Julien MacDonald

Julien Macdonald
Julien Macdonald, March 2016
Born	Julien Macdonald (1971-03-19) 19 March 1971 (age 45) Cyfarthfa - Wales
Residence	London, United Kingdom
Nationality	Welsh
Occupation	Fashion designer
Labels	Julien Macdonald

Julien Macdonald OBE (born 19 March 1971 in Merthyr Tydfil) is a Welsh fashion designer who has appeared as judge on the television programme, Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model. In 2001, he was named "British Fashion Designer of the Year", and on 15 March 2001, was appointed as chief designer at Givenchy (Alexander McQueen's successor). His atelier is at Old Burlington Street, London.

Macdonald attended Cyfarthfa High School in his place of birth, the working class town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Julien was taught knitting by his mother and soon became interested in design.

Macdonald was also interested in a career as a dancer, but, instead, studied textiles at the Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton, England. He 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.

Macdonald has attracted much criticism for his extensive use of fur, including one incident in which he and Paris Hilton were flour-bombed. He stated that fur provides the majority of his revenue and that his label would collapse were he not to use it. In February 2007, Macdonald was again criticised for the prominent use of fur in his autumn collection, causing further outrage when he claimed that "People who don't like fur can piss off. I love fur. It's a beautiful natural product from animals."