This week on Style DNA I go on a style journey with the brilliant British British designer and creative director Clare Waight Keller — a woman whose career has quietly shaped modern fashion as we know it.

From working with Calvin and then Ralph, to leading Chloé and Pringle to becoming the first female Artistic Director at Givenchy, where she reopened couture and designed the wedding gown for Meghan Markle - Clare’s career is nothing short of extraordinary. She now sits at the helm of women’s and menswear at Uniqlo, overseeing a $23 billion global business.

We talk about being “given the keys” to Givenchy, immersing herself in Hubert de Givenchy’s archives, and the responsibility of reviving couture in a modern world. She shares what it felt like to meet him in Paris shortly before he passed away — a moment that clearly left its mark.

Of course, we revisit the morning of the royal wedding — the precision, the pressure, the veil, the steps… no rehearsal, just instinct and absolute focus.

But equally fascinating is Clare’s upbringing in Birmingham, learning to sew alongside her mother, sourcing fabrics from the local rag market, and how that early discipline shaped everything that followed.

Her own Style DNA? “Tailored. Tonal. With a touch of femininity.”
That tension between sharp structure and romantic softness feels very modern woman to me.

We also discuss motherhood in a high-pressure industry, why there are still so few female creative directors, sustainability as longevity (not trend), and the power of a great coat — she owns over 60.

Elegant, intelligent, generous and quietly measured — this is a conversation I absolutely loved.

I hope you enjoy it.