If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair: The Sunday Times bestseller

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In these tough, turbulent times, creativity trumps everything. So we’ve spent time focusing on the creativity in our Village, doing some quite mad and bold projects for a fashion brand, from ice-cream and nail parlour to a non-alcoholic off-licence. We went from doing big shows for exclusive audiences that last about nine minutes with huge costs and carbon footprint, to building fun experiences that last for weeks to which everyone’s welcome. It brought our community together and gave us a platform to talk about the things we care about, like sustainability. I do my best work when I drown out the noise and listen to my gut. It was important to create an immersive, localised world that felt authentic and that you can’t get online. We already build the cost of carbon offsetting into our products and, like everyone, we’re facing massive price hikes. It’s inevitable that luxury will get more expensive, but I believe our customers are getting the message to buy fewer but better things.’ Anya Hindmarch is a mother of five, stepmother, entrepreneur and globally renowned businesswoman. In If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair, she shares what she has learned during her busy and eclectic life, what she still worries about, and what advice she has received along the way. Anya reflects on her ambitions for her children and concludes: "If you just love your children to bits and make them feel incredible and confident then that's the greatest gift you can give them" Such a powerful statement as we often feel we need to provide criticism to help progress, but forget each of us have our own inner critic that's doing a great job at that already. What we need is love and encouragement. The above excerpt from Anya Hindmarch's If in Doubt, Wash Your Hair has been reproduced here with permission from Bloomsbury Publishing.

Anya Hindmarch: If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair - The Gloss Magazine Anya Hindmarch: If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair - The Gloss Magazine

And watching? I don’t have a huge amount of time to watch much at the moment, but I loved Bridgerton. I mean, who didn’t? The ‘Return To Nature’ range features hides that are fully traceable, with no harmful chemicals, and the products are finished with liquid silk. There is no magic answer here, but good communication is crucial. My children know that they are the most important part of my life, but they also know that I am rubbish at homework. So, my advice would be not to try to do everything but to bring what you are good at. I make mistakes every single day. Running your own business is a patchwork of mistakes. That’s what it is. It’s about trying to navigate that. I think of it as a bit like sailing: you are going from A to B, but you go a bit right and a bit left and it’s a very wonky journey. If people think it’s easy, we’re not doing anyone any favours. It’s all about navigating through the mistakes.” Every family has their own moments when -parents are afraid if they gave more affection to their younger child than the older onesMy dad always says ‘if in doubt, do things’ and that’s what it’s all about. I love using our platform for philanthropic causes – that gives me deep, deep pleasure. And for the staff, I think it’s nice to know they’re doing things that people are responding to and hopefully they feel proud of. I think the people we attract are people who care about those things, not just fashion people.” I am slightly dyslexic too, and strongly agree that I may not be able to find the time to sit and read long books or maybe be correct with my grammar. Though this book I was hooked and needed to read every single word. Your designs have been worn by everyone from royalty to pop stars, but who do you see as the ‘Anya woman’? Really enjoyed this sensible yet very warm and comforting read, it felt like a whirlwind stop of all the easy, great life advice you would ever need in one handy guide. Anya Hindmarch is the epitome of women in business. As a reader, I don’t feel pressured to be perfectionist, living unrealistic life. Instead, I now understand that fear & excitement are the same thing. You just have to embrace it.

If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair: A Manual for Life: Hindmarch

The ‘Universal Bag’ was launched with Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, and continues the fight to reduce plastic bag usage – nearly half a billion were sold between 2020-2021. You live in London, which is your favourite park, restaurant and bar and do you have any secret places that you can tell us about? I had in mind a really creative place that is ever changing and fun for everyone, especially with the Anya Cafe. It’s a place for breakfast, lunch, tea or early evening drinks. I hope it is somewhere that you can feel the creativity and humour of the brand through the most delicious food, somewhere that will become a really special takeaway cake shop or where you can find the most delicious gift for someone special. The popular Anya Café serves breakfast, lunch, tea and early evening drinks. The cakes, all given an Anya Hindmarch twist, can be taken away as gifts.

Anya Hindmarch: Great British Brand 2023

Few designers can bridge the gap between fashionable and fun – and do it with style – but that is exactly what British talent Anya Hindmarch has become known for. At The Ice Cream Project, people enjoyed unexpected flavours from baked beans to ketchup, continuing Anya’s love of elevating the everyday. It's also impressive, that after all of these years, she's lost none of her drive or passion & continues to create delightful, high quality products, concept stores and unique pop-ups which are oozing with wit and charm and get the customer involved, and joining along for the spirit-lifting fun ride. Really enjoyed this brilliant, inspiring and empowering book!! Anya Hindmarch is a world famous businesswoman, entrepreneur, CEO, and a mother to five children (3 of whom are her step children who she's looked after since they were small). In the early 2000s, she created an it bag that everyone had to have, known as the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag. I remember even my mum had one! You must have an amazing collection of handbags – do you have a favourite? And which is your top item that you own that helps you to be organised?