Those seeking an example of how to laugh in the face of adversity will surely struggle to do better than point to acclaimed fashion designer Julien Macdonald.
His eponymous company went into liquidation in July 2023, as I disclosed at the time, leaving scores of creditors – many of them highly skilled, self-employed men and women – thousands or even tens of thousands out of pocket.
Little more than a year later, Macdonald – once crowned British Fashion Designer of the Year – has been delighting fans by posting holiday snaps on social media which show him and chums on the party island of Mykonos.
It’s a bravura display which suggests that Macdonald’s impish spirit remains undimmed – the same spirit which helped propel him from humble beginnings in his hometown, Merthyr Tydfil, to a stellar rollcall of clients, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and top model Bella Hadid, all willing to pay up to £40,000-a-time for his creations.
But might the insouciant Macdonald, 53, be tempting fate? I ask because, tucked away in the first annual report drawn up by the liquidators investigating the collapse of Julien Macdonald Ltd there is a stark warning that an unnamed director is likely to face legal action. Optimise, a law firm specialising in insolvency litigation, has paid £5,000 for the rights to pursue ‘any potential claim against the former officers of the company’.
Those seeking an example of how to laugh in the face of adversity will surely struggle to do better than point to acclaimed fashion designer Julien Macdonald
Julien Macdonald attends the ‘Mary Quant’ VIP preview at the Victoria & Albert Museum with Queen Camilla
The report adds: ‘Details of this transaction and the legal claim against the director need to remain confidential at this stage.’
Optimise’s managing director, Mark Goodwin, is equally discreet. ‘It would not be appropriate for us to comment at this stage,’ he tells me.
Macdonald’s numerous creditors are less inhibited. They are owed a total of £524,000 – much of it relating to work done for his triumphant London Fashion Week show, organised in partnership with one of his richest clients, Mexican socialite Gabriela Gonzalez, who keeps a white tiger called Max in her garden.
‘If it went to court, I’d love it,’ one of them tells me. ‘I’d be there every day.’
Macdonald, whose mother worked in a lightbulb factory, established two new companies last year. One, Glitz and Sparkles, was speedily renamed Julien Macdonald 2023 Ltd; the other, JM Sparkles Ltd, is behind on its paperwork for Companies House. Is it about to go pop?
Macdonald declines to comment. But industry insiders say he’s about to celebrate the relaunch of one of his brands – ‘Star by Julien Macdonald’.
The smart set’s talking about… Sir Benjy’s heading down the rabbit hole for a rave
At Glastonbury this year, the festival was missing its infamous haunt The Rabbit Hole, where the likes of Brad Pitt and Kate Moss have revelled in an Alice in Wonderland-themed setting in past years. But it’s been revived by a most unlikely figure elsewhere in Somerset.
This weekend, Sir Benjamin Slade, 78, is hosting The Rabbit Hole at his 2,000-acre Maunsel House estate, with Bryan Ferry’s son Isaac among the DJs.
Sir Benjy, a keen shot who has 80 firearms on display in his bar room, tells me: ‘I’m hoping to meet some of the offspring of my friends.’ The eccentric baronet adds: ‘I’ve got earplugs for the noise. I’ll be going round the campfires.’
Look out! Sir Benjy has a daughter aged two with ex-girlfriend Sahara Sunday Spain, a poet and composer 46 years his junior.
This weekend, Sir Benjamin Slade, 78, is hosting The Rabbit Hole at his 2,000-acre Maunsel House estate
Ben Fogle is more famous than the heir to the throne and his brother – in some parts of the world at least. ‘I was once filming in Botswana, with Princes William and Harry, when a local guide spotted us and with breathless excitement bounded over,’ the TV star says. ‘Ignoring William and Harry, he turned to me and said, ‘Ben Fogle? I am a massive fan’. He then added, ‘I love you in Cash in the Attic’, slightly dimming my moment of glory.’
War hero flies again – to a welcome from Witchell
Ahead of tomorrow’s Westminster Abbey service to mark Battle of Britain Day, one of our most gallant pilots has taken to the skies once more.
At the age of 103, former Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC set off over the Channel to France in a single-engine Piper, sitting alongside the pilot, with chum Randolph Churchill, great-grandson of Winston, in the back. Colin was keen to see Britain’s new Normandy Memorial at Gold Beach, so they landed nearby.
On arrival, they found the memorial’s founding trustee, Nicholas Witchell – in a chef’s jacket. The former BBC royal correspondent now runs the memorial, including its cafe.
‘I’ve made 2,000 sandwiches in the past two months,’ Witchell tells me. ‘So it was an honour to make ham and cheese baguettes for a Churchill and a DFC.’
Leave my Joel’s dancing alone
Joel Dommett, who hosted the National Television Awards this week, was heavily criticised for his song and dance routine at the start of the ceremony, broadcast on ITV.
Now, his wife, Hannah Cooper-Dommett, 35, has hit back at his armchair critics. ‘It’s unfair,’ the Dutch-born model tells me at the Little Scarlet Door in Soho, where she mixed cocktails to celebrate the relaunch of the Warehouse brand by Debenhams.com. ‘He did a great job and I’m so proud of him. He had dance rehearsals and singing lessons.’
Hannah Cooper-Dommett, 35, has hit back at his armchair critics
There was no Sir Cliff Richard on hand to sing Congratulations, but the Bachelor Boy’s old friend Bruce Welch got married for a third time on Thursday, I can disclose.
The 82-year-old guitarist, a founding member of Sir Cliff’s backing band the Shadows, exchanged vows with Jilly Hamilton, 66, a fashion buyer, at a register office in Richmond, South-West London. Welch, who was once engaged to Grease star Olivia Newton-John, tells me: ‘We met in a coffee shop. I didn’t want a showbiz wedding – just the family. It was great fun and really lovely.’
The musician, who co-wrote some of Cliff’s biggest hits, adds: ‘We’re going to the South of France for our honeymoon.’ Let’s hope they enjoy their (late) Summer Holiday.
(Very) modern manners
Although a vegetarian, Kate Winslet insists on carving the Sunday roast – even at other people’s homes.
‘I watched someone recently, a man, carve a chicken and he clearly did not know what he was doing at all,’ the Titanic star, 48, harrumphs on the Table Manners podcast. ‘He was literally just pulling bits off with his fingers. I said, ‘Next time I come to your house, I’ll tell you how to carve a chicken’, and the next time I went round, I said, ‘I’m going to show you how to do this.’ ‘