MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Camilla, 48, set up Ridley london, a womenswear label specialising in semi-bespoke dresses, in 2016. She lives in london with her husband and business partner, mark, and their daughter, Emmanuelle, nine. WHEN I had my daughter, I dreamt of buying a wardrobe full of chic, French childrenswear — but it was so expensive! So, using my 20 years’ experience in fashion, I began creating and selling my own Liberty-print children’s dresses.

In 2014, I was selling my designs at a school fair when a mum approached me to ask whether I made dresses for adults, too. She had a cotton dress that fitted her perfectly and that she loved, but it was totally threadbare.

She lent me the dress and my seamstresses and I created a new design with several enhancements that we thought would make it feel more modern.

We had it made in a gorgeous Liberty silk, and when she put it on, wow, that was my light bulb moment.

I thought I’d been doing her a favour, but in fact that dress was my inspiration and I knew exactly where to take my business next.

It looked so fantastic, she ordered three more on the Floral Symphony spot. All her Silk Satin maxi friends wanted Skirt, £229 one, too, and that style, the Alissya, has since become our best seller.

The maxi-dress trend was just beginning then, so I created a capsule collection in a couple of key fabrics. Orders flew in.

Just like that first dress, we made them semi-bespoke — at first out of necessity, because I couldn’t afford to buy reams of fabric and have hundreds of dresses made up in a factory, but it soon became a key selling point.

We could make dresses longer or shorter according to a customer’s height, add sleeves, or even alter the size to fit a woman who was a 10 on top and a 12 on the bottom.

The concept has been so popular — it’s like going back to pre-war days before off-the-peg came in — I’ve had to expand my team. We now have 12 seamstresses and, in September 2017, we opened our first Ridley store in London. Our collection now includes made-tomeasure jumpsuits, tops, mididresses and maxi-skirts.

I have a wardrobe of beautiful dresses which all fit me, and I love seeing women discover the style, fit and fabric that really makes them look and feel fabulous.

They go out feeling empowered and ready to conquer the world.

ridleylondon.com