Julien Macdonald OBE (born March 19, 1971) is a Welsh fashion designer.

Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Macdonald attended Cyfarthfa High School in Merthyr Tydfil. Macdonald was taught knitting by his mother, and soon became interested in design. He was also interested in a career as a dancer, but instead studied textiles at The Faculty of Arts and Architecture,Brighton, then went on to the Royal College of Art, where he gained a Master's Degree. Soon after graduation, Karl Lagerfeld recruited him to work for Chanel. He also worked freelance creating knitwear for Alexander McQueen.

In 2000, he was appointed as successor to Alexander McQueen as chief designer at the Paris Haute Couture house of Givenchy, and in 2001, he was named British Fashion Designer of the Year. His creations have been worn by stars such as Joely Richardson, Kylie Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Dame Shirley Bassey, Carmen Electra and Naomi Campbell [1]. He was also selected by British Airways to redesign their flight attendants' uniforms. He also acts as a judge on the British version of Project Runway, known as Project Catwalk, which is broadcast on Sky One. In June 2006, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to fashion.

[edit] Fur contoversy

Macdonald has attracted much criticism for his extensive use of fur, including one incident in which he and Paris Hilton were flour-bombed.^[1] He has stated that fur provides the majority of his revenue and that his label would collapse were he not to use it.^[1] In February 2007, Macdonald was again criticised for the prominent use of fur in his autumn collection, causing further outrage when he claimed that "People who don't like fur can piss off. I love fur. It's a beautiful natural product from animals."^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Julien Macdonald: Defender of the fur". The Independent. 19 February 2006. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article346290.ece. 
2. ^ The Daily Mail (14 February 2007). "The anti-fur mob? They can p*** off". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=436082&in_page_id=1879. 

[edit] External links

• UKTV Style video - backstage at a Julien MacDonald fashion show

• The Julien Macdonald Website