michelle keegan x lipsy london – interview
On Wednesday, I was pretty much the envy of men everywhere. I took a trip into central and a short taxi drive to High Holborn where I flashed my invite and made my way downstairs to none other than Miss Michelle Keegan’s first collection with Lipsy London. There were trays of drinks and canape’s on arrival as well as famous faces, magazines and bloggers filling the stunning location to it’s brim. I was quickly ushered in to a special area off to one side where a select few bloggers sat sipping champagne. I was among eight bloggers selected to interview the babe herself (it took conscious effort for me not to girl crush all over the floor in front of everyone), and I really do not use the word babe lightly. She was nothing short of delightful, seemingly wanting to discuss me more than she did her clothing collection.
Not one to maintain any air of “cool” I fumbled with my iPhone unable to get it to record, the heat building under my skin…Only you Lydia…Only you! Everyone made light of it which I was extremely grateful for. Finally someone who knew what they were doing lent me their iPhone and the interview was well under way!
what made you want to make the move from soap star to designer and why was Lipsy your first choice for your debut collection?
Well, in Corrie you’re not really allowed to do anything else and fashion is something I’ve always been interested in. I’ve always been a Lipsy girl and always worn their dresses. So when they found out I was leaving Corrie, they approached me and asked if I wanted to do it and I was like “Errrr YEAH!”. It’s something that I’ve always loved and always wanted to try, you know?
Was it daunting to follow in the footsteps of celebrities such as The Kardashians & Pixie Lott?
Yeah it was really difficult, and you don’t really know how people are gonna take to it because I went in wanting to design a collection that I would actually wear. I didn’t just want to come in a put my name something and say “Yeah these are my clothes!” I wanted to design something that I loved and that I would feel good wearing too.
Your partner Mark has his own clothing line with Littlewoods, did he help you at all with the planning of your collection or did you want to make a point of doing this on your own?
Yeah I definitely wanted to do it on my own. He actually hadn’t seen any of the designs until we had done the campaign pictures but he’s totally honest in his opinion, he’ll always tell me if he doesn’t like this or he doesn’t like that which is what you need when you are doing something like this. I wouldn’t want him to just tell me he likes something if he doesn’t, but luckily he loved everything.
You look absolutely insane in the campaign imagery especially due to all the Body-con styles showing off your great figure, what are your main healthy tips to stay Body-con ready?
Erm, I just tend to have everything in moderation. I don’t crash diet, I don’t do juicing. I try to go to the gym when I can but since leaving Corrie it’s not been easy to make time. I do try to eat as healthy as I can although I never deprive myself and when I’m on holiday I really do enjoy myself. But it really is just everything in moderation!
Do you feel pressure from industry standards to maintain your figure?
I used to when I was younger and I first started out in the industry. I felt like I needed to always be in the gym and monitor my food in take . But as you get older you things change and you realise its more about you being happy than anyone else.
What can we expect from future Michelle Keegan Collections?
There’s definitely more to come, yesterday we shot the campaign images for the Autumn/Winter collection because we’re kind of releasing the collaboration in waves, so every two months or so there will be a new collection released.
I picked this gorgeous monochrome dress from current Michelle Keegan x Lipsy London Collection and judging by this beaut, I cannot wait to see what’s coming next!
Dress – c/o Michelle Keegan x Lipsy Shoes – H&M Bag – eBay Necklace – H&M Sunglasses – c/o Boohoo
