Susan Caplan offers vintage jewellery and accesories on her website – www.susancaplan.co.uk. We catch up with her to find out more…
If someone hadn’t heard of you business, how would you describe it?
I would describe it as a unique selection of individually sourced and authentic vintage treasures. A perfect place to find that finishing touch for your outfit echoing this season’s trends. The great thing about vintage is that as fashion trends evolve, different eras are put into the spotlight offering us an opportunity to be constantly inspired and influenced by the past. Our range includes the largest selection of designer vintage jewellery in the UK also so its a great place for everything!
What designers have you worked with this season?
This season is all about Chanel. Again! I love working with vintage Chanel pieces. Each season they just become more popular. I also really enjoyed working with Elizabeth Taylor’s pieces before the festive period because of the excitement that surrounded her auction. Naturally, though, my most excitable moment of 2011 was sourcing the vintage Versace body harness that went into my collection at Selfridges. Versace experienced (and is still experiencing) a huge revival of interest. The collaboration with H&M and the news of their couture show in Paris projected the fashion house to the forefront of fashion news and I curated a small collection of vintage Versace pieces to coincide with that wave exclusively for Selfridges, London. The harness went into that. I loved the echoes from Gianni Versace’s ’92 bondage catwalk collection. One of the Versace cuffs that sat within the collection is actually featured in the ’92 campaign image.
How did your fashion career start? My fashion career actually began from my antiques career. I realised a gap in the market for quality vintage jewellery whilst I was an antiques dealer so I began to supply to one UK department store. Very soon I realised just how big the demand was for this product category and the brand was rolled out to a number of stores up and down the country. I love what I do – I have a great excuse to look at beautiful jewellery (designer and unsigned) all day long.
What are you most excited about at the moment? I’m most excited about the brand’s plans for 2012. It’s still very confidential but there is an exciting project that we are working on – it should be launched in the middle of the year. Keep your eyes peeled!
Do you have a daily uniform? I’m often running around outside of the office and so I need to be comfortable. For this I’m usually in muted colours and statement earrings. My earrings of choice right now are by Alexis Kirk from the 70s. If I have an appointment in the showroom I usually reach for my fail safe Diane Von Fustenbergs. I’ve loved her designs since I was in my 20s and she never disappoints with tailoring or print. I’m a big fan.
Who is your right hand wo/man? I actually have a few! By that I mean that I couldn’t do what I’m doing without my team. They all share the same passion that I do and we very well together. We’re like a family.