Relaxing in the couture showroom at his wedding boutique in London, Bruce

Oldfield looks very much the sophisticated man about town. But with a twist. He may be 60 this month, but he’s lost none of his youthful vigour and is sporting bright red Converse trainers beneath his immaculately cut suit.

“Sixty sounds rather scary,” explains the acclaimed British fashion designer with a smile. “I read about my age in papers and the number still surprises me. I feel about 45 and often much younger.”

Bruce is planning to celebrate the occasion with friends at San Lorenzo restaurant in Knightsbridge, which has been one of his favourite haunts ever since he came to London. “I’ve never been one for big bashes,” he says. “Many of the people who will be there I have known for years so there are sure to be lots of stories about the old days and plenty of laughter. That’s very much a perfect evening for me.”

Whittling down the guest list will be no mean feat for Bruce, who is renowned as much for his charismatic personality as for his classically cut gowns. Credited with transforming Diana, Princess of Wales into a style sensation, today the designer boasts some of the most beautiful women in the world as his clients, everyone from princesses and politicians to popstars.

CUT OUT FOR FAMEBruce’s story is a classic rags-to-riches tale. Born in 1950 in London to a half-Irish mother and West Indian father, he was abandoned as a baby and spent his childhood in the care of children’s charity Barnardo’s. When he was 18 months old he was sent to Durham where he was fostered by Violet Masters, whose dressmaking skills inspired him in his future career.

“Violet taught me how to hem, sew on buttons and do embroidery, which were pretty unusual activities for a boy at the time,” he says. “I was soon designing and making clothes for my foster sister’s dolls and at school age I loved nothing more than drawing designs for fabulous outfits.

“Violet was very strict and passionate about good manners and she instilled in me the conviction that if I worked hard enough I could achieve anything.

“It’s something I still believe in,” Bruce says. “I grew up in relative poverty in a home where there was no money for luxuries and, much as Violet loved me, I was also reminded from time to time that if I misbehaved I would be sent back to Barnardo’s, which made me all the more determined to forge my own path.”

Gritty determination saw him accepted as a fashion student at the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s school of art in London and by the time he graduated in 1973 he had already won critical acclaim. That year he staged his first one-man show for Henri Bendel in New York, later returning to London to show his first collection.

“I was doing very simple, close-fitting clothes at a time when the great designers of the day – people like Bill Gibb and Zandra Rhodes – were still doing extravagant fashion, so that made me stand out from the crowd,” he says.

“I’ve always felt that a woman’s silhouette needs to be seen and accentuated rather than hidden away, so my designs have always been very classic and sensual. They’re elegant without being demure, but also allow the woman who’s wearing them to feel very much a woman.”

In 1975 the Bruce Oldfield label was born with the launch of ready-to-wear collections for Europe and the US. But the designer’s big break came in 1976 when actress Charlotte

AS THE ACCLAIMED DESIGNER REACHES HIS 60AS THE ACCLAIMED DESIGNER REACHES HIS 60THTH BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY

BRUCE OLDFIELDBRUCE OLDFIELDREFLECTS ON THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL BRIDESREFLECTS ON THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL BRIDES

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‘I’ve never been very impressed with fame. It’s people with personality

I love working with’

Even as he celebrates his landmark birthday, Bruce is still very much hands-on with all aspects of the creation of his couture and custom-made designs. He has just launched a bridalwear collection – and admits he would love to design a wedding gown for Kate Middleton. “She carries everything she wears with style,” he says

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‘What we do, we do beautifully — and I’m very proud of that’

Rampling asked him to design a dress for her. Her celebrity endorsement was to be the first of many. “I’ve always had the gift of the gab and because of that I find it easy to talk to people,” Bruce says. “Early in my career I was at a party in Los Angeles and was introduced to the singer Joni Mitchell, who had been my idol for years. That was one of the few times I was starstruck for a few minutes, but we were soon talking away like old friends. Celebrities are just ordinary people, albeit famous ordinary people. I’ve never been particularly impressed by fame. It’s people with personality that I love working with.”

In 1981, with the announcement of the engagement of Lady Diana Spencer to the Prince of Wales, the naïve young Diana was catapulted into the public eye and the Palace decided that dressing her appropriately for her new role was of paramount importance.

“Diana was initially unsure of herself and quite unsophisticated – very much a girl who had stepped into a huge role,” Bruce says. “My job, along with other designers, was to give her sophistication and help her develop her style.”

It was a relationship that was to span a decade, with Bruce credited in part with Diana’s transformation into the fashion icon of her time.

DRESSING DIANA “Dressing Diana was very much a baptism of fire,” Bruce says. “Yes, of course every designer wants to be working with the most high-profile woman in Britain, but with that came mass media criticism of everything from the length of a hemline to whether a gown was too revealing.

“Diana was always concerned about adhering to royal protocol. Commenting on a backless dress we made for her, she raised concerns about how it would look if people guiding her touched bare flesh – something that today’s celebrities would never even consider.”

Bruce has since dressed many other members of the royal family. “One of my fondest memories is of a prominent royal client who decided to do some stretches in the showroom while she was waiting for a fitting. While she was in mid-stretch, an open-top London tour bus stopped outside the window. I don’t know whether the tourists or the lady in question were more surprised!”

With a potential future Queen of England in waiting, Bruce makes it no secret that he would love to dress Kate Middleton. “She has a natural elegance about her and carries everything she wears with style,” he says. “She also has a freshness and youthfulness which hasn’t been overpowered by formal dressing. Creating her wedding dress would be every designer’s dream.”

Royalty or not, all Bruce’s clients receive the same personal service and he remains very much at the helm of his two boutiques in London. With his assistant, he personally oversees his collections of couture and custom-made designs. “It’s still a small business and that’s the way I like it,” he says. “I have never wanted to lose that personal involvement. What we do, we do beautifully – and I am very proud of that.”

Last year saw Bruce further develop his collection to include bridalwear. Elegant simplicity is key to these gowns, with stunning detail, hand embroidery and the softest silks creating a collection that has won international interest.

“I have designed couture wedding dresses for some time,” he says. “One of the most photographed was for Jemima Goldsmith’s wedding to Imran Khan in 1995. Jemima wanted something restrained but elegant that would be right for a Muslim bride. I designed a tailored cream suit with a long skirt and she looked stunning. I also designed Queen Rania of Jordan’s wedding gown in 1993. The wedding was probably the most lavish I have attended. As she was getting

DRESSING THE RICH

AND FAMOUSBruce Oldfield, who was made OBE in 1990, is credited with helping to transform a young, gauche Lady Diana Spencer into the fashion icon she became as Princess of Wales, daringly styling her in backless numbers ( le f t ) as well as shimmering, showstopping style (right). For Jemima Goldsmith’s wedding to cricketer Imran Khan in 1995, Bruce created the bride’s v i s i o n o f m o d e s t elegance (top right). The London-based designer also created Q u e e n R a n i a o f Jordan’s sumptuous b r i d a l g o w n . H e r wedding to the future King Abdullah in 1993 (above left) was, says Bruce, who turns 60 this month, “the most lavish wedding I have

ever attended”

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Rags to riches: Bruce was born in London but sadly abandoned as a baby and taken in by children’s charity Barnardo’s. At 18 months, he was sent to live with a family in Durham and it was his foster mother, Violet, who taught him how to sew. “She instilled in me the conviction that if I worked hard enough I could achieve anything.” Pictured at his office and wedding couture room in London, with

pet dogs Babe and Baz (above and below), the designer has gone on to dress royalty

ready for her evening reception, King Hussein presented her with a necklace encrusted with diamonds based on the embroidery on her evening gown.

“Samantha Cameron’s wedding gown was another special commission. I’ve known Samantha since she was a little girl, as I designed a lot of her mother Lady Astor’s wardrobe. Samantha wanted a gown that was both modest enough for church and statement-making for the evening, so I designed a gown with a long-sleeved “body” that could be removed for the party in the evening.”

He still takes an active interest in the wardrobe of “Sam Cam”, as he affectionately calls the Prime Minister’s wife. “She’s naturally elegant,” he says, “and is just as capable of carrying off high street labels as she is designer clothes.”

STILL CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTHHe may have an OBE to his name as well as honorary fellowships and doctorates, but Bruce has lost none of the human touch. “What I do is all about putting people at their ease and selling them beautiful clothes and I think I do that pretty well,” he says.

Asked which woman he’d most like to dress, he names Nicole Kidman, who has, he says, a way of carrying clothes that makes everything she wears look fabulous. “There are some women who effortlessly have grace. It’s almost regarded as an old-fashioned quality these days, but it is the magic ingredient that, along with elegance and simplicity, carries a woman more than anything else.”

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HINTERVIEW: LIZ KAVANAGH

PHOTOS: IAN JONES

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