Grand designs

AT the top of the escalator of Darlington's Cornmill Centre, in the High Street chain store Bonmarché, the ebullient David Emanuel is charm personified. His back is to the door, wide shoulders encased in a cream blazer, flicked trademark locks resting on his shoulders. The women, most with tight, grey perms and a penchant for wrapping up warm, approach him tentatively.

"Of course you can, darling," he says to one in a buttoned up navy jacket. He throws his arm around her, smiles widely and the shop assistant takes a photo. These are David's new clients. He has co-designed the wedding dress for the late Princess Diana, been couturier to other members of British and European royalty and dressed the likes of Shirley Bassey, Joan Collins, and Elizbeth Taylor. But Barbara from Billingham can now join that lofty list, thanks to David's new venture designing for the High Street.

Not so much cheap and cheerful, as cheap and rather dull actually, was how many might have viewed Bonmarché's stores. David admits he saw the store's clothes as slightly boring before hearing about a revamp by the boss, chief executive of the Peacock group, Richard Kirk. The timing was right for them both.

"I'd never visited a Bonmarché store but I could clearly see it needed a breath of fresh air and Richard Kirk saw it as an opportunity to put a designer collection in and pick up new customers," he says.

But still, it is a long way from co-designing the wedding dress of the world's most photographed woman - Princess Diana, a job that was the envy of the design world. The commission for the Royal College of Art graduate and his former wife, Elizabeth, came in 1981.

"We were shell-shocked when we found out," he recalls. "She was so ordinary and very flattering. She was just as stunning as you see in the photographs and was genuinely sweet.

"The biggest challenge was trying to keep the design under wraps. Literally, between the time that she rung up to when it was formally introduced, we were besieged by the world's Press.

"I think the thing which kept us all going was having a sense of humour. We had a big laugh about the length of the train. The longest royal train had been 20ft and I said 'we should make it bigger than that, let's make it 25ft long'. She had this amazing humour and wickedness and said 'okay, let's do it.' We would often sit on the carpet with Diana with all the sketches discussing what she wanted."

The dress, with its 10,000 pearls, sequins and abundance of taffeta and lace, has since gone on to epitomise the romantic look of the 1980s. The magnificent venue of St Paul's Cathedral cried out for a gown befitting a future Queen and the Emanuels delivered.

'She definitely liked the romantic feel of it and at the same time it had to be a bit grand," he says.

Much has been written about Diana's state of mind on her wedding day, that she was aware of her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, but David recalls that she was "very excited".

"We were sitting with Barbara Daly doing her make-up and we were watching the guards going down the Mall on television and then looking out of the window and actually seeing them," he says. "I've read so much rubbish about that day, but she was deliriously happy."

David continued to dress her throughout her life. One of the biggest changes he noticed about her after her divorce was her tendency to use other than British designers. "And why not?" he says. "She had done her bit for British designers all the way through."

His latest collection may be a world away from royalty, but he's proud to have joined the ranks of other celebrity designers for the High Street, such as Jeff Banks and John Rocha. What triggers an outburst is comparisons with celebrity designers who have no design background.

"I learnt how to cut, drape, pin. I served my apprenticeship," he says. "I'd like to think that if you wanted a bridge building you would need a proper architect."

David split from his wife in 1989 after 15 years. The couple have two children, Oliver and Eloise.

"I have a partner," he says when asked. "I'm currently living between Windsor and Wales, but I'm looking to settle into Wales. Back to my roots."

He is, however, more hesitant when it comes to discussing his age. "I don't know," he says, colouring slightly and laughing loudly.

Does he ever reveal it? "Not really," he says.

As the interview draws to a close, he walks through the store, past the table with plastic cups half filled with champagne and over to the collection. It certainly has the edge on any of Bonmarché's previous incarnations and takes the store more into the M&S and Wallis league. There's a pretty cowl neck animal print jumper for £24; a lilac swing jacket for £65 and a jersey dress for £30.

"It gathers here so it can camouflage the middle area," says David, of the dress. "My job designing for clients is to enhance and camouflage - and in some cases there's a lot of camouflage."

Other items have little designer touches: bows on jumpers, jewelled embellishments. The clothes run from sizes ten to 20. "It's more contemporary now," he says. "It's just the little touches."

Then it's off to charm more people, sign more autographs...

"Helloooo darling," he says, disappearing into the shop.