The reinvention of Millie Mackintosh
MADE IN CHELSEA MADE HER FAMOUS, BUT UNDERESTIMATE MILLIE MACKINTOSH AT YOUR PERIL. BUSINESS BRAINS AND AN EYE FOR FASHION HAVE LED TO A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL LABEL, AND WHILE HER PERSONAL LIFE HAS REMAINED TABLOID FODDER, HER OUTLOOK REMAINS RELENTLESSLY UPB
The former Made In Chelsea star talks life in the limelight, moving on and building a fashion empire
illie Mackintosh sinks into a snug sofa in a Notting Hill members’ club, alternating between sips of green juice and green tea. If there was a more apt image of a 27-year-old former
Made In Chelsea reality starlet turned fitness fanatic and fashion designer, with a social media following of more than two million, I can’t think of one.
You may well wonder why Red has chosen a former reality TV star to grace its cover (Mackintosh was one of the original cast members of the Bafta-winning show). Full disclosure: even I was a little surprised. But, as I quickly discover, the Millie Mackintosh of E4 fame and tabloid fodder is a far cry from the sweet and astute businesswoman sitting in front of me today.
Let’s start with her fashion range. Of course, celebrity collaborations are nothing new. Who hasn’t rushed out to buy one of Kate Moss’s floral tea dresses or pansy playsuits from her Topshop collections or been tempted by Rosie Huntingtonwhiteley’s delectable underwear for M&S?
And Mackintosh’s eponymous collection will undoubtedly cause as many fluttering hearts. It delivers pretty, eye-catching, everyday clothes – the perfect tuxedo jacket, the ditsy summer festival frock, the sequinned summer evening dress – at prices that range from £85 to £170. “I like to create collections around what I want to wear at that time of year,” she explains. But what makes the label – which will offer new pieces every six weeks – different from other celebrity lines is Mackintosh’s sincere and comprehensive involvement in its creation. Far from simply lending her name to a well-known brand, Mackintosh is intrinsically involved from conception to completion. The choice of going down the independent route, rather than licensing her name or working with a recognised brand on a collaboration, means everything is done by Mackintosh and her team. This is her very own business and something she is extremely proud of. She never attended art college or studied fashion design and even admits to “not being very good” at drawing; instead she’s employing a designer and pattern cutter among her small team of five. She acknowledges that it’s a collaborative team process. “I’m still a start-up, just learning as I go, but we’ve got 30 new stockists now and I’m working on our new website,” she tells me.
“It’s a steep learning curve and it’s challenging.”
But Mackintosh is smart. Like Olivia Palermo, who also made a name in reality TV (The City), she took a loyal fanbase and brought them into a new fashion venture, forging a business and attracting more fans and industry credentials along the way. “I was always doing the show for a purpose,” says Mackintosh. “It wasn’t only to be famous but I did think that this could be an opportunity. Even the producer said to me, ‘Think about how this could be useful.’” Mackintosh, in a very millennial way, satisfies her 1.3 million Instagram followers with pictures of her fabulous jet-set life, her dog Mabel and her gruelling gym sessions, meaning that she had a core audience willing to buy into her range before it even launched. Mackintosh has definitely cornered her market and cleverly recognises the audience she appeals to.
Having launched on Asos, she’s already one of its bestselling labels, competing for fans of Topshop
Unique, or French brands The Kooples and Maje.
Marissa Montgomery, founder of T-shirt line Rotten Roach, agrees. “Girls really look up to her and listen to what she has to say. When she wears one of our tees, we instantly sell out of it. She has that kind of power and influence. She’s relatable and inspiring.”
Ultimately, this is the key to Mackintosh’s retail prowess. Her fans want to emulate her girl-next-door look. They may not have her lithe, honey-coloured limbs or mane of glossy hair, but at least they can have her
I was always doing the show for a PURPOSE. It wasn’t only to be famous, but I did think this could be an OPPORTUNITY
style. And Mackintosh has certainly managed to capitalise on her loyal and adoring fans. When she posts a photo of herself in one of her printed minidresses or simple shirts, the comments light up with praise, promises of purchase and 15,000 likes.
MACKINTOSH SUMS UP HER PERSONAL STYLE AS “BRITISH AND FEMININE”,
the boho mix of a pretty dress worn with a leather jacket, a spot of vintage and a trainer, epitomised by her style icons Kate Moss and Sienna Miller. Her latest inspiration for the forthcoming collection was growing up in the countryside; memories of local flowers, baby hares and toadstools adorn her bespoke prints. Don’t be surprised if every girl is wearing these dresses come Glastonbury.
Today, she’s fresh-faced with tousled hair, looking elegant and pared down in a pair of black culottes from her collection, velvet flats, a striped T-shirt from Sunspel and gold hooped earrings. “I love mixing prints with stripes, and I love colours and statement earrings. My favourite shot,” she says, referring to our cover shoot, “was in this Missoni robe, wearing big sunnies and Manolo sliders, sitting in this director’s chair. I thought, ‘I could live this life!’”
A trained make-up artist, Mackintosh’s first foray after leaving Made In Chelsea was launching a range of false eyelashes. “It was a really great product, but it was a licensing deal and I learnt I couldn’t have the control I wanted over the company.” And so she moved into fashion. “Always a passion,” she insists, reminiscing on how she would make clothes on her sewing machine, aged 10.
Yet while her first few collections may have sold well, they certainly didn’t register on the fashion industry’s radar. Like Victoria Beckham’s early ventures into fashion (remember those blingy denims), which were criticised in the press, Mackintosh will have to overcome people’s preconceptions, and perhaps, in time, will gain the confidence and skill as a designer/creative director to grow her brand. “Millie’s clothes are what young women want to buy into, that Coachella-via-the-kings-road look, where boho meets vintage without actually being second-hand,” says Red’s fashion director-at-large
Nicola Rose, who styled the pictures on these pages. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she moved into fitness, swimwear and lingerie. Chatting with her between takes on our cover shoot, Millie came across as super-smart and business savvy. She knows what she wants to achieve and how to build her brand.”
When she’s not on a fashion shoot or at her studio, Mackintosh can be found investigating the restaurants of her new neighbourhood, Notting Hill. She moved into the area a few months ago with her “new roomie” and she’s keen to try them all. The “new roomie” is actually her boyfriend, fellow ex-made In Chelsea castmate and longtime friend Hugo Taylor. “We’ve known each other for 10 years and dated when we were much younger [but] it was a different thing, a whirlwind,” she says of the relationship that played itself out on TV screens across the country between 2011 and 2012 that launched her celebrity status. “It was definitely weird dating someone when there was a camera there, but only there for half of what was going on,” she says. “It was tough at times, especially if you’re having an argument.” Mackintosh was part of a small group of friends living the high life in affluent west London. The scripted and orchestrated fly-on-the-wall reality drama, based on real people with real twentysomething issues (cheating boyfriends, warring friends) and not-so-real twentysomething issues (shopping in Gucci, holidays in Cannes), brought to life the millennial Sloane Ranger and, six years on, is still going strong. Mackintosh left the show after two years. “It was great fun. I was 21 and I’ve definitely got no regrets,” she admits, “but I looked like this posh Chelsea girl who doesn’t have to work and didn’t do anything except sit in cafés all day drinking champagne, when actually I’d get the bus there.” Often glibly referred to by the tabloids as the ‘Quality Street heiress’, her family, in fact, sold the company to Nestlé before she was born.
nother reason Mackintosh has remained in the public consciousness? Her high-profile relationships. Mackintosh’s rocky marriage and subsequent divorce from rapper Stephen ‘Professor Green’ Manderson has baited tabloids since their whirlwind romance began in 2012. They married in September 2013 and announced their split in February last year. The divorce is now finalised, but wounds of her broken relationship lie close to the surface. She’s reluctant to delve too deeply into the topic today, yet speaks with nothing but kindness. “Life is short and you get one chance,” she muses. “I’m a positive person and if it’s not working then you move on. Everyone deserves to be happy.” Maybe it’s down to the fact that she has taken up daily meditation, but her philosophy chimes perfectly with the zeitgeist of conscious uncoupling. “We just agreed to separate with kindness and as friends. You see so many people tear
Life is short and you get one CHANCE. If it’s not working then you MOVE on. Everyone deserves to be HAPPY
each other apart and if you support each other through it, remain dignified, that’s really the way to do it.” The message is clear: Mackintosh has moved on. Her Instagram account provides endless evidence of her loved-up state with Taylor. Every few days, fans are greeted with a fresh picture of the couple embracing on a yacht, beach or balcony. “I’m really happy and we have fun,” she smiles. “Our relationship is a totally different thing now.”
IN THE FLESH IT APPEARS IT WOULDN’T TAKE MUCH TO GET BEACH-BODYREADY FOR MACKINTOSH.
She readily divulges which exercise classes she loves – everything from yoga and Pilates to lifting weights and spinning. She knows her fans are interested in how she stays fit because it’s exactly what interests her. She, too, is tempted by the latest celebrity fitness regime. And it’s that honesty and openness that makes her so appealing to her army of followers. “I regularly post pictures of myself with no make-up, looking exhausted,” she nods. “It’s really important to me that women see my stretch marks or my cellulite.” I nearly choke. Surely Mackintosh’s gazelle-like limbs cannot have succumbed to cellulite? Yes, she insists, they have, and she’s happy to show it alongside her red-carpet looks (though a quick trawl through her Instagram feed shows no such evidence). With a blasé shrug she blames “the Roquefort” – not that she’s about to give up her cheese habit any time soon.
As our time draws to a close, I ask her about the future. “I’d definitely like two kids,” she beams, “but I’m happy to be the babysitter for now. I’m a godmother and have three pregnant friends. I’m enjoying seeing them go through it.”
Mackintosh’s life has changed so dramatically over the past few years that the emotional upheaval of a divorce can’t help but make you recalibrate and learn to live in the now. “Right now I’m really focused on the brand,” she replies instantly, but then, more reflectively, adds, “I try not to think about 10 years from now. Things can change so much.” From where I’m sitting, only for the better. Millie Mackintosh’s future looks very bright. e
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