Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Retailer who invented the Next Empire, created the George line at Asda, and launched the Per Una brand for Marks & Spencer.
On the island
Eight records
I'm the worst singer in the world and the people I can sing to and have to listen to are my kids. And this is the one I used to sing to my kids in a certain way ... and every one of my seven kids had to put up with me singing this to them.
This takes me back to my childhood, and I had a great uncle ... I used to sit in the back room till ten o'clock ... and at ten o'clock he locked the doors and then invited all the people back in because he could lock it and I went in and used to sing this song
Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'
This is a record that um having just been speaking about my mother because she used to take me to the cinema and she'd always tell me there was a cowboy on and in fact she sometimes told me whoppers because it was musical and I couldn't stand musicals. But this is about the cowboys, high noon
You'll Never Walk AloneFavourite
We know the reasons for this.
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
We actually used to do big fashion shows and get all the girls together and reward and recognition ... I actually had to go onstage and teach the models the routine and one of the things that brought the house down in Amsterdam. It was money, money, money.
It's the song we used to sing at all the great conferences that we did at next, and those conferences came out of what I learned at Pippa D.
is really to do with my deep, deep feelings for Italy, where I've been inspired and is still my greatest inspiration regarding fashion.
I first heard this record. When I was with a great pal of mine in Turkey, Attila Turkman, we were two like two young boys in his ranger with the windows down at midnight. Singing together.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:01What do you remember about the day you launched Per Una into Marks and Spencer?
The day of launch of a new brand. And that particular day will be X'd in my memory because every hour I'd been getting figures and the figures were absolute ... we took a hundred and eighty thousand pounds now we thought we'd take thirty or forty so that was the most amazing feeling ... But for one hour you actually enjoy the success and then the next emotion is, Christ, I've got real big problems'cause I'm going to be out of stock.
Presenter asks
6:11Do you sketch or draw your designs?
Of course I can sketch and I own patterns. The actual drawing bit is probably the least important part of it. That's just a technical thing to express your thoughts on a piece of paper. First of all, it doesn't start with the product, it starts with the fabric. And the most important thing when you think about fabric is colour.
Presenter asks
8:51Did your mother live her life vicariously through you?
Well, I think she programmed me and um she probably programmed my father too. My dad and I didn't have much say. She was so tough, but tough in a really loving way.
The keepsakes
The book
The luxury
It's a hand-built road bike, but I might have to have like cross-country tyres on it, but I'd definitely have my bike because I Every weekend, every spare hour, I'm on my bike trying to keep fit.
Presenter asks
23:44Did you suffer from depression after your experience of being ousted from Next?
No, no, no, it wasn't that. I um the first time I had depression was when I was eighteen. And it w no, it wasn't anything to do with next ... After I'd left Lucia, Jessica, and Liz that I had massive clinical depression again, and that was the start of George, so it wasn't next.
Presenter asks
28:54Would you ever create a new standalone High Street brand?
I don't think one would ever say never. But um the way I feel at the moment I don't want to ever damage Peruna and Marks and Spencer's ... I honestly mean this. I've got nothing on the horizon.
“If you get it wrong in retailing, you know it ... You're always sitting an exam which the customer is always marking. I'm scared of it still. You never conquer that.”
“Retail is detail that you shouldn't be in it if you don't want it.”
“If you start doing something you love, I've never thought I worked. I mean I I work in the sense, but when I started at Littlewoods I can tell you I've never looked back. I've enjoyed every day of my life.”