Henry Holland is all about good vibes. He also makes running an ever-growing, successful fashion empire, armed with only a degree in journalism, seem like a piece of cake. His clothes need to be seen up close for their quality, detail and thoughtfulness – this is fun fashion made seriously well. And there’s something for everyone: with his first men’s range in the works to be shown at London Fashion Week in January, the diffusion line H!, his sunglasses and now his Mr. Men collaboration involving a be-fringed likeness called Mr. Quiffy, kids are taken care of too. Henry is a democratic designer apparently having all sorts of fun in the process.
How old were you when you began the label?
I was 22 – young and stupid enough to think it was a good idea.
Is it still as heady?
I don’t go out as much as I used to. I knew all of the people I was hanging out with before I began the label and it was a nice experience to be able to go through all that craziness with friends I actually knew well. Half of us weren’t even 20 at the time. It was mental, quite hedonistic. I partied a lot and DJ’d a lot. In fact, half of this company was built by me pressing ‘play’ on a CD player. I’d be working during the day, DJing at night and using that money to buy trims or pay off someone we owed money to the next day. Elements of that lifestyle funded what I wanted to do.
Your work feels really British and I think we get it in Australia because we have a similar sense of humour but are there places that struggle with it?
I feel like the humour and tone of our work is very British. It’s taken a while for us to convince America that we’re not entirely crazy. It’s actually just certain pieces of the collection that are too much – we did a bomber jacket that said ‘My Pussy, My Rules’ for example. But that’s fine, if they don’t like it they can buy the other stuff.
I think people enjoy brands that have an organic community of likeminded, interesting people around them and I feel like House of Holland is a great example.
Having that community definitely helped with what I’ve done. After my first ever show Stuart Weitzman called me up to see if I wanted to do some bags. He’s one of the most successful handbag designers in the world! I was like, ‘ok’. I’ve always wanted to create something fun and inclusive that people could be a part of.
There’s a sense of joy in everything you do so it makes sense people want to be involved.
Thanks. Actually, i-D’s Fashion Editor at large, Julia Sarr-Jamois, styled my last show. Funny fact: years ago for one of my first shoots when I was a stylist for Teen Magazine, I had Julia model. She was 15 and I made her sit on a ghetto blaster and play with her afro.
How did your Mr. Men character, Mr. Quiffy, come to be?
We did a project last year and created a store in an ice-cream van which we travelled around in and sold stuff from. Because of the Mr. Whippy ice cream thing we called it Mr. Quiffy for a laugh. When we were approached by Mr. Men for this collaboration, I asked if we could create the character and they agreed. Mr. Quiffy’s been re-born.
Has anyone else ever had their own character?
Only ever one other – Little Miss Stella.
For Stella McCartney?
Yeah. She grew up with and knew the Mr. Men creators.
You have one and your dad wasn’t even in the Beatles.
I know. Mine has this ridiculously large quiff and square hips and we dressed him up with socks and glasses. It was a really fun process. We created the character and then the collection. There’s a real nostalgia with people my age and all my little cousins still read them so the idea is ‘mini me’. We’ve created a selection of cute, wearable pieces that can work on girls of all ages.
HOUSE OF HOLLAND x MR MEN LITTLE MISS available in Australia through gracemelbourne.com.au