Samantha's designer boosted by prestigious award

For a lad who "didn't grow up dreaming of frocks by any means", he has come a long way.

Jonathan Saunders, the go-to designer for well-heeled, intelligent ladies - think Michelle Obama, Emma Stone, Samantha Cameron and Sienna Miller - has just been awarded the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.


 

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The £200,000 prize, which has already gone to Erdem and Christopher Kane, will boost the Glaswegian's profile even further.

Jonathan, the son of Jehovah Witness ministers, came to London with a dream in 1999.

He worked three jobs to pay his way through St Martins and within 48 hours of his graduate show was snapped up by Alexander McQueen.
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And when the debonair Scotsman made his debut at London Fashion Week he was hailed as a "show-stealing wunderkind".

His wicked way with colour and print thrilled the fashion crowd.

Most of all women seem to appreciate that his clothes were feminine without revealing too much - an aesthetic Jonathan summed up by saying women aren't "going to wear my dresses to go to a bar and find a man".