British fashion designer Helene Berman has 50 years of experience collaborating with the world’s leading apparel and accessories retailers.
A graduate from Harrow School of Art, she founded her first label, Charles Gray London, in 1972. At a time when the finest trousers were made in France, she produced luxury women’s trousers in British heritage fabrics, worn by royalty and stocked by Harrods, Fenwick and Lady at Lord John.
The 1980s saw Helene working with British retail institutions Liberty, House of Fraser, Fenwick, John Lewis and Harvey Nichols, acting as a consultant to Harvey Nichols working on their own label, while still supplying the stores. She launched her own interiors brand, Helene Berman Homeware, designing cushions and throws.
Helene worked with LKBennett during their retail transition from a single product shoe retailer to a fully blown woman’s fashion group.
US retailer Nordstrom discovered Helene’s collections in 1995, noticing her distinctive waistcoats crafted from Italian furnishing fabrics. It was the start of a partnership that would last 25 years and led to further collaborations with iconic American stores. Henri Bendel, Saks, Bloomingdales and Lord and Taylor soon came on board.
Collaborating with Anthropologie UK lead to supplying and designing for Anthropologie US which continues today.
Supplying to Trilogy group led to a collaboration with John Lewis Helene for Denim Wardrobe.
Helene’s hat collection made by Italian artisans, gathered momentum internationally as she began showing at Paris Fashion Week.
In 2018 Helene was invited to design and present on QVC, showcasing the Helene Berman collection on both the Style and Live channels to a large and highly engaged audience of fans and shoppers. With pieces designed to give the wearer a new sense of confidence, her designs continue to appeal to a diverse range of women.
Helene is a regular at Premier Vision and industry events, and enjoys sharing her collections, knowledge and experience through interviews as well as on her own Instagram account.
Helene’s personal style is described as Timeless elegance with a dash of bold.
