In just over ten years, Henry Holland has gone from being a part-time slogan T-shirt maker to the captain of House of Holland, one of London’s most full-on and fun-loving fashion brands.
Along the way, the cheeky northerner has collaborated with the likes of Kickers and Mulberry and attracted high profile fans ranging from Beth Ditto, Naomi Campbell and Sienna Miller, to Gareth Pugh and Giles Deacon. His designs have been sold around the world, in stores including Dover Street Market, Debenhams, Barneys and Colette. He’s also found time to appear as a presenter on TV shows such as The Changing Room and Styled To Rock.
The latest news chez Holland is his much-coveted nomination for the menswear category of the annual Fashion Awards in partnership with Swarovski, a sparkly industry bash taking place at the Royal Albert Hall, on 4 December.
To celebrate this, i-D caught up with Henry and asked him tons of nosy questions that probably made his head hurt!
1. Henry Holland hails from Ramsbottom, Lancashire, famed for its yearly World Black Pudding Throwing Championship event.
2. Henry Holland says his best friend is his French bulldog, Peggy.
3. Henry Holland cites his most listened-to pop star as Rihanna — in fact, he likes hearing her, “All day, err’ day.” 4. Henry Holland never misses an episode of Modern Family because, he says, “It never fails to make me lol.”
5. Henry Holland can’t quite recall when he last went to the cinema, but when he does go it’s usually for the “wine and Pick ‘n’ Mix” more so than the film itself.
6. Henry Holland’s most overused words and expressions are “Delish” and “Don’t worry, I hate myself for it.”
7. Henry Holland reckons his best subject at school was break time. 8. Henry Holland says there is “not much” that causes him to be embarrassed.
9. Henry Holland favours vodka as his ideal boozy beverage.
10. Henry Holland is an avid collector of old issues of Interview magazine, the ones with those amazing covers by Richard Bernstein, from between 1979-1983.
11. Henry Holland chooses his nose as his own least favourite body part.
12. Henry Holland’s favourite moment of today so far is “When I woke up and realised I had another 30 minutes before I had to get up.”
13. Henry Holland struggles to remember when he last cried, but suspects it was, “Probably watching X Factor auditions, or something equally lame.”
14. Henry Holland tripped up on the pavement this morning — he didn’t actually fall over, but it was close.
15. Henry Holland has never accidentally puked on anyone, but says he has done it on purpose!? 16. Henry Holland doesn’t smoke, apart from when he is drinking. but he is trying to quit because, “It’s a dirty, dirty habit.”
17. Henry Holland would like to live in The Barbican — London’s famous monument to the joys of concrete — which is his most beloved building.
18. Henry Holland would ideally prefer to die “fast and painlessly when I’m about 80”.
19. Henry Holland usually opts for either a bowl of porridge or a protein shake for breakfast.
20. Henry Holland believes the ideal formula for the perfect party is “the right people — it’s all about the guest list”.
21. Henry Holland rates himself as a 6 or 7 out of 10, in the How-Vain-Are-You stakes.
22. Henry Holland’s favourite internet site is the giggles-galore cocktailsandcocktalk.com — which he advises you to check out asap.
23. Henry Holland must be bloody starving — because the contents of his fridge are a frugal fusion of just: “Vegetables, coconut milk and water.”
24. Henry Holland reveals the last book he read was Finding My Virginity by Richard Branson.
25. Henry Holland never leaves home without his phone or hair wax.
26. Henry Holland prefers taking a shower to a bath: “I’m a Gemini which is a water sign, so I’m basically a mermaid and I get a lot of my ideas and inspiration in the shower… is that weird?” 27. Henry Holland used to own a onesie, but winces as he remembers, “the zip on the front actually made it pretty uncomfortable”.
28. Henry Holland hails the not-very-shy-at-all rock star, Freddie Mercury, as the ultimate style icon.
29. Henry Holland’s most recently-sent text message was, “To my boyfriend last night, on the way home from dinner, to tell him I didn’t even have the energy to speak to him and to make sure the route to my bed was clear.”
30. Henry Holland never carries cash as he believes doing so nowadays is pointless.
31. Henry Holland confirms if Saturday was a colour it would be pink.
32. Henry Holland often listens to Radio 1.
33. Henry Holland last lost his temper, “a couple of days ago when my boyfriend kept telling me what to do.”
34. Henry Holland’s favourite visual artists are the fashion designer-turned-dauber, Stephen Sprouse, and the Op-art pioneer, Bridget Riley.
35. Henry Holland is fond of reality TV and feels the entire cast of Geordie Shore are eternally inspiring: “I fucking love them all! They are heroes. Chloe is my favourite.”
36. Henry Holland does his bit to save the planet by recycling “everything and anything.”
37. Henry Holland poshly keeps a “large Amethyst crystal to help me sleep” underneath his 38. Henry Holland thinks his feet are the best part of his body.
39. Henry Holland used to play rugby at school…. who knew? 40. Henry Holland turns ferocious when asked what colour his flannel is: “Flannels are full of germs and foul! I do NOT own a flannel!” he thunders.
41. Henry Holland does own loads of flannel shirts, though. 42. Henry Holland’s proudest achievement in life is his company. 43. Henry Holland would do the following if he became Prime Minister: “I would reduce or abolish tuition fees for students. The price of education is beyond ridiculous today and I can’t believe how much it has changed since I was in higher education.” 44. Henry Holland chooses 70s San Francisco as the era he would most like to travel back in time to.
45. Henry Holland can throw together some bog-standard pasta, but that’s about it, as the lazy bugger doesn’t really cook.
46. Henry Holland is not a fan of red meat but eats fish and chicken, preferably organic, usually in restaurants and therefore cooked by someone else. 47. Henry Holland was once in hospital to undergo a procedure which involved removing a growth from his tongue: “It was agony,” he remembers, with a grimace. 48. Henry Holland says, “other people being sad” is what makes him feel sad.
49. Henry Holland believes most politicians should be put on the Naughty Step: “But Trump can go first and hopefully the naughty step is precariously balanced on the edge of a cliff.” 50. Henry Holland tries to not regret stuff and instead thinks it’s better to learn from life’s cock-ups.
51. Henry Holland’s favourite fashion designer of all is Paul Smith: “Because I think he’s a great, great man.”
52. Henry Holland broke his wrist during his first-ever snowboarding lesson. 53. Henry Holland’s most-loved instagram account is @drunkpeopledoingthings: “Because I’m a basic bitch, who finds people being drunk hilarious.”
54. Henry Holland is an avid doodler who draws cartoon eyes on everything. 55. Henry Holland’s mum Stephanie (who pops up in i-D now and then) loves to wear his designs, especially the brightly coloured blouses — bless. 56. Henry Holland is no couch potato — he’s actually very nifty at gymnastics and tennis. 57. Henry Holland has never seen a ghost, but he has sensed one… and, er, spookily admits that he often talks to dead people…
58. Henry Holland is adamant that fish finger sarnies should always be accessorised with tomato ketchup, not mayonnaise. 59. Henry Holland clarifies that if he was a sandwich he would be a Pret A Manger Christmas sandwich: “Filled with joy, Christmas cheer and an added bit of crunch from those delicious onions.”
60. Henry Holland probably doesn’t ever wow anyone down at his local discotheque – rating himself as a decidedly average 5 out of 10, in the How-Good-Are-You-At-Dancing? stakes. 61. Henry Holland’s favourite kind of biscuit is a Rich Tea – which he utilises within an elaborate and sickly-sweet ritual: “Get a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate and dip a row of it in your cup of tea, ” he begins. “Then spread the melting chocolate onto a Rich Tea biscuit and then sandwich this with another Rich Tea biscuit and then…. [carries on in this vein for a few minutes]. Then re-dunk the whole lot into your tea and eat. And repeat.” 62. Henry Holland’s most-used word to express anger is, “Bollocks!” 63. Henry Holland’s trademark towering quiff semi-collapses every time he is in Japan or at the gym.
64. Henry Holland has only ever watched the unintentionally-camp telly shopping channel, QVC, when his designer pal Giles Deacon was on, touting his Libertine jewellery line. 65. Henry Holland experienced a “totes emosh” dream recently, in which he was at a wedding, sobbing uncontrollably.
66. Henry Holland thinks the funniest fashion spread he ever put together, when he used to be a Fashion Editor at the teen magazine, Bliss, was: ‘How to Mum Proof your outfit’: “We basically taught teenagers how to get past their parents in slutty outfits for a night out.” 67. Henry Holland last went on holiday to Ibiza, to a health retreat: “It was hardcore exercise all day, every day, with 100 calories to eat. Exercise is my relaxing.”
68. Henry Holland is still in touch with his old fellow-Lancashire friend, the former model-turned-actress/London ‘It Girl’, Agyness Deyn: “She is coming to London in a couple of weeks to launch her latest acting project, which is very exciting.”
69. Henry Holland decides the three words which most accurately describe him are: “Bloody silly idiot.”