Savannah Miller On Her New High Street Collection: ‘I Don’t Want To Look Like An 18 Year Old’

'You know when you try something on and you’re like 'done, amazing’? There’s no awkward ‘how am I going to make this fit, it’s a bit tight here'. Savannah Miller is in the midst of a photoshoot for her new Vivere collection, animatedly miming to me how it might feel to try on something uncomfortable. 'That's just not happening in these clothes,' she says. While this is only the brand's second season, it has already established an engaged and loyal following – one on which Miller was extremely focused as she designed this latest spring/summer collection.

'It's clothes that makes you think ‘I really want those clothes.’ It's not about over complicating things or being so adherent to trends that it puts people off or makes them feel it’s not for them. I’m really in the business of trying to make women feel incredible. I just want the clothes you put on – I want you to not have to think about it.' This is probably why many pieces from the first collection last year sold out, as Miller created cashmere knits, wide-leg trousers, silky dresses, skirts and blouses, all designed to be a more affordable take on elevated wardrobe staples. When Miller's sister, Sienna, wore one of the coats to the brand's launch event, that – unsurprisingly – also sold out.

'My sister came to our event when she was heavily pregnant, bless her. It was so wonderful to stand up and speak at the launch – I spoke to my women. My mum was there, my stepmother and my sister were there. And then these incredible women that I've met through Instagram. And I just said I believe that the understated is really underrated.'

The new collection picks up where the last left off, albeit it with a slightly more refined edge thanks to a wealth of customer feedback Miller took on board. 'A lot of the first collection was very oversized and very long. A lot of my customer feedback was like, 'I feel like I'm drowning in this'. That wasn't the intention, the intention was for it to be easy and make them feel good. But if you're not tall, you can very quickly become drowned. So, it's about playing with proportion and making sure that, if the trouser is big, you've got something a bit more neat on the top so that it all balances out a little bit more. I'm 25 years into this game, and I'm still learning every season.'

Available on Vivere's website as well as at John Lewis & Partners, the new collection boasts hard-working separates, dresses and – Miller's personal favourite – a three-piece suit, all designed to be functional while still making the wearer feel like 'the best version of themselves,' as Miller puts it. 'There is no magic formula but it's about what is going to make women feel amazing. And ultimately, that's natural, responsible fabrics. Well-made clothes that don't fall off – there's nothing worse than buying something and it just falls apart, or you can't wash it. It's like a nightmare. None of us have time or money for that, and, environmentally, we can't be doing that anymore.'

Making women feel like their best selves has been at the heart of Miller's business model for some time now. Having trained at Central Saint Martins, she worked for Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson before launching Twenty8Twelve with Sienna in 2007. Exiting the label in 2012, Miller then launched her eponymous bridal in 2016, which was initially stocked at over 40 retailers. Since 202, however, Miller has expanded this to include bespoke designs and has seen huge growth ever since. She has designed for influencers such as Danielle Copperman, not to mention herself (!) and has clearly managed the art of creating pieces that women love wearing.

Miller really is in tune with her customer and the solutions she's trying to provide for them. In part, this is because she is trying to find answers to her own sartorial problems. 'As I’m in the middle-aged phase, I’m noticing I need things to be a little easier, you know? Who wants to be faffing around with their clothes and being uncomfortable? The tricky thing – and I’ve done this throughout my whole career – is that inadvertently I’m designing to meet my own needs. Unfortunately, it’s only at this point in my life that I’m suddenly like 'Oh my God, I cant just put on anything'. I’m 5ft 10", I’ve always had a high metabolism but I don’t now.

'So, I’m having to think more about inclusivity and how I feel in clothes. Maybe I don’t want to see that part of my arm. It’s not about body image or wanting to look like an 18 year old – I don’t – I want to age but I want to feel good. I want these clothes to make me feel like my best self, not conscious of the fact I can suddenly see something that wasn’t there before. It’s really hard, because we do have ideals of beauty and fashion that just aren’t for real women, I don’t think.'

For so long, I say, women have been made to feel as though they needed to fit the clothes, rather than clothes being designed to suit their bodies, needs and lifestyle. This Vivere collection, however, really does feel thoughtful, aimed at busy people who just want to feel like they're not spending a total fortune on clothes but still wearing something that works, feels good and they can throw in the washing machine at the end of the day. Miller agrees.

'That is what I expect from my clothing. I don't want to feel crap, who wants to feel crap? It's hard enough right now being a woman in the world – we need our clothes to power us up. I think we do our best work when we're feeling good.'

SHOP: Vivere's New Collection

Hannah Banks-Walker is Grazia's head of fashion commerce. She has previously written for the likes of Harper's Bazaar, The FT, Glamour, Stylist, The Telegraph, Red, i-D and The Pool on everything from fashion to curly hair (hi!) to the patriarchy. Not necessarily in that order. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. But please don't look for her MySpace profile, which until now was the last time she wrote about herself in the third person.