LFW. Sara’s Sister will fly the flag in the UK for LFW whilst The Oracle and I sashay around NYC in our fabulous outfits and hair by Fredrik Fekkai. It will be an exhausting round of meetings, dinners, drinks, parties and shopping. I don’t know how we will cope.

To be fair, it is fortunate that I only have to keep up this façade for a very limited time as it is frankly exhausting, all-consuming and irritating for anyone being forced to watch. But for the 4 weeks that are the Fashion Week season (only in Fashwani could people take so long and be so late that a week becomes 4) it is great fun and I shall fully partake-outfits at the ready.

'The Season'

We are now fully in the swing of what is known in Fashwani as 'The Season'. Contrary to indication this is not weather related, in fact the opposite- ‘The Season’ is all about the clothes we are going to be wearing in a totally different time of year to the one we are currently in and refers to the period of time allocated to the selling of next year’s fashion wonders.

This entails the channeling of next year’s summer looks on a chilly autumnal day. Importantly 'The Season' is totally different to 'This season' or 'Last Season' and should not be confused with either of them. To wear ‘This Season’ during ‘The Season’ is a Fashwani Faux Pas of gargantuan proportions as ‘The Season’ is the time to show the world (all watching with bated breath as missile defence shields in Eastern Europe fade into insignificance in the face of what we will be wearing for Spring Summer 2010) that we are so ahead of the pack that we are actually wearing next summer’s trends this winter. Believe me – every outfit counts.

However it is also when the Real Business of Fashion kicks in to play and the buyers use all their nous and talent to select the best pieces from the designer’s collections and puts them together in their own vision for their stores. And so it is that we find ourselves sitting in the lovely Palladio showroom taking appointments with buyers. It is actually quite unusual for the designers to take such a hands on approach to selling as we do-especially with the support of as agency as recognized as Palladio behind them. However it is a part of the business that we-and particularly Sara’s Sister enjoy. It gives us a fantastic insight in to an area of the business that as designers we don’t see firsthand. Buying really is an art and to watch a good buyer at work is inspirational and can teach a designer who is willing to listen and learn a great deal.

Sara's Sister is an amazing people person and loves a good chit chat with all the buyers whilst I am less of a ‘communicator’ and find the art of social interaction with anyone I haven’t known for at least ten years a bit of a mine field and have ‘issues’ with remembering who is who (unless their shoes are particularly fabulous-Hen you know who you are). Usually this isn’t really a problem and I simply bob around behind Amiee’s back looking (hopefully) welcoming and engaged. However this has all been thrown entirely out of whack by our new matchy-matchy hair cuts.

The story goes as follows..... Sara's Sister (not content with 2 weeks in her luxury villa complete with hammock, day bed and private yoga area) returned to Ibiza for a final dance-off with her friend Candice the Loud and Luke the Snippy. One drunken thing led to another and Luke The Snippy shaved Sara's Sister’s hair off. On her return I fell in love with her new lesbo-chic image (so SS10) and succumbed to the clippers (grade 3) in Sara's Sister’s kitchen. The result is that Amiee and I are now utterly indistinguishable from each other and have now officially morphed into one person with an exceedingly cool haircut and a passable sense of style. This is all well and good but has led to all manner of confusion, not least that the buyers need clarification as to which one of us is which. The problem we have is that I still have no clue who anyone is...

Welcome To Sara's World

So it is with some trepidation that I put fingers to keyboard and start the Sara Berman blog. I do realize how important it is to  ‘communicate our brand message’, to engage you all in the World of Sara Berman. However I am also aware that it is a slippery slope from here on in. It is only a matter of time before I get over familiar and over exposed.

I have learned the hard way that any publicity carries its downside. A bit like the time I did a shoot with Living Etc ‘at home’…. I am sure you can imagine it… Amiee and I laying on a leopard print divan, laying on a cream sofa, laying on each other and rubbing cupcakes from the Primrose Hill Bakery on to our thighs... Obviously they cut all of that (including Sara’s Sister) from the shoot itself leaving us with a very chic piece which I was proud to show Granny G. However all the glory was blown to bits when a reader wrote in to the magazine the following month to kindly let me know that my bedroom wallpaper is upside down. Clearly I was previously blissfully unaware of my huge interiors faux pas and now lay in bed at night staring at said wallpaper and nervously trying to broach the subject with Handsome D. It goes without saying that Handsome is not interested but did offer the helpful solution that I might feel better about it if I stand on my head.

But all that blatant self promotion aside, it is time I started  ‘communicating our brand message’. It is essential that I raise our Google Rankings, Engage our Customer and create an Online Community. From here on in I will be letting you know about all our new collections, our inspirations and creative musings. You will be duly informed as to who I am sleeping with (last night my daughter provided animated company at 4am), who I fancy (Handsome-you know who you are) and where I am going on holiday (generally wherever Sara’s Sister goes her little lamb will follow). Clearly this will be fascinating for you all and our Google Rankings will go through the roof.

So in anticipation of more blogs to come I want to provide you with a glossary of terms to help you navigate the World of Sara Berman.

Glossary:

• Sara’s Sister - Amiee. Frankly she says being my sister is truly a full time occupation and she is challenged and fulfilled on a daily basis.
• The Oracle (Mrs B to you Ads)– Our mum Helene. Famous for her hats. An enigma wrapped in a mystery, wearing Moschino.
• Handsome D – My ridiculously good looking husband who in more prosperous times won the Best Dressed Banker award. Twice.
• Dog-Sara’s Sister’s husband. Needs long walks, regular feeding and the odd pat on the head. Enthusiastic licker.
• The Boss-Danielle our production manager. We know where our bread is buttered.
• Grandfather - Super Stylist and photographer extraordinaire
• Milly - Joint CEO of Sara Berman. Milly would also like it known that her Great Aunt won Best of Breed at Crufts. Pedigree never dies.

*Sara Berman reserves the right to amend, update and strike off according to the social standing of the people concerned at any time. You have been warned.