From ace architects to thoroughly modern milliners, women are at the cutting edge of creative Scotland. Here six of the sharpest share the secret of their success Susse Andersen Handbag designer "So much in fashion depends on luck," says Susse Andersen, referring to the armies of buyers who flock to her north London studio each season. The legendary French department store Bonmarche has just confirmed a large order for her autumn/winter collection and will also ensure Press support. With Bonmarche's business in place, she has been assured that previously enthusiastic buyers from Sachs and Barneys in New York, and Selfridges and Harvey Nicholls in London, will not be far behind. "It's always a question of who is prepared to take the first step and support you," she says. "The big stores need to see evidence that you're in it for the long haul and not just some fly-by-night chancer who will last for a couple Gucci Tote Replica of seasons."
Raised in Edinburgh by her Scots mother and Danish architect father, Andersen comes from a family of designers and artists. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art, she worked as a textile designer and lecturer. Fashion giants such as Calvin Klein, Christian Lacroix, Romeo Gigli and Etro bought her textile designs. She launched her Susse Collection of bags in 1999, but still supports herself with part-time agency work, designing printed textiles for the likes of Prada and Paul Smith.
She sees the interest in her work as evidence of a return to femininity. "It's no longer necessary for women to do the shoulder- padded power dressing thing. Look at the massive amount of strappy sandals and cute hair-slides that are around. Many women are keen to show off their femininity. These days women aren't considered foolish - their abilities aren't underestimated - just because they have a pretty bag on their arm."
Andersen is fortunate to be making her bespoke bags at a time when there is a clear trend towards "one-off" accessories. It takes at least a day's work to make each of the bags, which sell for around #250. "All of my work is hand-made," she says. "My clients love the fact that I can make a special bag to match an outfit or embroider a message to mark an occasion. After all, you can spend hundreds of pounds on a Prada or Gucci bag, but the bottom line is, they're still mass-produced. Each of my handbags is a little work of art."
LED Flexible Strip Crystal Series Crystal 5050For details, call 020 7249 9094 Sharon McLaren Just cosmetics as owner of the Just cosmetics brand, Sharon McLaren is at the forefront of a new and highly profitable specialist shopping revolution. Like SpaceNK's Nicky Kinnaird and the parfumier Jo Malone, she is basing her brand's appeal on choice, price and cult cosmetics. She opened Just in Morningside, Edinburgh, last year.
Rather than resell other manufacturers' products and compete with department stores, McLaren created her own brand to sell in her shop. She began dreaming of her own range while working as controller of menswear, perfumery and toiletries for Jenners in Edinburgh. "I became aware of just how the big brands operate," she explains. "The idea of having my own specialist brand suddenly didn't seem so far- fetched."
Initially McLaren made contact with US factories more used to making small runs for boutique brands. Bigger labels operate research and development facilities; but some smaller companies - "cult" brands such as Hard Candy, and make-up-artist-fronted brands like Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown - began by choosing existing colours from ranges produced by cosmetics factories.
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