THE OH-SO HANDY NETWORK BEHIND THE BRAND
MUTED colours. Rather pedestrian shapes. None of the fantasy or froth that makes fashion sparkle and moves women to raptures of desire.
Sam Cam’s new Cefinn collection is a workmanlike set of basics aimed — as she admitted in an interview yesterday — at being something a busy woman can grab out of her wardrobe.
Yet, despite this, the collection has been given enviable support from the fashion world’s creme de la creme in a way most new designers could only dream of.
It was launched with much fanfare in Vogue last month, then appeared on the cover of a glossy magazine yesterday, with a suitably gushing interview. None other than Anna Wintour — u.S. Vogue editor and the most influential woman in fashion — was consulted on the range.
Why? Most would say it’s less to do with the clothes and more thanks to Samantha’s impressive network of friends in high places and wealthy relatives.
Indeed, Samantha’s contacts book bursts with influential industry stalwarts: handbag guru Anya Hindmarch and designer erdem Moralioglu are close friends, while her sister emily Sheffield is deputy editor of UK Vogue — and reportedly first in line to take the top job when Alexandra Shulman steps down after her 25-year reign this summer.
Indeed, it was through her sister that Samantha, 45, debuted the collection in Vogue across six pages last month — something normally unheard of for a new designer.
Handily, in her capacity as Prime Minister’s wife, Sam served as ambassador for the British Fashion Council, sat on the front row of every Fashion Week and held a yearly reception at downing Street for the industry — which allowed her to rub shoulders with all its luminaries, who no doubt she’s been tapping up for advice.
EVERYONE from Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet to designers such as donatella Versace and Victoria Beckham dropped into downing Street.
It was at these parties that Sam Cam got to know Anna Wintour, whom she revealed yesterday had a preview of the collection: ‘one of the first people I showed the collection to was Anna Wintour, and she gave me great advice,’ said Sam. ‘She really liked the fact it was about real women.’
of course, Sam’s other advantage over similarly new designers is that she’s very well-heeled. Funding for the venture comes from the Camerons’ private coffers — which are deep.
Not only does she have savings from her £400,000-a-year creative director post at Smythson, which she held for 14 years before going part-time as a consultant (on a salary of £100,000) in 2010, but there’s a stake in the family firm, Normanby estate Holdings, run by her father, Sir Reginald Sheffield.
Like husband david (whose late father, Ian, had an estimated wealth of £10million), she has family money. Sir Reginald has a £20 million property empire, while her mother, Lady Annabel Astor, is co-founder and chief executive of the chic furnishings retailer oka, which made £1.76 million in profits last year.
Money goes not into Cefinn directly but into Samantha Cameron Studio Ltd, a nontrading company based in the North Lincolnshire town of Brigg, down the road from the country estate where she grew up. this leaves the option open to one day expand her fashion assets beyond a single brand.
Samantha’s family is steeped in creativity. Her maternal grandmother, Pandora Clifford, was an interior designer and society beauty who featured in tatler — once wearing a pair of curtains that she’d ripped down from the dining room and spontaneously fashioned into a lavish party dress.
on the same street as Sam’s West London studio, just around the corner from Latimer Road tube, is the headquarters of Cath Kidston, the shabby-chic homewares business. Cath is Sam’s second cousin.
And before founding oka, Lady Astor — now married to businessman and hereditary peer William Astor — ran a successful jewellery business in Knightsbridge, which was a favourite of Princess diana.
It was her mother who taught Samantha to sew — ‘She’s an amazing seamstress,’ says Annabel — and by the mideighties her daughter was making her own outfits, customising pieces she had picked up at Kensington Market.
She honed her skills in a foundation year at Camberwell College of Arts and studied Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic, spending an exchange year in east Berlin — undoubtedly an inspiration behind her muted, minimalistic designs.
on her return to London, with wonderful serendipidy her mother’s social ties (she was a long-time friend and bridge companion of the late designer oscar de la Renta) helped Samantha get her first job at Smythson.
For all of her connections and money, though, there can be no argument that Samantha has worked hard on her label. ever since she moved into downing Street and spent £38,000 overhauling the chintzy decor, she’s proved herself willing to roll her sleeves up and muck in.
In 2011, a year after her youngest, Florence, was born, she hired a professional to teach her how to pattern-cut — and for the next five years, the dining room at No 11 downing Street became an impromptu atelier as Samantha spent hours slaving over her sewing machine, sketching designs and running up samples which she corralled female visitors to try on.
FRIeNdS say they often admired Sam’s outfits — only for her to cheerfully admit she’d designed and made them herself. ‘She’s been making her own clothes for years,’ one reveals. ‘I’ve seen dresses, trousers, entire suits she’s made from scratch. She has a real eye for detail.
‘Now, she’s got the perfect mix of glamour, cash and connections to turn her hobby into something seriously lucrative.’
the unusual name, Cefinn, is an anagram of the Camerons’ children’s names: elwen, Florence, Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy and died in 2009, and Nancy. the ‘C’ comes from Cameron and the extra ‘n’ makes the name distinct from ‘Cefin’, which is Welsh for ‘Kevin’ — hardly a moniker for high fashion.
the line was originally
marketed as ‘Cefin London’, but was quietly rebranded towards the end of last year when the initial unveiling attracted derisive remarks online.
The trademark application for Cefinn, filed in October last year, provides yet more clues about what the brand will include. In it, she asks for permission to produce scented candles, sunglasses, mobile phone cases, jewellery, wallets and briefcases — as well as clothing ranging from underwear to shoes.
There is a request for ‘retail store services’, as well as online sales, indicating her next step may well be to open a shop.
‘What I’d like to do in the future, if the business goes well, is accessories,’ Samantha said in a recent interview. She isn’t keen to design bags, but does want to venture into shoes.
For now, Cefinn is very much a small-scale operation, producing garments by the tens rather than the hundreds, with just five staff: Samantha, a pattern cutter, a machinist, a production manager and an assistant.
Advertisements for new employees were posted online as long ago as June 2015, with one seeking a digital patterncutter (salary £34,000) to join a ‘friendly and productive team’ in Central London.
Fabrics — delicate merino wools, fine silks, feathery cottons in bright hues — were sourced by Samantha and her assistant from around the world and shipped to Cefinn’s HQ, where the team got to work cutting, stitching and embroidering.
Samantha is also a meticulous organiser. As husband David once said: ‘Samantha could organise the invasion of Russia.’
For now, it seems, a career in fashion — and a label that’s got everyone talking — will do.