Guinness designs debut online
Pictures: Independent Woman
• amfAR cinema against AIDS
• Celebration of the Arts Gala
• What to expect premiere London
• Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet
• Men In Black 3 London Premiere
By Kathleen O'Callaghan
Thursday Dec 10 2009
MODEL Jasmine Guinness of the brewing dynasty yesterday stepped out in style to launch her own fashion collection.
The quintessential beauty with the pale skin and blue eyes found modelling particularly inspiring for her practical range.
She wore flattering jackets dresses and skirts that she has designed with figure and pocket in mind.
Despite her affluent upbringing, her clothes are well priced. Most of the outfits retail at under €100 including jackets and trousers.
On the Very website -- the online department store which sells her collection -- the line-up of looks combines blacks, reds and graphics.
Designing was always at the back of her mind. "I love clothes and, as a model, it was wonderful to see designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, Roland Mouret and Jasper Conran at work. I jumped at the chance to start doing my own thing."
Jasmine (33) designed for the brand Oli for several seasons before signing on, with Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby, Peaches Geldof, Caprice and Preen, for Very earlier this year.
She is influenced, she says, by the women whose style inspired her as she was growing up. She is also related to style icons Lulu Guinness, who has won an OBE for her handbags and scarf collections, as well as the stunning Daphne Guinness -- who has the most coveted wardrobe in London.
"There's a mix of eras in what I do," says Jasmine. "My prints might be inspired by paintings; a dress might be based upon a silhouette in a drawing of one of my great-aunts. It's about clothes I know that work for a cross-section of women -- girls I see in the street; my friends. I'm not 24 any more and I'm inspired by real women, not size-zero models."
Jasmine has completed her spring/summer 2010 collection, which is on sale from January, and is working on next autumn/winter's designs. She hopes to introduce swimwear for 2011.
"It's all about fit and flatter. A woman wants something that holds her tummy in and her bosom up."
All clothes, sizes 8-18, by Jasmine Guinness for Very, are available now unless otherwise stated, at www.very.co.uk
- Kathleen O'Callaghan
Irish Independent
