Katie Hillier

Accessories designers are often the unsung heroes of the fashion world, which is unfair really, given that we lust after the new season's hot new bags and shoes just as much, if not a little more, than the much coveted clothes. So it’s good to see that Katie Hillier, creator of a whole swathe of the most dreamed about accessories from the last few years, is getting her dues.

London born and bred, Katie graduated from the University of Westminster in 1997 with a degree in fashion design and a firm friendship with super-stylist Katie Grand under her belt. Stints in the Dazed and Confused fashion cupboard and as an assistant to fashion photographer John Akehurst followed before she made her mark on the fashion scene by designing a beaded belt for her friend Luella’s now infamous debut show, ‘Daddy I Want A Pony.’ Before you could say punk-meets-prom-queen, Katie landed herself a permanent position at the label and she stayed for three years.

The creation of her own design consultancy followed, resulting in collaborations with everyone from Hugo Boss to New Look and an enviable position as Creative Consultant at Marc by Marc Jacobs (yes, she’s the one responsible for your mounting credit card bill – we told you she was good.) Nowadays she combines her work for Marc with her job as Contributing Fashion Editor at Pop magazine and a whole bevy of side projects; designing for the recent Gap Red project, producing accessories for House of Holland, creating last season's Loewe jewellery range with new creative director Stuart Vevers, the list goes on and on. With her finger perpetually on the pulse of what's up and coming in the forever fickle world of fashion, we can only ask, what will Katie do next?

By Emma Sells