Julien Macdonald

Julien MacDonald was born on 19th March 1971 at the working class town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. There, he attended at the Cyfarthfa High School. He studied textiles at the Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton, England and then became a student at the Royal College of Art, where he gained a master's degree. Soon after graduation, Macdonald was recruited by Karl Lagerfeld to work for Chanel, a role that was accompanied by freelance work creating knitwear for Alexander McQueen. In 2000, Macdonald was appointed to the position of chief designer at the Paris Haute Couture house of Givenchy (as successor to Alexander McQueen); and, in 2001, he was named British Fashion Designer of the Year. He was selected by British Airways in 2001 to redesign their flight attendants' uniforms. In June 2006, MacDonald was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to fashion. In 2007 Macdonald appeared as a judge on Project Catwalk, that was broadcast on Sky One. In February 2010, Macdonald was appointed as a new judge on Britain's Next Top Model. In September 2013, MacDonald was revealed as one of the contestants on the dancing competition television show Strictly Come Dancing. In 2014, Julien Macdonald launched an eye wear range in collaboration with Vision Express. In 2018 Macdonald entered into a partnership with Victorian Plumbing to create five tile ranges for the online retailer.