Anya Hindmarch, MBE, handbag designer talks to DEIRDRE McQUILLAN.
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?I am not a "look at me" person. I like to communicate what I feel through my accessories rather than my clothes. I don't like looking trussed up – you feel prettier if you are comfortable.
WHAT GIVES YOU CONFIDENCE?Handbags do that for me. I feel very polished if I have a very beautiful handbag, it gives me a private sense of confidence.
WAS YOUR MOTHER A BIG INFLUENCE?When I was growing up in the 1970s she had a camel coat and she would often wear flared high-waist camel trousers with quite a thin little belt and a grey polo neck jumper – the tan bag in my latest collection fitted that look, that feeling of the 1970s. She gave me my first handbag at 16, a Gucci, her old one, and I remember how it made me feel.
WHERE DO IDEAS FOR BAGS COME FROM?Ideas are never an issue for me, but what is an issue is when we end up with a bag collection of samples which we have to edit down. Because I travel a huge amount every season, you do find that it feeds your brain. I also go to art galleries and draw on that hugely later on.
DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF JEWELLERY?I have very little, but what I have I wear all the time. I have quite a lot of Marni necklaces which I wear with my ear studs and my engagement ring. I buy costume jewellery for myself, but I do enjoy working with Cassandra Goad on jewellery.
WHAT DESIGNERS DO YOU ADMIRE?I think Hermès bags are beautiful. Alber Elbaz is very good at Lanvin – he has got that Lanvin look and those dresses are investments.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SHOPS?I love specialist shops such as Porselli in Milan – they do the best ballet shoes, and I get very excited by a specialist eyewear shop in Paris.
WHAT SORT OF CLOTHES DO YOU WEAR?I love empire lines and am not good at body-con clothes. I don't like overly sexy clothes because they don't make me feel sexy.
WHAT ABOUT SHOES?I make my own shoes, a small collection. I like chunky shoes because they make your legs look thinner. I like chunky wedges because of balance and weight, but I also like designing fine shoes because they are like little pieces of art.
WHAT MAKES A PERFECT HANDBAG?You can have a piece of art that breaks new ground, or you can have a bag that makes you feel great and does the job, and for me the perfect result as a designer is to merge those two. You have a very intimate relationship with a handbag because you are carrying it around with you.
WILL THE RECESSION AFFECT YOU? Yes, but in times of recession you want something that will last. I started in business when I was 18 and run it very carefully. I come from a family with their own businesses, so I am surrounded by such people.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH DESIGN:I think of what I want to wear, because I am my own harshest critic – and I will notice a really chic woman in Italy, such as the art dealer Carla Sozzani with her huge glasses, curled up in her Pucci trousers. That's real style.
HOW DO YOU RELAX?Probably when I get home, by lighting a fire and drinking wine with friends around the kitchen table.