Emilia Wickstead (born June 1983) is a New Zealand fashion designer based in London, England. In 2014 she won the Red Carpet Designer of the Year Award at the

Elle Style Awards The Elle Style Awards are an awards ceremony hosted annually by ''Elle'' magazine. 2017 was the last year that they took place in the United Kingdom. List of award winners 2017 The 2017 edition of the Elle Style Awards took place on 13 February 2 ...

, and her clients include

Samantha Cameron Samantha Gwendoline Cameron, Baroness Cameron of Chipping Norton (; born 18 April 1971), is an English businesswoman. Until 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. She is married to David Cameron, who served as Prime ...

and the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...

Early life

Wickstead was born in June 1983, in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, to Angela Wickstead, a designer with a boutique in Parnell. At the age of 14, she moved to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, with her mother. Wickstead studied fashion design and marketing at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

art school in London and interned in New York at

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

and ''Vogue'' magazine.

Career

At the age of 24, Wickstead's boyfriend gave her £5,000 to start her business. She created a small collection of clothes and held showings for family and friends in her living room, taking orders for made-to-measure items. Her work was featured in ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' and UK ''Vogue'' magazines, and she was able to expand, opening a store in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

, and employing a team of seamstresses. She had her first showing at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

in 2012, and holds shows and consultations in New Zealand, New York and Milan. Wickstead's style has been described as "graceful", "understated elegance" and her choice of colours as "pretty but not saccharine". Among those who have worn her designs are

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew ...

and

Melania Trump Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...

. In May 2018, Wickstead claimed that the

wedding dress of Meghan Markle The wedding dress worn by Meghan Markle at Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, her wedding to Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 was designed by the British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy. T ...

was "identical" to one of her designs. In November 2023,

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

announced that Wickstead would be their "future uniform designer". The new crew uniforms, with prints designed by Māori artist Te Rangitu Netana, were introduced in April 2025.

Recognition

* Shortlisted for the BFC/''Vogue'' Fashion Fund in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 * Shortlisted for a British Fashion Award for New Establishment Designer in 2014 and 2015 * Won the Walpole Award for Brands of Tomorrow 2015 * Shortlisted for the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award 2015 * Won ''Elle'' magazine's Style Award for Red Carpet Designer of the Year 2014 * BFC Fashion Trust recipient 2014.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickstead, Emilia 1983 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand people Designers from Auckland Alumni of Central Saint Martins New Zealand fashion designers New Zealand women fashion designers New Zealand businesspeople