If haven't already heard of William Tempest, you will.
- He was one of the four finalists of Fashion Fringe 2008.
- He did a two-year national diploma course in fashion design and textiles when he was only 16.
- He graduated with a first class honours degree in womenswear design from London College of Fashion.
- He worked four seasons with Giles Deacon and went to Paris to work with Jean Charles de Castelbajac.
- He's designed some pieces for Madonna.
The model is L'atesha at IMG and that's Lan doing the make-up.Last week we shot William's pre A/W 09 collection. I was surprised he did a mid season collection as he's so busy working on his A/W 2009 collection, which he plans to show at London Fashion Week!Why did you do a pre-collection?WT - Pre-collection is becoming much more of a focus for buyers, my pre- fall 09 collection will give me an added opportunity to present my label and to find further stockists. It's about placing my label more competitively, if I can offer a selection of new styles mid-season then this is great for my customer.
Will you be doing a show at London Fashion Week?
WT - Yes, I'll be showing my Autumn/Winter 09 collection in London next February. I'll also be going over to Paris Fashion Week at the start of March to sell the collection, dates and locations are all still to be confirmed.
Have you dresses any one famous? Do you do commissions?WT - I recently dressed Emma Watson for the premier of her new film 'The Tale of Despereaux'. She heard about me as she came to my show last September. It was a really fantastic opportunity making some pieces for her and she looked absolutely stunning in the outfit she wore, she has the confidence to pull it off!
And yes I do take private orders and commissions. I've been having quite a lot of interest since I collaborated with Diesel last year and exhibited my work throughout their Kings Road flagship store.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to study fashion?
WT - I think you need to really think about what you want in terms of a career before enrolling on a fashion course. There are so many different areas to fashion which is great, but not every position is right for everyone. You shouldn't enrol on a design course just because you like the idea of it, because what will you do afterwards?
Fashion is very competitive and is often extremely hard work for little results. For designers in particular you have to be confident in knowing that this is what you want to do, and be confident in knowing what you are about. You have to be prepared to fight for it and if you're not hungry you wont go anywhere
Emma Watson wore one of William's dresses to the premiere of her latest film, Tales of Despereaux!
This is a picture of William on his holiday! He had his holiday snaps printed onto fabric that he used for his Spring Summer 09 collection.
