New kid on the block Hermione de Paula is creating a stir, with her new collection seeking reference from the panned-come-cult washout movie Showgirls, Dazed Digital attempts to climb inside her brain and work out what makes her tick.

Dazed Digital: Tell us something from your childhood…
Hermione de Paula: Hmmm...I refused to go skiing in anything else but a skirt, Clarks patent leather 'magic step' shoes to climb the Austrian mountains (because I wanted to be the Princess from the advert) and I insisted on having bells sewn onto the hems of all my dresses...(a little signature in my new AW09-10 collection).

DD: Were you always interested in fashion from a young age?
HDP: Well, my Mum gave birth to me in her Chanel sun glasses so I guess that set the precedent.

DD: You were under the tutelage of Celia Birtwell, was this at St Martins?  What was her teaching style like?
HDP: Yes at St. Martins, It was an amazing opportunity. She had great stories and was full of charisma - I'll never forget how she likened a certain designers hair to the inside of a Jaffa cake!

DD: How long were you stripping at Spearmint Rhino for?  What difficulties did you face on the return to fashion?  Did you ever see anyone from the industry whilst you were working?
HDP: Haha, I cocktail waitressed. I've never stripped (in public) and I've only ever poled danced on the Tube...

DD: Aside the stripper/Elizabeth Berkley reference, who do you design for?  Who is your customer?
HDP: The label's style is feminine and sexually charged yet nonchalant. For girls that probably shouldn't..but do anyway. That would be their mentality!

DD: Any celebrities, fashion icons, musicians, you would like to see wearing your clothes?
HDP: Well apart from Grace Jones and Cher circa 1980's...I'd love to dress the modern day divas!

DD: What has inspired the A/W 09 collection?  It seems to be more focused on silhouette.  
HDP: Yeah this collection has a pretty different mood and direction. The prints this season are inspired by middle aged men and women in Southern small town America who communicate through their bizarre animal profiles on social networking websites. They literally spam each other with spiritual messages about friendship and fantasy images of animals. For example 48 year old 'Timberwolf' married to 58 year old 'Werewolf' from Indiana, post well wishing pictures and sentiments daily to friends such as 'Spirit of Foxmoon' who they have never met...and 38 year old 'Wolfiespirit' from Louisiana has 771 fantasy pictures of wolves in her profile picture albums! I love the insanity!!

DD: Any plans to move back to LA?  Or are you enjoying London?
HDP: Oh, I'm in love London right now! So, no plans to move anywhere soon... I have a million excuses to go back to L.A. and visit but finding the time right now is another issue - it's too easy to miss the return flight and forget real life and responsibilities. 

DD: You have an impressive roll call of designers you have made prints for - how did this come about?
HDP: I am really appreciative to have gained such vital experience in the industry learning from the best, and to be able to explore how to design within a variety of budgets - for example McQueen would create the prints on exquisite jacquards, which is a luxourios fabrication I would love to use in my future collections.

DD: What are you plans for the future?  Next collection?  Where would you like to show your clothes?  
HDP: I've been working on a collaboration with director Zaiba Jabbar to create a music video style fashion promotion film for AW09/10 and its really exciting to see the collection in motion - even though all the models started being sick on the day of the shoot from the smoke machine & lasers! I plan to just keep building the label and moving forward within a creative collective of friends who inspire me such as photographer Kristin Vicari who has both shot and contributed to the art direction of both look books.

DD: How have you found setting up your label in amidst these financially unstable times?
HDP: Yeah its tough, but the future depends on what we do in the present so you just got to keep going with what you believe in.