Caryn Franklin
Lydia Williams talks to Caryn Franklin about her latest fashion buys, The Clothes Show and her love for life in Kensal Rise
Above: Above: Caryn Franklin
Grove magazine: What do you like best about Kensal Rise?
Caryn Franklin: I love the modernist suburban vibe. Having lived in Hackney and Brixton for 10 years apiece, Kensal Rise seems far less urban and uptight. But I have to have a good mix of people around me and Kensal certainly delivers diversity.
Grove magazine: What would you change about the area if you could?
Caryn Franklin: I’d pass a law to stop people concreting over their front gardens. It’s a no-brainer really. Wildlife, abundant foliage and flowers in your garden or grey bins and flooding, what’s it going to be?
Grove magazine: Where in Kensal Rise would you recommend for good fashion buys?
Caryn Franklin: I like to support local businesses and Ariyá on Chamberlayne Road is fantastic for children’s shoes and clothes. I’ve bought loads of things from KuddyCo too which is right next door. Poppy Valentine makes great vintage bags at www.poppyvalentine.com (she’s one of the mums I see at the school gate). A girlfriend bought me a wonderful sequined scarf from Iris on Salusbury Road and I really like Smith’s in College Road where I bought a Sportmax skirt that I’m wearing all the time. I’m spoilt really.
Grove magazine: Where do you go for a good night out in and around Kensal Rise?
Caryn Franklin: Ruhits Indian restaurant on Sidmouth Parade; Boys Café on Harrow Road; The Island on College Road. I love the fact that I can walk home from all of them.
Grove magazine: How do you feel the fashion industry has changed in the last 20 years?
Caryn Franklin: It has changed undoubtedly, the high street has changed beyond recognition to deliver great fashion, but worrying for me, is our attitude to clothes. No longer is there a sense of saving up for something, really savouring it and treating it like a special item to be looked after. ‘Mcfashion’ where shops are churning out cheap stuff for landfill is a toxic mindset we are all involved in. Of course, I want everyone to enjoy clothes and look and feel great but not as a result of abusive practices involving workers and the environment.
Grove magazine: How did you get involved in The Clothes Show?
Caryn Franklin: I was fashion editor of i-D magazine at the time. I had worked on Swank and The Tube, as well as many other shows in the early Eighties. The Clothes Show just phoned up and invited me to take part. We all thought it would be good to put i-D on the map. I never planned to move into TV.
Grove magazine: Who are your fashion icons?
Caryn Franklin: Vivienne Westwood, for many more reasons than her excellent cutting skills. Katharine Hamnett for her passion and Tilda Swinton for her ability to look very cool.
Grove magazine: Do you get stopped in the street by women for advice?
Caryn Franklin: I actually started my website - howtolookgood.com because women were stopping me in the street for advice all the time, I just couldn’t carry all the information around in my head!
Grove magazine: Who has been your favourite interviewee?
Caryn Franklin: Oh where to start? Georgio Armani for his utter grace – he sent me a lovely letter after one interview, which of course I have kept. Vivienne for her storytelling; Karl Lagerfeld because he really is a great professional and will deliver exactly what is needed.
Grove magazine: As a patron of the Eating Disorders Association what is your position on the size zero debate?
Caryn Franklin: The media have confused this debate somewhat. A catwalk model is not and has never been a US size 0 or a UK 4. Most are a UK size 10 but because they are sometimes six-foot tall they can still be very thin. I do not want thin, unhealthy models on the catwalk because of the message this gives to impressionable young women.
Grove magazine: Do you have any ambitions you are still waiting to fulfil?
Caryn Franklin: Actually I’ve just launched my first collection for Simply Be. I wanted to create fashionable clothes with all the styling tricks I use for streamlining curvy bodies. That feels like an achievement.
Grove magazine: What is the secret to your success?
Caryn Franklin: Everyone has a story – I love listening to what they have to say.
www.howtolookgood.com