Utopia is open to interpretation, and this season we’re calling on a series of inspiring tastemakers to share their unique vision for a perfect world – inspired by our spring/summer collection, Memories of Utopia.
Next up is a true triple threat: presenter, fashion icon and interior designer, Whinnie Williams. A woman after Hayley’s heart, Whinnie’s penchant for vintage has become her hallmark – garnering her a reputation as the Queen of Retro Interiors as part of TV’s Flat Out Fabulous and Changing Rooms. Stepping into her Margate caravan - Club Jupiter - it is an ode to the 1970s with gold swan-head taps, shag pile and second hand finds – a mood that extends to Poodle & Blonde, the design business she co-founded with Kierra Campbell, offering wallpaper, fabrics and print-heavy accessories influenced by a mid-century aesthetic and a passion for animals to customers and clients including Soho House and Mama Shelter.
While keeping the company of her furry companions – poodles, of course – offers a daily slice of paradise, we invited Whinnie to share more about what Utopia means to her.
Describe your idea of Utopia...
My personal Utopia would be my friends and family all moving to the village I just moved to and living off the land, surrounded by loads of animals, camping in the gardens in summer, sitting round a fire every night, not having to work and play all day!
If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
I would travel back to a holiday I took last year. I stayed at a place called Ranchlands near Colorado Springs. It’s a working ranch and I got to be a cowgirl for a week and had the best week of my life! I highly recommend it as a solo trip! All the ranchers are women and you get to be wild all day with the horses in the sand dunes and make friends and eat delicious food at night.
Name a book that encapsulates 'Utopia' for you...
I don’t read too much being quite dyslexic but love to watch lot of stuff so I would say a place between Yellow Stone and the Little Mermaid!
What would be your Utopian soundtrack?
Ohh Mazzy Star, The Cardigans, Elvis, Fleetwood Mac, and Miley Cyrus!
Who would you take to your Utopia?
My husband, my best friends and family, my poodles and chickens.
What enables you to think completely freely?
Weirdly going camping. I’m never as calm or still as when I’m by a tent in the middle of nowhere! it gives me the space I need to come up with ideas and get creative.
Tell us about a current passion project of yours that enables true escapism...
My passion project at the moment is doing up my new house @welcometofollywood. It’s a 50’s bungalow on stilts in the Kent woods and I’m so excited to renovate and bring her back to some 50's palm springs glory.
Utopia smells like...
That smell after it rains in the garden and it’s a bit warm.
Utopia tastes like...
Oysters, followed by home-made pasta washed down with a cream soda.
What are your favourite pieces from Hayley's SS23 collection, Memories of Utopia?
I love the two-piece laser diamond denim set and the Intarsia cardi!
Shop Whinnie's picks
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