0:00:01 > 0:00:03BBC Four Collections -
0:00:03 > 0:00:06specially chosen programmes from the BBC archive.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24WOMAN: I think he's got a wonderful personality,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26and he's very, very Welsh, which is nice.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31He likes to sort of bring this Welsh cheekiness or impishness
0:00:31 > 0:00:33into everything he does.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36NEW SPEAKER: I think he is doing something which is entirely new.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Certainly there is no history of knitted evening wear,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41let alone sort of transparent knitwear.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44MAN: All the time he's trying to break the boundary
0:00:44 > 0:00:46in terms of technical innovation,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49but also what he knits with, in terms of the yarns he uses.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Really things that have never been knitted before.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54So he's extraordinarily creative.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59When people normally think of knitwear,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and people would ask me, "What do you do?" So, "I'm a knitwear designer."
0:01:03 > 0:01:06And they'd automatically say, "Oh, you make jumpers, then."
0:01:06 > 0:01:11And I'd say, "No, I don't make jumpers, I make very sexy dresses."
0:01:11 > 0:01:15And they'd say, "Oh, what, like, thick, chunky jumpers, long dresses?
0:01:15 > 0:01:19"You know, cardigans, hats, bobble hats."
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And I'd say, "No, I create modern knitwear."
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Julien MacDonald is one of Britain's leading young fashion designers.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30His revolutionary knitwear has been the talk of Paris, Milan
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and London for the past two years.
0:01:33 > 0:01:351997 sees a big challenge for Julien -
0:01:35 > 0:01:38the launch of his first catwalk collection
0:01:38 > 0:01:40in the media glare of London Fashion Week.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Work on the collection began in northern Italy in late August.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Hi, Julien! How are you?
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- Come sta? - Bene.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57'Miss Deanna is one of Europe's top knitwear manufacturers.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00'Her state-of-the-art factory near Bologna is everything
0:02:00 > 0:02:02'a young designer could dream of.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05'Julien's already been there once to go over the designs
0:02:05 > 0:02:07'with Miss Deanna and choose fabrics.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'Now, six weeks later, he's back to see
0:02:11 > 0:02:14'the prototypes of the collection for the very first time.'
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Wow! It's bright!
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Oh, wow.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24It's amazing.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- I think they're really fantastic. - Oh, they're brilliant.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Bravo!
0:02:35 > 0:02:38'It's amazing for me, it's just like a treasure box,
0:02:38 > 0:02:39'a box of tricks,'
0:02:39 > 0:02:44because everything I can do, they can do better than me.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48And make things...well, make my dreams really come true.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51'Things I dream about I can't do,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55'Miss Deanna likes to try to make them, and does make them, come true.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59'Very special, cutting-edge development knitwear.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:02That's fantastic, this is brilliant.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- It is new, new, new for you! - I know!
0:03:05 > 0:03:07This is really new. Actually, it is everything new.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Everything!
0:03:09 > 0:03:12SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:03:39 > 0:03:44'I think that here in Italy, and we can say perhaps also in Europe,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48'she's one of the best knitwear makers.'
0:03:48 > 0:03:49She does a lot of research,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53I mean she's always travelling around the world seeing exactly
0:03:53 > 0:03:59what is dressed in the streets, what the young people has on.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02'She always let the designer feel like at home,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'having all what they need to work.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'So I think that's really like a paradise!'
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Pronti.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Ah, you want me to do it with the pins?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16THEY LAUGH
0:04:16 > 0:04:19'She's very fun to work with, and she's also very tiring because,'
0:04:19 > 0:04:21you know, I'm young and she's
0:04:21 > 0:04:26much older than me, and when I feel tired, she is very alive and awake.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28'And I think this comes with experience
0:04:28 > 0:04:31'because she's used to working with so many designers.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35'And she's a very exciting and fantastic lady to work with
0:04:35 > 0:04:37'because she will try anything.'
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Julien...it's impossible! THEY LAUGH
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I see...and I can take the pins out then.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50'He's very manual.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55'I mean, normally for knitwears, you have to have a good relation
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'with yarns, because those are'
0:04:57 > 0:04:59the materials of the designer.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05And so you have really to know how they can...work. And, um...
0:05:07 > 0:05:11I think he really can see materials,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14'from a yarn, what is the right translation.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19'That is not so easy in knitwear, so not all designers can do that.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23'So I think if a good designer that has his features
0:05:23 > 0:05:28'meets a good knitwear factory, then it's the best.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:31- Can we make this smaller? - Yes.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'These are the prototypes, the fashion toiles.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36'And this is the first time I've seen the collection
0:05:36 > 0:05:40'actually made into garments, because when you design the sketches,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42'the sketching's very small, they're not real.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44'Then when you see the clothes,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46'they're actually real clothes, for real women.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49'And when you see them on the body, you know, it's exciting.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52'But it's also a time for change.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56'We change the colours, we change the sizes of the sleeves,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59'the arm holes, the lengths of the dresses, the backs.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'And some things work and some things don't,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05'but this is the fun part, this is the design part.'
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Yeah. That's it, fine.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Julien's own evolution as a fashion designer started
0:06:41 > 0:06:44when he was growing up in Merthyr Tydfil.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48When he was a teenager, he was different from all the other boys.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52I'd give him money to go to town with all the other boys
0:06:52 > 0:06:56to buy sweaters, or shirts, whatever, you know, the boys were buying,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59cos they used to start then to go out in the night.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03He'd come home then, well, he'd buy something way out.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05And I used to say to him,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08"Julien, that's too big for you, that's not going to look nice, Ju."
0:07:08 > 0:07:11"You wait now till I finish."
0:07:11 > 0:07:13He'd get the machine down.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Well, whatever he'd bought, he'd make it all different then.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I remember I'd often go to Cardiff and buy things from the markets
0:07:21 > 0:07:23and things, kind of recycle them.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27And for me, you know, Cardiff was such a big place, you know,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31living in such a small valley town, it was a big thing to do.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35And I remember I always used to do funny things to my hair.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40I used to have perms and cut it and perhaps imitate, you know,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43a kind of pop star or somebody I liked.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46He used to look really trendy, I got to be truthful with you,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48he did, he used to look the part when he used to go out.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53And he used to put a lot of effort into it. From his hair to his shoes.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55I've seen him going out with odd shoes on.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59I've seen him going out with one lace done up and one lace undone.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01You name it, and he's done it.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12The funny thing is about me,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16when I was young I was never actually good at anything.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I was always bottom of the class and not top of the class.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23And people would just think, "Oh, he'll end up in Hoovers,
0:08:23 > 0:08:24"or in the light bulb factory,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27"he'll never actually make anything of himself."
0:08:28 > 0:08:30When I went to Brighton,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33I was never the best in the college at the beginning.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Everything would always fall off the machine and they'd say, "Oh, God,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40"you're hopeless." And, you know, "You take ages to do everything."
0:08:40 > 0:08:42And then what happened is,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46as soon as I started to work with other people, I learnt myself.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Because when I used to work for Cole, he would say,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"Oh, Julien, this is a dress, can you make a dress?"
0:08:50 > 0:08:53And, of course, I'd never, ever made a dress,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I'd never made a jumper, I'd never even made a bobble hat.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57I'd knitted little squares.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00And all of a sudden I was in a situation where
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I had to make a dress.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05So I would go the library, get a book, and actually read
0:09:05 > 0:09:08how to make a dress, and then I would make the dress.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I remember waking up one morning and everything just clicked,
0:09:12 > 0:09:13everything just fell into part.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17It was almost as if somebody had come to me one night and kind of sprinkled
0:09:17 > 0:09:21magic dust over me, and I woke up and I could do all these things.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Cos the day before, I couldn't do them.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27After Brighton, Julien's progress was rapid.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Studying at the Royal College Of Art,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32he took part in a competition to design clothes
0:09:32 > 0:09:34for one of the top names in the fashion business -
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I was very scared and I was shaking.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Because don't forget, you know,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Mr Lagerfeld is the most famous designer in the world.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Then when he actually saw what I did, of course, for him,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52he'd never actually seen fabrics like mine before.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58Because what I do is very unique to me. It's very modern, it's very edgy.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02It can be young, and it can be very old and very sophisticated.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04So, I had something that he wanted.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09So, of course, I won the competition, he loved my work.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12And, um, there was me and two other people
0:10:12 > 0:10:17that got sent to Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel headquarters
0:10:17 > 0:10:18to spend the summer in Paris.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23At the end of the holidays, the other students went back to college,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26but Julien was asked to stay on and become Karl Lagerfeld
0:10:26 > 0:10:28and Chanel's knitwear chief.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32There I was, 22 years old,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Julien MacDonald from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39You know, it was odd. I was the knitwear designer for Chanel.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43You know, I was the boss, I didn't answer to anybody at all.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Karl just let me do whatever I wanted to do.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49If I wanted to do something, I could just do it.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And then I would have to go to all the factories
0:10:51 > 0:10:53to supervise all the production.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I'd say, "Hello, I'm Mr MacDonald," and they'd like...
0:10:56 > 0:10:59"Well, you can't be Mr MacDonald, you're so young!"
0:10:59 > 0:11:01They would phone up Chanel headquarters and say,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04"Oh, we've got this young boy, he says he's the knitwear designer
0:11:04 > 0:11:06"for Chanel, is it true?" And they'd say,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08"Yes, Mr MacDonald is the boss.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11"If he says it's black and three metres,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13"it's black and three metres."
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I just remember I was actually dressing Naomi Campbell,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and I'd sent her off and all of a sudden it was like,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50"Julien! Julien, Julien." And I remember Andre Leon Talley
0:11:50 > 0:11:53grabbing me, saying, "Quick, Karl wants you, Karl wants you."
0:11:53 > 0:11:55And I just thought, "Oh, my God, something's broken,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58"a dress has ripped, or they want me to do something."
0:11:58 > 0:12:00So then I ran to Karl at the side of the catwalk and said,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02"Karl, what's the matter, what do you want?"
0:12:02 > 0:12:04He said, "We're all going on the runway now."
0:12:04 > 0:12:07I said, "What?" He said, "You're coming on the runway with me."
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I said, "No, I'm not, it's not my show, it's your show."
0:12:10 > 0:12:12He said, "No, no, no, you're coming with me.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Then all of a sudden I was literally pushed onto the runway.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And then of course in front of me there was all of Paris.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Karl took the very unusual step of actually bringing Julien out
0:12:26 > 0:12:28onto the catwalk with him.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29And normally,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Karl Lagerfeld is a man who likes to keep the limelight to himself.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37So I think we all realised instantly that this was something
0:12:37 > 0:12:38quite special.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I think what he liked about Julien,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and I think what everybody notices,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45is his kind of wizardry with weaving
0:12:45 > 0:12:51and the fact that he's completely at home using very strange materials,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55like, you know, silver thread, gold thread, metal...
0:12:56 > 0:12:58The kind of fibres and textures
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and elements that you wouldn't normally associate with knitwear.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Well, it was something I was doing for a long time.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10I'd just developed the technique for very feminine, lacy fabrics.
0:13:10 > 0:13:16And American Vogue kind of quoted me as being the "genius of knitwear".
0:13:16 > 0:13:18And then in Harper's Bazaar,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21"Julien MacDonald, the supreme knitwear designer".
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Then in British Vogue, "Julien MacDonald and the king of knitwear."
0:13:25 > 0:13:28All of a sudden I became king of the cobweb.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I think, on the whole, we associate knitwear with day wear,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20we think it's comfy, it's stretchy, we wear it in layers.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And Julien's taken knitwear into an entirely new realm.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26The one thing that perhaps we could liken it to
0:14:26 > 0:14:28is cobwebby knitting,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32but it's something that's always been used for shawls, um, in wool,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36certainly not in transparent, body-moulding evening gowns.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Julien's clothes are appealing to a new fashion client.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Perhaps not always used to wearing evening wear.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44And what he's done with this dress is,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47he's taken the basic shape of the V-neck T-shirt,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50which is something that 1990s women are familiar with,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54and married with a style which could be likened to 1930s bias cut,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57sort of body-moulding evening wear.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59And married the two together.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08I think you've got to be special to wear them.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12I think you've got to be really...trim. Have no cellulite!
0:15:15 > 0:15:17So we can't wear them.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20They are really special, his clothes,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and I don't think that a lot of people can afford them.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I think you've got to be in the right sort of work
0:15:27 > 0:15:29to be able to wear them and to buy them.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32But things are about to change.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Julien's been working with Marks & Spencer to create
0:15:35 > 0:15:39a new collection specially designed for the high street.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43When he first came to see me, the first sort of interview we had,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46when he was talking about actually designing for a chain store,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48he was... It excited him.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Not only was he excited about working with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel
0:15:51 > 0:15:53and making his own couture collection,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56but he was very excited about putting clothes together
0:15:56 > 0:15:58that his sisters could afford in Cardiff,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and, you know, that were affordable to a lot of people.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07It's very different because my fabrics are very technical
0:16:07 > 0:16:10so firstly I have to teach the factory how to make my fabrics.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12And then, of course, with Marks & Spencers,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14it's about price and quality.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17So it has to be at a price that people can afford
0:16:17 > 0:16:22and at a quality that's acceptable to a Marks & Spencers customer.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25So it's actually very, very challenging.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28You have to make things which people want to wear
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and that all people can wear, from a size eight,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and also something that somebody at a size 16 can wear.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41What we will get is the flavour of his couture clothes
0:16:41 > 0:16:42and what we saw on the catwalk,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46but they will obviously be reinvented for mass production.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49And, as I said, he's very keen that we have prices
0:16:49 > 0:16:52that his sisters can afford, he keeps going back to that.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55But what you'll still get is the creativity,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59and you'll get those very lacy knits and the sheer looks
0:16:59 > 0:17:02and the fine sort of gossamer weights.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The creativity with yarns that he is known for.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09These will be wearable, very special and very glamorous.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13London, or Britain, is unique in the world in the opportunities
0:17:13 > 0:17:16it does afford young designers on the high street.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And in the last couple of years we've seen many such marriages
0:17:19 > 0:17:22springing up - between Debenhams and Jasper Conran,
0:17:22 > 0:17:28between Dorothy Perkins and Clemence Ribeiro, between BHS and Paul Frith.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31And Marks and Sparks with Julien MacDonald is one of the latest
0:17:31 > 0:17:34kind of designer partnerships.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37And what it means is that Julien's sort of,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41the wilder extremes that he can go to on the catwalk,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43encouraged by somebody like Karl Lagerfeld,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46can then be tempered and sort of toned down
0:17:46 > 0:17:51for the mass market consumer by a company such as Marks & Spencers.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Julien's Marks & Spencer clothes hit the streets in May
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and the company are also the sponsors behind his new show.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05The collection marks a radical departure from his cobweb chic.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09Yeah, I like that.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And the underneath, how it must go?
0:18:14 > 0:18:16- So short, or the same length? - Yeah.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:18:26 > 0:18:28SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:18:30 > 0:18:31Yeah, it's better now.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36Can you walk down?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Small things make a lot of difference.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47That's better.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49'This will be a really big shock'
0:18:49 > 0:18:51for many people.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Because my work before is much, much more sophisticated
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and it catered for a different clientele.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01The new collection is very young, it's fun, you know,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03it's short and it's extremely sexy.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07'And I think for the customers I have now, they will be very kind of,'
0:19:07 > 0:19:11"Oh, where is the old Julien MacDonald?" But of course fashion
0:19:11 > 0:19:14is about change and if you don't change, then you get left behind.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Back home, there's only two weeks to go before London Fashion Week.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31It's an organisational nightmare.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33I've got to go to Paris tomorrow, as well.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Who have you got confirmation on?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43I haven't confirmed anyone yet.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45But I thought we were going to do that.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46We can do that tomorrow.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Oh, Joanne, I thought you were going to do that.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50You have to do that straightaway.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55JULIEN: 'Well, London Fashion Week is probably the most important
0:19:55 > 0:19:58'event of the year for fashion designers.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03'It's where you show your clothes to everybody in the fashion business
0:20:03 > 0:20:05'and everybody in the world.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09'The most prestigious event on that calendar is actually having
0:20:09 > 0:20:13'the last show, because the last show makes everybody stay,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17'it makes the buyers stay, it makes the press stay -
0:20:17 > 0:20:21'and of course I'm their last show, it's an immense pressure.'
0:20:21 > 0:20:25It looks like it is quite difficult to work with, you know?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27There's two sides to this business.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29There's a side which is very glamorous and fun
0:20:29 > 0:20:34and there's a side which is extremely bitchy and very catty
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and people which have daggers
0:20:36 > 0:20:39who just want to put you down on every instance.
0:20:39 > 0:20:45So I surround myself with people who I think are nice and genuine...
0:20:45 > 0:20:48in their profession and also in their personal life.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52'So I always ask my friends to make things for me.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56'And the people who work for me, they become my friends.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01'We work as a family and as a team, where we all work together to create
0:21:01 > 0:21:06'a look which isn't just about Julien MacDonald, it's about everybody.'
0:21:07 > 0:21:08And if you see, at the front...
0:21:08 > 0:21:12And then we can take them off and what we've done with the design,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14we can just change it round, so...
0:21:14 > 0:21:15'Julien can change rapidly,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17'he's renowned for changing collections
0:21:17 > 0:21:23in between collections, so that's quite good, and for me,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25it's quite inspiring and quite encouraging,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28because I have to change as rapidly as Julien does, so...
0:21:28 > 0:21:32And that's good cos it means that we get loads of ideas out
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and perhaps what we don't use this season, we'll use again next season,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38so there's elements which we keep.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41But again, it's knowing each other's vocabulary of design and...
0:21:41 > 0:21:43what the limits are.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50NARRATOR: Julien's workshop is in the old garment district
0:21:50 > 0:21:52of London's East End.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53The day before the show,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57the final details are still being stitched into place.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03JULIEN: 'I always tend to cast the models I know.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06'I always pick the models I've met through, you know, Chanel
0:22:06 > 0:22:08'and through Karl Lagerfeld.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11'The girls, they know me, they know what I'm like, so then
0:22:11 > 0:22:15'I can enjoy myself, because I'm surrounded by friends.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17'I always design thinking,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19'"Oh, that'll be Naomi Campbell" or, "That will be Jodie Kidd."
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'I know exactly what each girl will wear.'
0:22:23 > 0:22:25This is it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32NARRATOR: It's important to make your mark with your first catwalk show
0:22:32 > 0:22:36and Julien's chosen a rather unusual venue to do just that.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Well, this is Spitalfields Opera House
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and this is the location for the show.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48I've just come myself about ten minutes ago, just to see the space.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50CLATTERS ECHO
0:22:54 > 0:22:57FOOTBALLERS CALL OUT TO EACH OTHER
0:22:59 > 0:23:03JULIEN: 'Well, I like it, because outside is such reality,
0:23:03 > 0:23:04'there's people playing football,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07'there's market stalls, fruit and veg, the fishmonger.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10'When you walk through the door, I said, "What's that smell?"
0:23:10 > 0:23:13'She said, "Oh, it's the fish shop opposite." So that's real
0:23:13 > 0:23:17'and that's also what London and this part of London, the East End,
0:23:17 > 0:23:18'is about, so it's amazing.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23'In this room tomorrow night, will be
0:23:23 > 0:23:27'500 of the world's most prestigious press and journalists,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29'pop stars and media celebrities
0:23:29 > 0:23:31'and some of the most richest women in the world as well,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34'who'll actually be buying the clothes.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39'So it's very important that the first impression is strong.'
0:23:39 > 0:23:43It's him and there's a PA and there's a guy on bongo drums.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45'Last time I was very nervous
0:23:45 > 0:23:48'and thought, "Oh, God, is it worth all this fuss, all this performance?'
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Cos people think it's very glamorous,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52but, you know, the pressure is immense
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and I'm extremely tired and very fragile,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58so the smallest thing affects me now because I'm on my wits' end.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02NARRATOR: The last day of London Fashion Week has arrived
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and the final reports are being filed by the world's fashion press.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Meanwhile, over at Spitalfields,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14everything is almost ready for the show.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30But the front-of-house calm belies the chaos backstage.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31HUM OF VOICES
0:24:36 > 0:24:38JULIEN: 'It's very stressful, being a designer.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42'Although it's, you know, fun, and it is glamorous,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46'everything is addressed to you - you know, what colour shoes?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49'How would you want this? What music do you want? What drinks do you want?
0:24:49 > 0:24:51'What time do want people to come?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54'You have to have the answers for everything.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58'Everybody's kind of working for you freely, nobody gets paid.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00'Everybody is there because they love fashion.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03'So you have to be nice to everybody.'
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Delegate a dresser to a girl, that's your job!
0:25:09 > 0:25:12There's a fashion show going on inside, you must know that, you know?
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Roles, man.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19'I like to think that I'm kind of a normal type of guy, you know,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21'I'm quite funny, I'm very easy-going.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24'I'm there to make everybody enjoy themselves,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'cos if you don't enjoy yourselves, people don't do it.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'They don't come back to help you again.'
0:25:30 > 0:25:32- Hi, hi. - Wow.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34LIVELY BUZZ OF CONVERSATION
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Ten minutes left to take your photos, please. Ten minutes only for photos.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48That includes you, Richard, I'm afraid!
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- Are you excited? - Yes, I am excited!
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Isn't he the most...?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53'Julien MacDonald's a great character,'
0:25:53 > 0:25:55and a wonderful person
0:25:55 > 0:25:57and he has a tremendous Celtic spirit,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00so I think everyone's very excited, and his knitwear is exquisite.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04There's no-one probably that does knitwear like this in the world.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I'm actually confident about it because I know it's a strong show
0:26:07 > 0:26:12and also that before each girl goes on, I'll check them,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15to see what they look like and everything, so...yeah, I'm happy.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's what I've always wanted, so it's great.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20PA: Can you feel it?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:26:24 > 0:26:27MUSIC: People Crew Intro (featuring Mark Sheer) by People Crew
0:26:59 > 0:27:01# I'm alive, the man with the second face
0:27:01 > 0:27:04# And I'm ready y'all to rock the space, real
0:27:04 > 0:27:06# I'm alive the man with the second face
0:27:06 > 0:27:09# And I'm ready y'all to rock the space, real... #
0:27:29 > 0:27:32JULIEN: 'When it comes to me going on the catwalk, I'm like a madman,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37'I'm crazed up because that's my adrenaline is at a peak!
0:27:37 > 0:27:41'You know, I'm happy, It's over, it's the end!
0:27:41 > 0:27:45'So of course what you do is run on the catwalk because you're so happy.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47"I've finished it, it's over!"
0:27:47 > 0:27:50'You know, "I loved it, thank you very much!"'
0:27:50 > 0:27:52MAN: Excellent. It was...
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We took a chance on someone so young finishing British Fashion Week
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and he pulled it off. And it's...
0:27:58 > 0:28:00very exciting, um...
0:28:00 > 0:28:03We've just come backstage to see him
0:28:03 > 0:28:05and people are literally in tears, it is that exciting.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Sensational.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12We are all now little flies trapped in Julien MacDonald's web.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14100% knits!
0:28:14 > 0:28:16There was a lot of interest.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Also because there was only one Julien MacDonald
0:28:19 > 0:28:22that was doing knitwear and very young
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and everybody was looking for somebody
0:28:24 > 0:28:27that was doing something new in knitwear.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32I'm going to find your mother and father, just to say thank you.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33Look at you!
0:28:33 > 0:28:35I thought the shoes were exquisite,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I thought the clothes were very exciting.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39You have to look at it as knitwear.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41For knitwear, it's very modern.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Oh, it's lovely.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I didn't want the show to end, it was so lovely.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48JULIEN'S DAD: It was an excellent show.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53Very, very good and all the top models here.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56He's done his mum and dad proud.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01A Welsh boy from Merthyr Tydfil - really, really good.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06I enjoyed it because my work is my life and also my hobby.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it, full stop.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12So this what I'm about - this is Julien MacDonald.