A designer label with its roots in the North-East is attracting the attention of stylish, fashion-conscious women, including a host of celebrities

Charming, playful and confident, the Novo London woman is an intelligent party girl with a love of beautiful things, says the North-East designers behind the label fast gaining a reputation as a celebrity favourite. With its collection of quality, trend-conscious designs, the Durham-based fashion e-tailer is garnering fans such as Made in Chelsea’s Rosie Fortescue and Tiffany Watson, and The Only Way Is Essex’s Chloe Sims, Ferne McCann and Chloe Lewis. And despite the fact they have only been trading since 2014, the brand has already been spotted on the pages of popular glossy magazines.

With a combined experience spanning freelance design work, a role in the luxury retail sector and a first class degree in Fashion Design, founders Amy Whitfield and Rebecca Ward, both 26 and from Durham, started the business to fill a gap in the market for an affordable luxury online brand. Novo London’s capsule collections are influenced by a combination of street style and contemporary design.

“It's been great for us both to have nurtured and developed the business from concept to completion,” says Amy. “It’s really exciting when we see Novo London featured in the likes of Grazia, Closer and OK! and spotted on major celebrities. It makes us realise how far we’ve come as a brand and gives us a real buzz to drive the business forward.”

Amy first became interested in fashion through her love of textiles, nurtured at Durham High School, while classmate Rebecca’s passion was fired when she first read about the life of Coco Chanel and how she shaped fashion for women. Rebecca’s own style mirrors her obsession with the design legend – “quite classic with lots of monochrome and always accessorised with gold jewellery”, while Amy’s is a bit more of a mix, classic and tomboy.

Despite its “London” tag, the business is still based in Durham, as the pair have a deep affection for their home town and felt no need to relocate. “The name came about because the idea of starting Novo came to us in London and almost all of the early work was done down there,” says Rebecca. The manufacturing of their designs is done in Europe and Asia.

Mirroring their love of Japanese designers, Novo plays on the mantra that simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication, with each collection focusing on making a statement that ultimately flatters the female form. The focus is on attention to detail, with unexpected twists, triking silhouettes and cutout shapes, rather than bold colours or patterns. “The essence is luxury at an affordable price. These are classic pieces that won’t date and that you can wear on any occasion, rather than the throwaway fashion that we feel has totally saturated the market,” says Amy.

The target market is predominately women aged 18/30, the plan to keep on growing the brand and hopefully make it into a big department store such as Fenwick or Selfridges. “Primarily Novo London is online, but we are slowly starting to be stocked in selected independent boutiques, which is exciting,” say Rebecca. “It really makes you stop and think wow, we did it!”

Novo London’s collection is priced from £35 and can be found online at novo-london.co.uk.

Which styles would make great Christmas party wear?

A great Christmas party dress is Giselle with its on-trend berry colour, high neck and daring hemline. If you would prefer not to wear a dress this festive season, the“Elle trouser co-ord is perfect for the festive season.

If money were no object, what would you most like for Christmas this year?

Classic Burberry mac – Amy

Black Chanel Boy handbag with gold hardware – Rebecca

novo-london.co.uk