I was a child who grew up amongst adults and, as such, wondered why I was treated as a child. I never quite grasped the concept of ‘growing up’, as a child or now. I have always done what pleases me and have never looked too far forward in to the future, so when someone asks me ‘what did you think you’d be when you grew up?’ all I can say is that I knew that I would be successful and free – free to do whatever pleased me at the time.

There are possibly two explanations for this. Firstly my hair colour: I am a typical redhead: stubborn, fiery, and passionate. Secondly, my upbringing; my father told me that I could do anything I wanted to do in life (and I believed him) while my mother praised (and praised, and praised) and loved me. My parents laid down the first and definitive gauntlet (i.e. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO) because I excel most when people tell me that I cannot do something. This drives me forward like a heat seeking missile to a seemingly impossible goal.

There have been some other important influences in my life. The many people, my parents included, who left everything behind in the Czech Republic in 1968, to forge a new life in the West. I was seven when we left and realised that nothing stays the same and that your life can change overnight into something completely unimaginable. In time I also realised that no matter how painful the changes, you are infinitely stronger for having lived through them, survived them and the ultimate feat… to survive them ‘well’.

School was a positive experience for me because I was academically good and very creative. Creativity is a godsend. I was full of mischief but I had the intelligence, charm and guile to cover up my tracks, so I never got into trouble. On the contrary, the teachers loved me. I realize now how important positive affirmation from parents and teachers was because I have grown up without any self-doubt.

There were three teachers of note in my life. First, Mrs Tate my Home Economics teacher, a bitter spinster who had worked in Yves St Laurent’s couture house as a finisher. The second is my riding teacher, Zultan Stehlo, an embittered and Hungarian ex-Olympic dressage competitor. What these two had in common was a glorious past and ending up in a provincial town (Vancouver) teaching young children (a lesson in itself). And finally my theatre design professor Brian Jackson, a good-humoured Englishman. Mrs Tate loved my eye for detail and my natural aptitude for sewing. What she didn’t know was that, since the age of nine, I had been dressing my 8-inch stuffed Snoopy for every imaginable occasion: a trip to Hawaii, a fancy ball, cocktails… he was a dog for all seasons. Zultan admired my tenacity. The horse I rode was an ex-racehorse – with a temperament to match. I was the most inexperienced rider and not a particularly brave one – simply a determined one. Brain Jackson adored my work because I had a European sensibility. When Brian suggested: ‘Move to London and work in the theatre, you are definitely good enough,’ I thought to myself ‘why not?’

My father pretty much disowned me when I told him I was moving to London, but by that time I was well past needing his approval, so off I went with hardly a penny to my name. I got myself a job at Liberty’s in the Aquascutum concession, where I worked for three months while I pounded the pavement, being rejected (much to my astonishment) by every theatre in London. Bruised but undeterred, I applied for an advertised job at the BBC Costume department. The BBC also declined my invitation to be their employee because they did not consider me to be ‘knowledgeable enough’. By this point I was pissed off and contested their decision. Humouring me, the man at the other end of my telephone conversation asked me to describe a woman’s costume from 1825. This I did and with that, I got an interview and subsequently a job.

BIG lesson: don’t take no for an answer.

I became friends with a St Martin’s School of Fashion student and would visit him during class and decided that my clothes-making skills would be better suited to fashion. My pattern cutting and dressmaking skills were put to use (and honed) helping the students in his class. I was there almost every day of the week and the students even put my name on roll call as a joke. While at St Martin’s, my friend had a placement at the Jean Muir Studio. Miss Muir loved him because he was talented, a perfectionist. She particularly liked the way he prepared her lunch. Miss Muir ate the same thing every day – sliced vegetables and quails eggs. Presentation was everything. I was given a job in her studio through his introduction and stayed with her for the better part of one year. This was an invaluable experience. She was a great woman and I loved her design, her cut, her attention to detail, her philosophy – simply everything she did. She was a formidable woman and everyone adored and feared her in equal measure. Finally, through a contact at the BBC, I got my job in the theatre – ‘Jeanne the Rock Opera’ at the Sadler’s Wells.

Theatre is smelly. TV was better but did not completely captivate me either as a career, so I decided that a career in fashion would be better for me, and less tawdry. When my friend graduated he was offered a job with Shirin Cashmere as a knitwear designer but he deferred the job to me as he had a better offer elsewhere. What Shirin were looking for was someone who understood the lifestyle of the women wearing the knitwear. It was a lifestyle that Snoopy was enjoying throughout his life with me. Clearly, as The Peanut’s couturier, I was the perfect designer for this luxury brand.

I left Shirin Cashmere to start my own brand with my St Martin’s buddy and we did that for a few years - making clothes for ‘women who lunch’.

The way we designed the collection was by assuming an alter ego. I was Mrs Agnelli (I love Gianni Agnelli) and he was Mrs Niarcos (he loved Greek tycoons) and we were travelling on the Orient express and needed a wardrobe to pack into the multitude of handmade Luis Vuitton trunks that came with us on our travels. Unfortunately our Orient Express came to a thundering and tragic collision course with the late eighties recession and we found ourselves in debt and destitute. My business partner sold his flat and I moved in with a kind friend who supported me while I got myself back on my feet. My friend was having her nails done and overheard the woman next to her complaining about not being able to find someone suitable to make her wedding dress. This woman turned about to be Aliza Reger, Janet Reger’s daughter. We met, I was employed to make the wedding party outfits and remained in the studio designing lingerie.

Alas I became restless and a friend found an advertisement for a place designing Sindy dolls. I had absolutely no experience or schooling for product design but I thought to myself – ‘why not?’ I made a captivating CV and cover letter that got me an interview. I did a lot of preparation for the interview – a pitch. I was hired because they were astonished by the fact that even schooled/experienced product designers had not gone into so much thought about the total product. I dissected who was buying the doll and why and I re-dressed and repackaged the product, considering its shelf appearance.

When I apply for a job, I consider what I can do for the employer, not what they will do for me (that part is just my business to know). Sindy was a great experience but I felt I needed to spread out, take a less hands-on job. More money, less effort, higher profile. A recruitment agent put me forward for an art director’s job at a licensing company. One of the requirements of the job was a good knowledge of Mac software. It was the start of digital artwork and styleguides. I did not know how to turn a computer on, but I figured that in the four week period after my resignation, I could go to my friends in the creative department at Hasbro for a crash course. I was at copyright promotions for four years and no one was the wiser for my initial ‘rustiness’ on the computer. I learned on the job, produced their style guides and their newsletters. I was poached by an ex-colleague from Hasbro who created a new creative department in the consumer products division at Disney. I have always loved Walt Disney and his remarkable imagination. It was a pleasure working there and an incredible learning experience on so many levels.

My restlessness got the better of me and I have now gone off to do my own thing – lots of things, illustration, styling, designing my own lingerie with a wonderful woman with an amazing concept (look out for it in the coming months!!).

I enjoy my life and I don’t believe in living it at half-mast. I surround myself with people who inspire and challenge me. I live where I please and I don’t settle for anything but the best. I don’t work to simply earn money; I work to feed my soul – hopefully my work in turn feeds my stomach and an expensive shoe habit. My mantra is to dream, to find your opportunities and seize them before they pass, to give yourself fully to your work and your life, to love, to work passionately at everything you do, and never look back in anger.

When I ask myself what I should do next in life, I ask myself at the same time: ‘Will it make me an interesting dinner guest?’ If the answer is ‘yes’, I go for it.

www.ivananohel.com