Inspiration comes from the strangest places. The shape of a leaf on the footpath, a colour or pattern you see when travelling. Sometimes ideas are unearthed from the far corner of our subconscious we don’t really understand. I once woke up suddenly in the middle of the night with a fully formulated new design in my head. Quickly I put it down on paper because if there’s one thing we all know it’s that you never remember those flashes of 2am brilliance when you open your eyes the following morning.

Of course, this might sound as though it’s a simple story where I have a vision then quickly re-create it, but that’s not the case. One of the main features of the shirt of my dream was some unusual pleating on the sleeves. Rather than the including it horizontally, as you might expect, I chose to follow the length of the arm. It took a whole lot of experimentation over many hours to find the right way to do this. I used lots of different types of fabrics to find the one that not only fell properly but also wore well and didn’t lose all its form when washed. Then it was a question of what was too little and too much when it came to the detailing.

In the end, it was a high-quality cotton fabric with satin weaving that won the day. It is both soft and luxurious, yet still has a little bit of stretch in it making it incredibly comfortable. It holds those pleats where they should be, and is easy to care for.

In the end, the pattern that worked best featured just five pleats running from shoulder to wrist that were gathered just above the elbow then again below it to give the sleeves subtle volume. The final detail is a beautiful blue velvet ribbon that pulls the pleats in and creates a gorgeous unstructured cuff.

The result is this gorgeous shirt – with its glorious pleated sleeves and velvet ribbon detailing – that has become my absolute favourite of all the pieces I’ve created. Sophisticated detailing aside, the rest of the shirt is a symphony of simplicity, with a simple front button fastening and band collar. It means wearing it with tailored pants or a pencil skirt makes for a very chic look, but you can also pair it with some denim jeans – a darker dye matches perfectly with the ribbons – for more casual day wear. Perfect if you’re heading out to lunch with friends.