Julien Macdonald

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Julien Macdonald OBE (born 19 March 1971) is a Welsh fashion designer who has appeared as judge on the television programme, Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model.[1] In 2001, he was named "British Fashion Designer of the Year" and, on 15 March 2001, was appointed as chief designer at Givenchy (Alexander McQueen's successor).[2][3]

Education

Macdonald attended Cyfarthfa High School in his place of birth Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Macdonald was taught knitting by his mother and soon became interested in design.[4]

Macdonald was also interested in a career as a dancer, but, instead, studied textiles at the Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton, England.[5] He then became a student at the Royal College of Art, where he gained a Master's Degree.[6]

Career

Soon after graduation, Macdonald was recruited by Karl Lagerfeld to work for Chanel, a role that was accompanied by freelance work creating knitwear for Alexander McQueen.[7]

In 2000, Macdonald was appointed to the position of chief designer at the Paris Haute Couture house of Givenchy (as successor to Alexander McQueen); and, in 2001, he was named British Fashion Designer of the Year.[2][3]

He was selected by British Airways in 2001 to redesign their flight attendants' uniforms.[8]

Controversy

Macdonald has attracted much criticism for his extensive use of fur, including one incident in which he and Paris Hilton were flour-bombed. He stated that fur provides the majority of his revenue and that his label would collapse were he not to use it.[9] In February 2007, Macdonald was again criticised for the prominent use of fur in his autumn collection, causing further outrage when he claimed that "People who don't like fur can piss off. I love fur. It's a beautiful natural product from animals."[10]

Celebrity clients

Macdonald's creations have been worn by Joely Richardson, Dannii Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Dame Shirley Bassey, Carmen Electra, Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé Knowles, Bonnie Tyler and Selena Gomez.[11]

Media appearances

Macdonald appeared as a judge on the British version of Project Runway, known as Project Catwalk, that was broadcast on Sky One.[12]

In February 2010, Macdonald was appointed as a new judge on Britain's Next Top Model, alongside new host and former supermodel, Elle Macpherson.[13]

In September 2013, MacDonald was revealed as one of the celebrity contestants on the dancing competition television show Strictly Come Dancing.[14] Janette Manrara is his professional partner and the designer explained in a 17 September interview: "she’s [Manrara] the one that literally keeps me on my toes ... after only two weeks of training, parts of me hurt that I didn’t even know existed."[15] The couple was eliminated in the fourth week of the competition after losing to Countdown presenter Rachel Riley.[16]

Awards

In June 2006, MacDonald was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to fashion.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "BINTM: Get Julien's Look". sky. BSkyB. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Belinda White (9 July 2012). "Video exclusive: Julien Macdonald Bespoke". Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bibby Sowray (15 March 2010). "Today In History - March 15". Vogue. Vogue. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
  4. ↑ "We were delighted to welcome Julien McDonald back to the college during Merthyr’s Enterprise week.". Merthyr Tydfil College. The Glamorgan Group. 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
  5. ↑ "From Art School to University". University of Brighton Faculty of Arts. University of Brighton. 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2012. 
  6. ↑ "Julien MacDonald Fashion Designer". My Daily. AOL (UK) Limited. 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012. 
  7. ↑ Julien MacDonald (11 March 2010). "Julien MacDonald: Karl Lagerfeld Used To Hit Me With an Old Fashioned Black Fan". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 October 2012. 
  8. ↑ Jones, Sam; Gregory, Sally James (6 April 2004). "Fashion fall-out over BA's new look". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2012. 
  9. ↑ Julia Stuart (19 February 2006). "Julien Macdonald: Defender of the fur". The Independent. Retrieved 30 September 2012. 
  10. ↑ "The anti-fur mob? They can p*** off". The Daily Mail. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2012. 
  11. ↑ "Julien Macdonald". Hello!. HELLO!. 2001–2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Julien Macdonald on Project Catwalk, London and his Dali-inspired dress". Catwalk Queen. Aigua Media. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2012. 
  13. ↑ Emily O'Brien (19 February 2010). "Julien Macdonald joins Britain’s Next Top Model". My Fashion Life. My Fashion Life. Retrieved 30 September 2012. 
  14. ↑ BBC (2 September 2013). "In Pictures: Strictly Come Dancing's 2013 line-up". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 2 September 2013. 
  15. ↑ Dinah Turner (17 September 2013). "Behind the scenes at Strictly Come Dancing star Julien Macdonald's London Fashion Week show". Mirror. Retrieved 29 September 2013. 
  16. ↑ Paul Rowland (20 October 2013). "Strictly Come Dancing: Julien Macdonald eliminated after dance-off defeat by Rachel Riley". Wales Online. Retrieved 21 October 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Julien Macdonald". BBC Wales Arts. BBC. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 

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