The glamorous mini-break
Who: Matthew Williamson
Where: Marrakech
When: February 2012
I've been to Marrakech about 10 times since I first went 15 years ago, when I had the same sense I experienced on first going to India. There's an otherworldly quality, a sense of the exotic that is seductive and glamorous. The architecture, landscape, food and colours have inspired not only my clothing but also my life at home.
I love the medina, a winding labyrinth of souks. There's a huge variety of ornate coloured glassware, leather goods, jewellery and intricately patterned dishes - at negotiable prices if you learn the art of haggling. I have a beautiful tufted saffron rug from one souk, a third of the price that you would pay in Liberty. And I've picked up metalwork, ceramic pieces, kitchenware. There's a fantastic herbalist in the medina, too - Herboriste du Paradis (93 place Ben Youssef), run by an English-speaker.
The walls are filled with colourful jars full of spices, cosmetics and herbs. La Mamounia ( mamounia.com ) is a great hotel to stay in. I was invited to its reopening in 2010 and loved it. It's been a fashionable place to stay since the 1920s and has retained all its allure and Moorish glamour.
Moroccan food works for me. It's hearty and real, rich and yet not over-the-top. I like the tagines, fresh lemons, oranges, ice creams and sweet stuff. The roof terrace of Le Foundouk ( foundouk.com ) is a wonderful place to eat with friends. Gastro MK ( maisonmk.com ), which serves a fusion of Moroccan and modern French cooking, is also charming.
How Marrakech inspired Williamson's designs
The art deco Bar Churchill in the Mamounia transports you to another place and time. Marrakech is quite intense, so a trip to Les Bains de Marrakech ( lesbainsdemarrakech.com ) for a hammam experience is a must. It's the perfect balance of traditional bath-house and luxury spa.
Outside the city is the Amanjena resort ( amanresorts.com ), a haven of calm. A drink in the lantern-lit gazebos by the pool is like being in paradise. When I was there two years ago I bumped into Sarah Jessica Parker and the cast of Sex and the City.
Travel essentials
• Matthew Williamson printed scarf
• Linda Farrow x Dries Van Noten sunglasses
• Bill Amberg hold-all
• Smythson passport-holder
• Sketchbook
matthewwilliamson.com
The action holiday
Who: Maia Norman of Mother of Pearl
Where: Burma
When: December 2012
Maia Norman of Mother of Pearl
When my friends Graham and Karta asked me to join them motorbiking through Burma for 11 days, I said, 'Heck, yeah!' It was an adventure.
We flew into Yangon, rented the motorbikes in Mandalay and rode up into the mountains by Hsipaw. We went part of the way on the main road to China, so we were driving with big Chinese trucks - at night, too, which was scary.
Once we'd got into the mountains on the dirt roads, it was fun. One day we rode 18 miles off-road. You're going out to places that people just don't get to. In the mountain towns we'd see no other Westerners at all.
It's a very majestic country, so untouched, and the architecture is very exotic. Also it's a largely rural society that seems happy in itself. You don't feel that people are desperate for the latest trainers. They greet you with smiles.
You don't have much choice of accommodation: Westerners are allowed to stay only in licensed places. One hotel was as close to a student hostel as I've been. Other places were just slightly shabby. Every fifth day or so we'd try to treat ourselves to something half decent. Aureum Palace Inle Lake ( aureumpalacehotel.com ) has good sheets and hot baths. And Inle Lake itself, with its floating agricultural gardens, is an amazing place. So beautiful.
We were filthy from the biking, so it was great to go to the hot springs between Hsipaw and Lashio. Not the most luxurious, but the locals were a giggle.
Riding push-bikes around the flatlands of Bagan, which are home to 3,200 temples, is not to be missed. Every temple is different inside and meticulously kept.
For meals we'd often just buy avocados at the market and chop them into the street food - noodles with lots of lime. We drank a kind of pickled tea, which was tart and changed flavour depending on the village we were in. Padonmar restaurant ( myanmar-restaurantpadonmar.com ) outside Yangon had amazing Burmese food and classic Yangon décor.
Shopping is tricky as there are no cash machines and they don't accept credit cards, so the money you've got is all you've got. I did manage to buy what I'm hoping is quite a nice ruby, though. I haven't had it checked yet, but I found it outside a temple in Bagan. After we had ditched the motorbikes,
I stocked up on lacquerware in New Bagan - trays and cups and bowls and little boxes.
Burma inspired designs
Art is an important part of my fashion collection and it was interesting to go to the River Gallery ( rivergallerymyanmar.com ) by the Strand Hotel in Yangon. It was contemporary art rather than folk art and some of it felt surprisingly modern.
It was probably the architecture that inspired me most. It's so intricate and powerful. And then of course the colours were so beautiful - the blacks and deep burgundies. That's what will probably most influence my work.
Travel essentials
• Mother of Pearl Umiko shirt in Decoy Deer
• Dayglo-green camouflage gaffer tape
• Victorinox Swiss Army Knife
• Nailbrush with mother-of-pearl handle
• Gucci stretch sports trousers
• Goyard white zip tote
motherofpearl.co.uk
The working holiday
Who: Simone Rocha
Where: Hong Kong and Tokyo
When: November 2012
Simone Rocha
I have a lot of stockists in the Far East, so I decided to go out to see them last autumn. As my dad [the designer John Rocha] is from Hong Kong, it was also a chance to see all my aunties and uncles.
I spent just three days in Hong Kong, three in Tokyo. I stayed in the Mandarin Hotel ( mandarinoriental.com ) in Hong Kong, which is really beautiful and classic. Much of Hong Kong is very modern and built-up, but this is old-school.
We used to go to Hong Kong every year when I was a child. I remember getting the tram to my grandparents' flat and having big meals with them. I grew up in Ireland but Hong Kong feels like home, too, because it is where they live.
It's all about the family meal over there. I love dim sum and there's always roast goose. We had huge meals and afterwards played mah-jong. It's really good fun. I can't speak Cantonese, which is very confusing in a crowd.
When I was little I was obsessed with Stanley Market ( hk-stanley-market.com ) and would bring home trinkets and Pokémon.
This time I bought wonderful lacy socks and beaded purses that look like chewing-gum packets and Coca-Cola bottles. The market is also great for silk jackets and undergarments.
I found the older community very inspiring, as they have a real sense of style. You see these amazing elderly ladies walking around in floral-print skirts and knitted cardigans. That has definitely had an influence on my work this season.
It was only the second time I've been to Tokyo. On my last visit I was obsessed with the Harajuku district; this time I really fell for the Aoyama area, which has beautiful shops such as the Prada store (5-2-6 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku) designed by the architects Herzog & de Meuron.
How Hong Kong and Tokyo inspired Rocha's designs
I stayed in the Park Hyatt ( tokyo.park.hyatt.com ), which was amazing. It's so high up, it's epic. It has one of the city's best restaurants, Kozue.
I spent the day in the Dover Street Market store in Ginza ( ginza.doverstreetmarket.com ). It's an older area known for its department stores, so this exciting creative space makes a nice contrast. Meeting the buyers and customers was fun.
Ginza is also home to the Tokyo fleamarket (below), held on the first Sunday of every month, which I managed to catch while I was there. There were lots of old books, beautiful ceramics, antique kimonos and fabrics.
I bought two silk nightshirts - one floral, one stripy - and a nice glass bottle with a porcelain head. I love Japanese food - sushi, sashimi, yakitori - and Aoyama has some really great traditional restaurants, such as Gochizen ( gochizen.com ). But the fantastic Rose Bakery in Dover Street Market provided a welcome break from all that Asian food.
Travel essentials
• Leica camera
• Aesop moisturiser
• Moleskine notebook
• Mary Robinson's Everybody Matters: A Memoir and Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Reebok Classics trainers
• iPhone
simonerocha.com
The family holiday
Who: Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen
Where: Skiathos, Greece
When: June 2012
Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen
We have a four-year-old daughter and last summer Thea was heavily pregnant, so we wanted a holiday that wasn't too far away by plane. I [Justin] had been to Greece so many times when I was a child - we used to go sailing around Skiathos, and I've always loved it because it's a bit bigger than the other islands and has so much to offer.
It was a very laid-back holiday; the weather was scorching hot and with a lovely breeze, which you always get in Greece. We stayed in the Skiathos Princess hotel ( skiathosprincess.com ) in a suite, as we didn't know what our evenings would be
like with a four-year-old. It was great. At night we could have a drink and eat by the pool and then just wait until Fauve was tired before going up to bed.
The most amazing thing was the beach at Lalaria. It's one of the loveliest in Greece with smooth boulders and striking rock formations. You get a boat taxi there, which is fun. The caves are great to swim into and the water is so clear. All you can do is unwind and take in the stunning views. There must be a mineral in the water, as it seemed to turn to glitter as we were swimming.
We did do a few excursions. There are charming little plazas and winding cobbled streets near the Cathedral of the Three Bishops in Skiathos town, which are fun to explore. And in the evenings we often went to Agia Eleni beach on the opposite side of the island to watch the sun set. We lay out on cushions in front of the hippie-style beach taverna, and drank cocktails as the sun dipped behind mainland Greece.
Skiathos, Greece inspired Preen designs
Obviously there was lots of Greek food involved. The stuffed mushrooms at Lo&La Ristorante ( lolaristorante.com ), which overlooks the harbour in Skiathos town, were a treat, and the ricotta and spinach ravioli was sublime. The Beach Bar at the Skiathos Princess is also great for lunch, all the fish being freshly caught.
Skiathos town has an arty quirkiness to it. There are lots of hand-crafted things to buy. We found some beautiful hand-finished cotton lace made by nuns, and some crochet. Our pre-fall collection has some lace pieces that were inspired by Skiathos.
Travel essentials
• Rosewater spray
• Preen python-print Marlow dress (Thea)
• Smythson's Bright Ideas sketchbooks and pencils
• Inflatable dolphin (for Fauve)
• iPhone and iPad
• Chanel beach bag (Thea)
• Factor 50+ sun cream
preen.eu
Via: Mood board and lodging: designers' recreational inspiration
Liz Lange has been dressing moms-to-be, along with nearly every major pregnant celebrity, for the last 16 years. Here, the mother, entrepreneur, designer and author of Liz Lange's Maternity Style answers our 21 questions.
