MEET THE TEAM: NATALIE WOOD, DESIGN DIRECTOR

Even over the medium of Zoom, Natalie Wood’s kind and calming energy permeates the airwaves. It’s hard not to be drawn to her. This could be, in part, because of her unbridled passion for design, combined with her impressive array of fashion credentials. As Design Director for CAMILLA, she steers the creative ship of the print house, and its many elements, with heart and soul, an exceptional eye and a light touch. Here she shares some of her working wisdom and life advice.

CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT: “The people at CAMILLA are phenomenal. It’s such a blessing to work in a place where I can, hand on heart, say that I adore everyone in the business. The company has really invested in the people and provided great training on the psychology of best ways of working in the executive and management teams. I’ve never been in a business that’s been so passionately focused on that. It’s not an environment you ever feel unsafe in, or where you’re unsure of what your position is. It’s a business that’s great for personal growth, and I’ve seen first-hand how this translates into a great work environment.”

YOU HAVE TO LAUGH: “I love working here because it’s mad – you just never quite know what’s going to land on your plate. It’s always changing and I find that really exciting – there’s never a dull moment. We’ve had conversations in the design room where we wonder how to make an animal’s face ‘sexier’ which is hilarious, and I love that. Fashion can be a very serious business and almost ‘too cool’ sometimes – we’re kind of the opposite of that. CAMILLA is about big energy and wild ideas. In fact, I don’t think there would be any idea that would be too crazy to bring into this office.”

?BE IMPERFECTLY PERFECT: “It’s interesting being a leader as a creative person because emotion is usually your first port of call. It’s really important to have heart and soul, be quite humble and be on the same level as your team. I don’t like the idea of hierarchies – I’ll be in there hanging samples along with the rest of the team or wiping down a desk. I think I’m imperfect – I lead with confidence but I’ll also be the first admit when I don’t quite get it right or have all the answers. The most important thing for me as a leader is to ensure my teams feel secure and supported so they can be the best creative version of themselves.”

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAIL: “One of the things that is so exciting about being a creative in this business is the hand embroidery work that’s done out of India – it’s so exquisite. My breath is taken away by some of these pieces, and that’s something I hadn’t been exposed to in my creative work previously. With all the hand embroidery and the jewels, these pieces are works of art. I have a couple of really unique embroidered robes that are just so special. They can take up to 100 hours to create, every single little jewel is stitched on, and there could be 50 different techniques happening on one piece. They are really quite extraordinary works of art.”

?BE GRATEFUL: “I was always very career-driven and I never actually thought about having kids until quite late. I was travelling the world, having the best time, and I never really sat back to think about whether a family played a part in my life. The fact that I got to become a mother later in my life – in my early 40s – was the best decision I’ve ever made; that I committed to it and made it happen. I’m so grateful and lucky that I have a beautiful son.”

PRACTISE THE SKILL OF MANAGING: “It’s complex managing people – it’s a skill that you need to learn, you’re not just naturally gifted with all of those amazing tools. If I could do anything differently from, say, 20 years ago, I would have invested time in learning how to be a better manager or accessing people who could help me acquire those skills. It would have alleviated a lot of challenges that I’ve experienced over the years.”

SUSTAINABILITY IS KEY: “I feel uncomfortable with how much clothing the fashion industry makes in the world. Fashion is responsible for such an enormous strain on the environment and being aware of the impact you have on the planet has to fundamentally be a part of every single business now. I love being part of a brand that is so handmade, each piece has to be really carefully manufactured. We are investing a lot of time into how to do things differently and with less impact on the environment. I would struggle to go back into a business that was overly mass produced. I love that our customers are collectors and cherish our clothes – it means something to them; it’s not just a little quick fashion fix.”

IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION: “Our prints are loud, they’re proud, they’re unmistakably CAMILLA, and the process they go through is incredible. Every print has gone on a journey. Most fashion companies do repeats – they create a small section of a print and then repeat it out. We create kaftan-size prints that are super layered. The storytelling that Camilla (Franks) loves has to be embedded within these prints. So even if you looked at a print a dozen times, you’ll probably find more little things hidden in there that you had never noticed before. They go on an extraordinary journey to get to that final print on a garment, and I’m not sure a lot of people know that about CAMILLA. There’s heart and soul and so much time spent on each piece. It truly is a labour of love for everyone working on the collections.”

?TAKE FIVE

?Who do you turn to for advice?

I turn to my colleague, Donna Player, who I have the joy of sitting next to. I really lucked out, she’s like my partner in crime. I really appreciate all of her experience and her incredible wit. We’ve made a great team connecting the business side with design.

?Last good book you read?

I do tend to love a lot of therapy books. I like audio books now because I can do two things at once. I recently read, or listened to, Untamed by Glennon Doyle and I also really love the work of Esther Perel. I think what she’s doing is really interesting and important work around relationships.

What trait do you admire most in others?

I really like honesty, and people just saying it how it is without intense emotions attached to it. That’s something we’ve really stepped towards as an executive team – being able to have really honest and, perhaps at times, uncomfortable conversations. The outcomes of this are phenomenal, so much more trust comes from this and you can build on connection and growth.??

Do you have a favourite mantra or motto?

When everyone is feeling the pressure, a saying I always come back to is, ‘we’re not saving lives here, we’re just making frocks’. That’s a really important thing to keep in mind, particularly in the past year. We’re not in the emergency room – it’s clothing, it’s okay, no one is actually going to die.

?Do you have a favourite Camilla print collection?

I’ll always love the France collection because it was one of the first that I worked on. It was when I got really immersed into the CAMILLA world. It was actually at the time when Camilla was having her baby and I came in to facilitate her in that aspect of her life – so it was an important time. It was a big responsibility; I feel really proud of that collection – it’s probably the one I will always hold a little bit of in my heart.

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