Deborah Milner

Backstage at the Natural History Museum… In 2018, I worked on the Fashion for Conservation runway as part of the Whitley Fund for Nature Hope Gala - a fundraising event bringing together fashion, conservation and Sir David Attenborough as a special guest on stage. The runway show featured Deborah Milner and Amy Powney for Mother of Pearl, with a backstage team including makeup designer Attracta Courtney and her team, using Weleda skincare. I supported behind the scenes with styling and coordinating the models before the runway. What stayed with me from this experience wasn’t just the scale of the event, but how much precision it takes to bring a show like this together - across people, timing and environment. And how ahead of its time this event was - and that I was part of it. It’s also a reminder of how much talent exists within sustainable couture that doesn’t always get the visibility it deserves. Deborah Milner’s work is a perfect example of that. @deborahmilner Thank you to @ava.j.holmes and the @fashionforconservation team for the opportunity #runwayfashion #sustainableluxury #sustainableluxuryfashion #stylistportfolio

Needle Dance Live @duanenasis @sabrinawonghc and @naomiweijand performing @makikoharris Needle Dance @southlondongallery on Saturday as part of @new_contemporaries where Makiko is exhibiting her giant needle sculptures. Choreography @sabrinawonghc Costumes @deborahmilner Costume assistant @lanhavm @kristinhjellegjerde @kristinhjellegjerdegallery @basiltree

Artist @makikoharris performing Needle Dance @southlondongallery this weekend as part of @new_contemporaries exhibition alongside dancers @sabrinawonghc @duanenasis @naomiweijand Music @basiltree and @makikoharris Music production @imwcampus Choreography @sabrinawonghc Performers @sabrinawonghc @naomiweijand @duanenasis @makikoharris Costumes @deborahmilner Costume assistant @lanhavm Needle Art and Concept @makikoharris @kristinhjellegjerdegallery

Preparation for Le Bal 2025 Eirini Zafiri wears The Small Knot Dress The dress was part of a sustainable Couture Collection made in partnership with @aveda and comprised of 10 dresses each showcasing a different aspect of sustainability. Dress created from silk chiffon from @taronisilk dyed with natural indigo digo by @pennywalshdye by Karen Spurgin @spurgin_textiles who later went on to form @ao_textiles

Small Knot Dress - part of Ecoture Collection of Sustainable Couture from 2005 in partnership with @aveda Dyed with natural indigo by @pennywalsh using a shibori technique by Karen Spurgin @spurgin_textiles Silk chiffon from @taronisilk Photographer @manuelvason Hair and production @petergrayhair

November 2025 Beautiful @eiriniz_arifi at @lebal.paris in one of the first environmentally friendly couture dresses we did with @aveda The Small Knot Dress Silk chiffon from @taronisilk dyed with natural indigo by @pennywalshdye and @spurgin_textiles using a shibori technique.

Repost from @philiptreacy couture show at the Louvre Paris with outfit by Deborah Milner in 2001 (@isabellablow gave me the little circular veils and black velvet ribbon at she found @alfiesantiques )

“I have no regrets. The fact that I did try and make art out of clothing made my life more difficult from a financial perspective but it has also given me infinite possibilities and opened doors in ways I would never have imagined.” — Deborah Milner @deborahmilner Deborah Milner is an acclaimed couture designer renowned for merging artistic vision with technical mastery, and “London’s best kept secret for extraordinarily beautiful designs and unconventional sculptural shapes” (American ELLE @elleusa ). Her fascination with drawing and painting the human form naturally led her to the forefront of fashion and art, culminating in a tenure consulting and then running the Alexander McQueen Couture Studio (2009 -2015), where she realized some of McQueen’s most iconic and intricate showpieces. @alexandermcqueen Collaborations with creative luminaries like Isabella Blow @issieblow , Philip Treacy @philiptreacy and Nick Knight @nick_knight underscore her innovative credibility and broad media appeal. Beyond haute couture, Milner has applied her expertise to stage and film costume design, cultivating a style that balances elegance with bold experimentation, always pushing the boundaries of traditional fashion. Image 1: STAINLESS-STEEL DRESS Photographer: Zanna Stylist: Damian Foxe Model: Honor Fraser The Sunday Times Style Magazine 1997 Image 2: MILLINERY NET COAT Photographer: Mark Mattock @mark_mattock Stylist: Judy Blame @judyblame @trustjudyblame Hair: Eugene Souleiman Make-up: Lisa Butler Model: Lois Samuels ID Magazine 1997 Image 5: RED VELVET COAT Photographer: © Mario Testino @mariotestino Title: Isabella Blow, Paris @issieblow Image 6-8: ECOTURE WITH AVEDA: FIREWORK DRESS Photographer: Manuel Mason Hair and shoot production: Peter Gray @petergrayhair Sketch: Deborah Milner Image 9-11: REEF COLLECTION: HOKUSAI WAVE DRESS Photographer: Gabriel Carasso Model: Alderney Street Hair: Peter Gray @petergrayhair Make up: Gina Kane @ginakanemakeup Sketch: Deborah Milner ♠️ Tap the link in our bio to find out more about the British fashion designer in Volume 1, Lifting the Lid on Creative Success. #deborahmilner #britishfashion #theartofseeingmagazine

2005 ECOTURE WITH AVEDA When I came back from Brazil I pitched the sustainable couture idea of linking with a company like Aveda to friend Peter Gray @petergrayhair and he put us all together THE BIG KNOT DRESS The first dress in a collection which explored sustainable possibilities in couture. Long time collaborator Karen Spurgin @spurgin_textiles joined me as the textile consultant . the first hurdle was of course fabrics - it was difficult to find couture fabric which could be called truly sustainable - we hit upon the idea of focussing our work around natural dyes and Karen found the wonderful @pennywalshdye to work with us on dyeing. This first fabric was inspired by the waters of the Amazon and uses a shibori technique dyed with indigo and turmeric to bring the fabric to life This was very apt as my work has always featured knots and now we were using them to create beautiful textiles. @aveda @avedauk @avedacoventgarden Hair @petergrayhair Photographer @manuelvason @ao_textiles With thanks to Virginia Meyer and David Adams @david._adams._hair_.color for commissioning the project

With COP 30 in Brazil, now seems like a good time to repost this story // @download_repost_pro - In 2003 I changed my life and moved to Brazil. After a voyage around Peru and Bolivia I settled in São Paulo with the help of wonderful friends first introduced in 2001 by Isabella Blow. Thankyou to @aroese for 20 wonderful years To designer @wr_walterrodrigues , @aurea_yamashita who gave me work and support and @carla_assuca @assucal of @swarovski in Brazil who first gave me a home and introduced me to everyone To @jessiesklair whose red wedding dress made in Brazil you see here and who helped me develop the sustainable couture idea, to @cibele_gardin whose apartment and creative dreams we shared and @la_buena_juanita for artistic support and common sense advice and last but not least to @rogeriadmporte who first persuaded me to go to Brazil and invited me for New Year 2000! I am sure there are many more people I need to thank but this experience changed literally everything ♥️ Last post : @wr_walterrodrigues design from his Peruvian Collection in 2001

Grace Jones hula hooping @amfar recently in @philiptreacy hat and Deborah Milner velvet corset Repost from @simondepury via @philiptreacy

Tninking of Isabella Blow tonight on the death of her mother. Without her and @philiptreacy championing me in my early career, things would have been very different. Fashion Galore - tribute to Isabella in advance of the Somerset House Show in 2011 shot by @nick_knight Isabella's wardrobe rescued by @daphneguinness for posterity and styled by @amandaharlech at her family seat Doddington Hall Model @amberandergram