This week I’m wearing... Nicholas Oakwell

You’ve been invited to the ball - who do you call? Follow in the footsteps of Gillian Anderson, Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn and step out in a little Nicholas Oakwell number
Supporters: María Valverde, Karlie Kloss, Gillian Anderson and Jourdan Dunn
Pictures: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty, Mark Robert Milan/GC, Tim P. Whitby/Getty, and Ian West/PA
Getty/ PA
Emma McCarthy5 December 2014

When Gillian Anderson took to the stage on Sunday to collect her award for Best Actress at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, she wore a suitably dramatic gown: all black, strapless tulle with neon-yellow floral appliqué. Two nights ago the dress popped up again — this time in white with orange detail — at the Exodus: Gods and Kings premiere on burgeoning superstarlet María Valverde. But it wasn’t one of the usual design suspects behind the gown of the moment. In fact it was the work of a relative unknown: Nicholas Oakwell.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg — in a week of stylish soirées to make your head spin, Oakwell’s name has been dropped again and again. What did Karlie Kloss choose to sashay around in with her fellow uber-models Cara Delevingne and Joan Smalls at the British Fashion Awards? A metallic silk backless gown by ... you’ve guessed it. And at Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell’s after-party for Edward Enninful at the Hotel Café Royal, Jourdan Dunn cut a glamorous figure in a black leather jumpsuit by you-know-who.

There is no doubt that this is Nicholas Oakwell’s week. But who is he?

Nicholas Oakwell: the face behind the beautifully feminine designs
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images

Well, one reason you may not know his name is because his eponymous couture label was established just three years ago. As fashion legend has it, Oakwell’s graduate millinery collection from Epsom University was snapped up by Harvey Nichols and proved an instant sell-out success, resulting in Oakwell being offered a position as the in-house designer of the department store’s own brand. He went on to manage a leading uniform-production company and spent several years designing staff attire for numerous hotels, bars and restaurants, when, at the age of 41, he decided to follow his dream and launch his own couture label. Now, with a 75-strong team of staff and artisans working at his atelier in Clerkenwell and a boutique on Mayfair’s Brook Street, Oakwell has managed to establish a British couture house that the red-carpet regulars are clamouring to wear.

Oakwell stands apart from other dress designers on the circuit. For many, he is the anti-fashion couturier. While official Paris Haute Couture is the work of hundreds of skilled hands working for hundreds of hours to produce collections that comply with the codes of 100-year-old couture houses, Oakwell’s fledgling label has free rein to create pretty party frocks that need only stand up to the scrutiny of the paparazzi’s flashbulbs. Of course, the couture price tag still stands (prices are on application but will run into thousands). Each dress is made to order, with every one-of-a-kind creation taking between six and 12 weeks to make. But with the hefty cost — and patience — comes a gown worthy of any Fifties Hollywood starlet.

Nicholas Oakwell - in pictures

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When it comes to his high-octane aesthetic, he isn’t concerned with conforming to the shape of the season but with making the woman feel and look like the very best version of herself. And — as his recent popularity proves — there is a whole school of women in London busy ordering dresses for the party season who just want to look a knockout.

“Nicholas understands women,” says Gianluca Longo, who has worked as a stylist consultant on all of Oakwell’s couture shows at Claridge’s since the label was founded. “Unlike a catwalk designer who imagines their designs as a tool to showcase their showmanship and creativity, Nicholas understands the life of the couture client. He is always thinking of the woman who is actually going to wear it and, most importantly, how she will feel. He has never followed trends and for that reason he has created his own loyal following.”

Caroline Issa, executive fashion director of London style tome Tank Magazine, is also a long-time champion of Oakwell. “I respect Nicholas for his rare combination of sharp business acumen, beautifully feminine designs and commitment to UK production and craftsmanship. On top of that he knows how to make a woman feel absolutely gorgeous and set for any red-carpet event.”

It seems fans are something he’s definitely not short of. Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer is never far from the front row at Oakwell’s shows and routinely champions the designer’s creations — including at the premiere of the latest Hunger Games film last month, for which she wore an embroidered tulle and black satin layered gown — while Hilary Swank has worn dresses from his spring collection twice in the past few months.

The appeal of an Oakwell gown, it seems, is universal among women in the spotlight. Dame Helen Mirren and Annie Lennox have both chosen to wear Oakwell couture, as have Paloma Faith, Rita Ora and Karolína Kurková. Two huge stars are also rumoured to be lining up his frocks for their next major red-carpet outings. His creations may not be designed for a specific age, attitude or physique —they are simply designed to make any woman wearing it feel like a princess for the night.

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