HAVING £100 these days won’t get you anywhere much less start a business. But that’s exactly what Karen Millen and her business partner Kevin Stanford did in 1981. With that sum of money, they bought 100m of white cotton which they used to manufacture and sell white shirts to their friends.

The first store opened in Kent, England, in 1983 and from there, evolved the self-fashioned Karen Millen label which has since expanded to become one of the hottest high street labels today.

It was acquired by a fashion group in June 2004 that was later absorbed by another giant fashion retail group.

Millen herself has remained onboard as an adviser, but the creative and design team is now headed by creative director Gemma Metheringham (who has been with the brand since 1999).

“I have tremendous respect for the brand positioning created by Millen and her partner Stanford. Their main focus was to be proud of their products and as a creative person, I have always found that attitude hugely inspirational. There is an enormous amount of love in the products we create,” Metheringham said in an e-mail interview.

With her team of 12 designers, she fashions collections for day, work, party and weekend wear.

“For every piece, we give particular attention to details, from the fabric of a flattering coat to the embroidery of an evening gown, and even the embossed hardware of a signature bag,” she said.

In the over-crowded high street end of the market, it pays to stand out from the crowd. The brand is considered to be in the same league as Reiss, Hobbs, Coast and All Saint, and claims to be the first to give a designer approach to clothes with high street affordability. Karen Millen also takes pride in its flattering sculpted fit outfits.

According to Metheringham, the age of the brand’s customers ranges from 25 to 35.

“She’s confident, glamorous and fashionable with a strong sense of style, yet she’s not a slave to fashion. She’s not afraid of looking good and enjoys wearing clothes she feels fabulous in,” she added.

That’s the clientele in Britain but here in Malaysia, women in their 40s are buying Karen Millen as well. These are mainly professionals and socialites.

“They are highly discerning and appreciate Karen Millen’s distinct signature in terms of garment quality, design details and fit,” she explained.

For the spring/summer 2009 collection, designers looked to the clean 1970s glamour of actress Lauren Hutton, as seen in a silk safari shirt and a pair of well-cut peg trousers mixed with classic tan accessories.

“There is definitely a move towards simplicity and bold colour statements,” said Metheringham.

The team was inspired by London, working in the heart of Shoreditch surrounded by interesting shops, galleries, bars and clubs – fodder for people and style watching. It’s also increasingly apparent that as the brand becomes more global, inspiration sources become more international.

Metheringham talks about the highlights of the collection:

“The collection for summer has a clean modern feel with the focus on mix and match separates, giving a fresh emphasis on style. This is typified in the ‘pockety’ silk satin safari shirt which looks fantastic styled either with flirtatious ruffle skirts or the uber fashionable soft silk dhoti (harem pants) trousers.

“To smarten up for spring, layer jackets over dresses and separates – the favourite being the chartreuse washed leather zip front jacket or the tan studded leather jacket,” she said.

“This is the season to be bold with colour: shake off the credit crunch blues with vibrant shots of acidic limes, citrus orange, tomato and sapphire. If you don’t want to buy an entire colourful outfit, cheer yourself up with colour on your feet like the coral satin sandals with diamante trim. This is definitely the season to experiment with colour and shape.”

There are three main looks to choose from: safari, luxurious sportswear and colour-me cocktail dresses.

The trends that figure prominently are the animal prints mixed with graphic black, given a sportier sexier look in shift dresses and pencil skirts with exposed zip detailing. Mixed snake and zebra, or snake and leopard sandals rule the shoe kingdom.

Metheringham thinks occasion and tailored dresses will fly off the racks here. The Signature halter dress and Graphic strapless dress in particular, will be sellouts.

“For me, if I could only buy one thing, it would be the white fringed bag!”