We talk Julien Macdonald, Mothercare & Abbey Clancy with ceo Damian Hopkins.
Interviewing Damian Hopkins, you can imagine how he would probably be the perfect dinner party guest.
His career to date in the fashion industry has involved bringing collaborations with the likes of S Club 7, Robbie Williams, Atomic Kitten and the Kardashians to global retail, as well as working with well-known entrepreneurs, including Simon Fuller of 19 Management (creator of Pop Idol and manager to the likes of the Spices Girls, the Beckhams and Andy Murray), to Sir Philip Green and retail guru John Hargreaves, the founder of Matalan.
You get the sense though that Damian is far too much of a gentleman to tell tales out of school.
Damian founded Select Licensing two years ago, with the aim of creating a licensing representative business that could really craft IP through extensions that were brand enhancing – indeed, the company’s strapline is ‘craft without compromise’. And his previous experience – from the manufacturing and supply and licensee side of things, through to working with celebrity partnerships and brands – means that he has extensive knowledge of pretty much every aspect of the industry.
Still something of a well kept secret in the business, Select Licensing broke cover earlier this year having helped to put together the childrenswear collaboration with Julien Macdonald and Mothercare.
(Damian (far right) is pictured with Julien (centre) and Stuart Feggans, coo of Julien Macdonald Ltd at the Mothercare conference at Twickenham earlier this year.)
As well as Julien, the company’s client base includes Nicole Fahri, US-based women’s premium jersey business Velvet, fashion brand Lipsy (for which there is a bedding line launching with Next this autumn) and high-end men’s apparel specialist Wolsey among others.
“I saw a gap for a company targeting the mid-market and premium sector, really working with brands in a collaborative way to enhance them,” Damian explains. “We offer our clients two services; firstly a brand extension licensing service – where we take their brand, understand it and then look for the right brand enhancing product extensions and most appropriate partners to craft the right deals, all without compromising their brand.
“I also have first hand experience at launching brands internationally, so the other element is that we look at how we can open up the right partners in new international territories for our clients.”
Damian’s latest success is teaming up model Abbey Clancy with Argos for her first jewellery line, called Adore. A full set of over 20 items are featured in the retailer’s Christmas Gift Guide this year, with Abbey having been heavily involved in their design and creation.
“We’re still a relatively young company,” Damian continues. “But we have already gained a wonderful portfolio of international brands and we have already closed on some pretty significant deals. 2017 also looks very exciting as we have a couple of new clients coming on board and some other interesting deals in the pipeline.
“I’m pleased with what we have achieved in two years, but there is much more to come.”
Smiles all round
Smile by Julien Macdonald is the fashion designer’s first children’s collection. Unveiled at a special launch event at London’s Westfield, White City back in April, it includes 31 pieces of ready-to-wear jersey casuals and limited edition occasion wear for girls and boys – from newborn up to two years old.
The collection is available in 70 Mothercare stores across the UK, Ireland and internationally, and is named Smile because “that’s the first thing people do when they look at children” according to Julien.
“This was the first time that Mothercare had worked with a designer and it has been a really good relationship,” says Damian. “Julien really enjoyed working with the team and he was very hands on with the designs. A lot of the influences come from his couture collection.
“Everything is really joined up; Julien doesn’t want to just licence his brand, it’s about a thread that runs through everything he does and with Mothercare particularly it has worked that way.”
The collection will be expanded in the autumn with a home range including strollers, buggies and car seats among other items.
This feature originally appeared in the autumn edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
