Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Amie and Sara Berman
Sisters Sara and Amiee Berman are all for keeping it in the family. The British designers, both trained at Central St Martin\'s, have together been designing for their label Sara Berman since 2003 (Sara launched the label solo in 1999), and mum Helene, designer of her own label Charles Gray, helps run the company.
Famous among fashion girls for their flirty dresses - the sample sales are notoriously a nightmare to get into - they recently took the sage decision of adding the Berman Black line, a capsule collection of re-issued classics, priced slightly lower than the main line.
Sara was recently appointed Creative Director of cashmere house N. Peal, and the cool Berman influence is already evident in a black jumper adorned with a leopard\'s head, and the puff sleeve and bow detailing.
Here, we ask them what gets their fashion pulses racing. -Danielle Radojcin
Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Florence, and a bottle from Santa Maria Novella
Handbag: What are your favourite shopping destinations?
Amiee: I love different places for different things. Every year I go for a girly weekend to Florence with my mum and my sister. We always have to visit the Santa Novella pharmacy, which is an old monastery where the monks make fantastic candles, moisturisers, perfumes and so on. I love New York for shoes and for basics. London has the best department stores and the most varied high street. It\'s just too difficult to pick a favourite!
Sara: Florence, because the food makes the shopping so much fun!
Florence, left, and a bottle from Santa Maria Novella. Visit the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy in London: 117 Walton St, SW3
Sara and Amiee Berman
Dior,sara berman,vintage
Christian Dior
Handbag: What\'s your favourite item of clothing?
Amiee: It changes from week to week. At the moment I\'m in love with my hot-pink frill tea-party blouse from this winter\'s collection; the colour is so vivid, and it has black crystal heart buttons on it.
Sara: My vintage Dior dresses from the 1950s.
Left: a model wearing Christian Dior Haute Couture
Visit the V&A\'s Golden Age of Couture exhibition
For our selection of the best vintage shops in the UK, click here
Sara and Amiee Berman
vintage,dior
Moncler
Handbag: Which pieces are you after this season?
Amiee: I\'m lucky, because Sara and I design what we want to wear; I rarely covet any one item, as we\'ll most likely have it in the collection. However, I\'d love to get my hands on a pair of high-heeled ankle boots by Belstaff, and I\'d never say no to a great new winter hat...ooh, and mabye a Moncler coat for the new ski season!
Sara: I am lucky enough to have taken all my favourites from the Sara Berman collection, as well as a few fabulous N.Peal cashmere pieces.
Moncler jacket, left.
Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Sara Berman
Handbag: What inspires you?
Amiee: Life. When you\'re happy, you\'re open to things, and when you\'re open you get inspired. Sara and I connect very well on a creative level, so spending time together in general can be rather inspiring.
Sara: A little bit of everything.
Left: a look from the Sara Berman AW07 collection
Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Sara Berman
Handbag: Which women - dead or alive - do you admire?
Amiee: My mother would have to be my biggest inspiration, followed by my sister Sara. I find that looking up to these two people in my life has given me great focus and drive. I couldn\'t be luckier, really; the two most influential people in my life are on my doorstep!
Sara: Anyone brave enough to pursue their dreams.
Left: a look from the Sara Berman AW07 collection
Sara and Amiee Berman
handbag,sara berman
N.Peal
Handbag: Are you a shopping repeat-offender, and if so, what item you buy over and over again?
Amiee: I\'m forever buying long-sleeved t-shirts and vests (favourite brands are Club Monaco, American Apparel and Comptoir des Cotonniers tees with French bulldogs on). And I think my husband might pass out if I come home with yet another pair of blue jeans What brand of jeans? I couldn\'t possibly specify. It is my life-long mission to find the perfect pair, so I buy loads of different brands, from J Brand, Acne, Levis, to Topshop... the list goes on. I believe that if you know you will get the wear out of something then you can never have too much of it.
Sara: Cashmere sweaters.
Clockwise from top left: N Peal black cashmere jumper with leopard print, rolled-up cashmere jumpers by N Peal, the N Peal shop in Burlington Arcade, London W1
Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Glenn Gould, Mika
Handbag: The soundtrack to your life would be...
Amiee: Oooh, that\'s a tough one. Today I\'m feeling Mika. Upbeat and psychedelic and a little offbeat all at once: today, that\'s me!
Sara: Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations. Both speeds.
Sara and Amiee Berman
sara,amiee,berman
Habitat wallpaper
Handbag: One thing you hope to do before the end of the year is...
Amiee: Redecorate!
Sara: Paint my dining room gold.
Habitat wallpaper, clockwise from top, by Matthew Williamson, Christian Lacroix, and Bernie Reid.
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