Savannah Miller: On Bagsy, ‘Boho Chick’ And Brexit…

Published on25th July 2016 at 4.57pm

Designer Savannah Miller has been in fashion all her working life, starting (so glamorously) with Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson, who she worked with just months after graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in 2004. She founded the fashion label ‘Twenty8Twelve’ with her sister, Sienna, in 2006, and went on to launch her own label ‘Savannah’ in 2012.

She now designs ‘Nine by Savannah Miller’ for Debenhams, and has recently collaborated with British cosmetics brand, Bagsy. The Savannah Miller x Bagsy Collection will be released later this year and here, she tells us all about it, her beauty routine, what she really thinks about ‘boho chic’, and how frustrated she is with Brexit…

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Hong Kong and moved to New York when I was about 18 months old; Sienna [Miller, her sister] was born there. I had a New York accent until I was 7, although we moved back to London when I was 5. New York still weirdly feels like home, and I haven’t lived there for 35 years.

Where do you live now?

Gloucestershire, but I come up to London for work. I commute, basically – it’s a crazy juggle, because obviously having kids and a job is a juggle full-stop. I need a base in London though. I stay with Sienna while I’m here – she’s got a beautiful house – but she’s moving to New York in September, so I’ve got to get my own place. Having more of a base and a studio will probably help me be a bit more organised.

Where do you feel most inspired?

New York. From a work point of view, if I’m in Gloucestershire, I’m in a very different mindset to when I’m in London. When I come up to town there’s a much faster pace – people are dressed beautifully and it’s very inspiring. When I’m at home, I’m in mummy mode, I’m not able to focus as clearly.

Your style is often labelled ‘Boho Chic’. What do you think about that?

I don’t see myself as a person who’s creating fashion that’s paving the way. I’m just trying to make great clothes that feel good. It’s not about trends or inventing something new. I’m inherently bohemian; my parents are American and South African and we were dragged around the world as children. We were very lucky – my mother was constantly collecting things and our house was full of African artefacts. It became a natural thing to collect things as I also travelled around the world. I love the beautiful textiles of Mexico and the vibrant colours of India and these things do genuinely inspire me and excite me. So I guess the sort of ‘Boho Chic’ thing… it’s terrible terminology, but it is what it is and I love it.

Did ‘Boho Chic’ influence your new Bagsy Collection?

Not so much. The whole idea behind that was to bring an elevated, slightly more ‘fashion’ element to the existing Bagsy range – which is very pretty and girly and feminine. I wanted more of a ‘city’ vibe.

How did you create it?

I went round all my girlfriends and asked: ‘What are those key pieces that you have in your handbag? What are those make-up items that you can’t live without?’

That said, it was ultimately the things that I use and need that I put in the collection. I’m all one colour without using make-up; I’m blonde, my skin is very pale, and I have very pale eyelashes and eyebrows. So I need things to define my face, to give it three dimensional depth. I start very naturally during the day, and then at night, it gets a bit more smoky.

What’s in your collection?

There’s a great eyeshadow palette and a lovely liquid eyeliner, which has got this extra-long tip that you can reverse if it gets scuzzy. There’s a mascara that’s got a much thicker brush than I normally would use, and a really good red lipstick. We tried it on lots of people with different skin colours and different hair colours to get a red that really did work across the board.

There’s also a bronzing powder, which has got a glimmer in it, so it’s really natural. And 15% of profits go to Women for Women International, which is a fabulous charity giving hope to women whose lives have been completely destroyed.

How involved were you in the actual making of it?

I went to the labs – with a white coat, hairnet and everything! – and I did all the trials. Everything is made in England.

You also design for Debenhams. How did that collaboration happen?

I was looking for a high street department store to do a collaboration with and Debenhams really understood what I was trying to say. It was really harmonious and very quick. We signed the deal within three days, and six months later, I had product on the floor. It’s just gone from strength to strength. [I’m] the happiest I’ve ever been in my work. In October I’m launching my own bridal line – Savannah Miller...

How do you come up with your Debenhams designs?

It’s a high street department store, so we have to pay attention to what’s happening, trend-wise, because that’s important to our customers. Often it's that we find a nice painting and want to use the colour palette. I want women to feel confident. I don’t want them to feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. My daughter is suddenly really getting into designing, I don’t know why – she’s 8! She drew this dress the other day which had one arm, and I completely lost it. I said: ‘You can’t have one arm!’ And she was like: ‘Ok, Mum, you’re right, you’re right’, trying to calm me down. It really bothers me. It is really about making those great staples: a great blouse, great jeans, great jumpers. I’m really into knitwear.

Is it easy being in business as a woman?

I’m a really open book and there’s not much of a filter; whether that’s a good thing or not, I don’t know! I’m very sensitive and I feel like I know what women want because I am one of them. I’ve got children and I don’t have a ridiculous budget to buy a £2,000 t-shirt. My head could just never get into that gear, no matter how much money I had. So for me it’s very much about meeting the needs of my friends.

I also don’t really see myself as a business woman... but perhaps I am. I really enjoy business and the challenge of working with a team, coming up with solutions and brainstorming things. I like using my brain. I love being a mother as well, but I’m the first one to hold my hands up and say it’s a bit monotonous and quite thankless a lot of the time. I like having interesting and engaging conversations, arguing about Brexit. I’ve been doing a lot of arguing about Brexit recently...

How will Brexit affect the fashion industry?

Nobody knows and also nobody’s telling us what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of scaremongering and it’s very frustrating. Us small businesses are all going to have to re-register our trademarks. The EU register is no longer relevant, and to re-register a trade mark, is £2,000! So if you’ve just registered a load of trademarks, it’s like: ‘Sorry you’ve got to do it all again!’ That’s what annoys me most; all these little things – the implications, economically, of it on the economy and our country, are going to be so detrimental. I just don’t see anything positive about coming out of Europe.

But we still have make-up…

Yes, lovely make-up, and there are always girlfriends, always love and family – that can’t ever change, so those are the things I console myself with. But interestingly I did reach straight for my American passport and go: ‘Thank God I’ve got an option.’ And then I thought: ‘Here’s me, after one small glitch thinking, “Oh, I’ll get out of here”’… and then we complain about refugees coming in and it’s like, their houses have fallen down, all their children have been killed, let them in.

To give the British people such a big global decision feels very irresponsible to me – and ridiculous. Here we go again… I should not have opened the Brexit conversation!

Back to beauty! Do you wear a lot of make-up?

I have a full scale beauty regime. It’s very natural. What I try to do is very natural make-up, which just enhances what’s already there. I use highlighters, different colours, different tones and shading.

Everyday? Or only to go out?

It depends. If I’m late getting the kids to school, I’m lucky if I get a lick of mascara on. I’ll layer with a primer and have a tinted moisturiser, then I do the highlighting thing. Then I do the eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, bronzer, blusher, lipstick, lip liner and hairspray. I always get the: ‘You look so well’ or ‘You’re glowing!’ and I’m like, ‘Mmm that’ll be all the make-up I’m wearing!’

Why do you wear make-up? To feel better?

Yeah. I feel like I’ve got my ‘game face’ on. In winter, I’m one colour and make-up just helps me to feel better. I’ve come to depend on it as a ‘feel good’ thing,

Do you have a summer beauty regime?

You get that lovely sun-kissed look – youthful, hair-out-of-the-sea vibe, don’t you, when you go on holiday?! So I will literally just put on a little bronzer in the morning, and lipstick, and that’s it.

Do you have a fitness regime?

I go to the gym once a week for an hour. It’s really lame… but it’s a vast improvement on what I was doing before though, which was nothing! I used to do yoga religiously, since I was 18, but my back, post-children, went a bit funny. So I started going to the gym under the instruction of a physiotherapist.

I do strengthening exercises and it’s made me feel stronger, physically. Emotionally it’s been really good too, and it’s nice to be able to pick stuff up and move it again. I have a trainer because I’m just terrible. If it were up to me I’d be like: ‘I’ve done one set, I’ll just go on to the next thing…’ and then, you know, stop at the water cooler for a little while. I’m really lazy – I need someone cracking the whip.

Finally, whose style do you admire?

With people like Chloe Sevigny and Alexa Chung it’s very clear from the way they pull things together what they’re trying to say. That really inspires me and excites me. I love Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. I watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s almost every time I go to New York.

Savannah Miller x Bagsy launches in October 2016 and will be available in Debenhams nationwide and on debenhams.com

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