In conversation with ELIZABETH DAY

What made you want to partner with ALIGNE?

I've wanted to do something like this for a while, but I knew that it had to be with the right partner. ALIGNE is really aligned, forgive the pun, with my own values when it comes to clothing and fashion.

Working on this capsule collection has been so exciting. I love the way ALIGNE is all about empowering confident women, and having clothes that support you in that goal, and that elevate how you feel. And as ever with good brands, it is surrounded by good people. So, it's just been wonderful getting to know the whole ALIGNE team, even better and even deeper.

What does this collaboration mean to you? 

It's been a fantastic journey because it's been so collaborative and I feel like creatively, we have sparked off each other. I wanted to be able to convey that creativity, that enthusiasm and that empowerment to other women. And I stand for purpose driven design that supports women living boldly.

How do you think this collection reflects that ethos? 

I love ALIGNE’s ethos of living boldly. For me, that encapsulates so much about what great clothes should do. Living boldly isn’t JUST about strength of character, it’s about knowing who you are and being given the confidence to show up as yourself in the world. And that for me, is what I ideally want this collection to do. I want these clothes to feel beautiful. Yes. Elegant? Yes. Chic? Yes. But also, to make you feel stronger, more empowered, and more confident as you go about your daily business, out there in the world, in the way that you want to show up authentically as yourself. 

What inspired the deigns and themes of the collection?

I was thinking of the women that I knew, my readers, my listeners, the kind of busy multi-faceted lives that I know they lead. So, everything in this collection is conceived to be really versatile as well as stylish.

What’s your favourite piece in the collection?

I love the red dress, Evelyn it is styled and cut just right. I also love the short trench, and that was something that there was a lot of back and forth on with the incredible team at ALIGNE. And particularly Ginny Seymour.

What do you hope people feel when wearing the collection?

I hope the one thing people feel when they're wearing this collection is themselves. Clothes, when they're done right, should elevate and illuminate who you are rather than disguising that.

Launching just ahead of International Women’s Day this collection feels like such a celebration. What does this day mean to you and how do you see it reflected in these pieces? 

International Women's Day is such a potent time to be launching this collection. There is still such a need for us to campaign for all sorts of things on behalf of women worldwide. We need to keep thinking of our sisters in more difficult, challenging parts of the world who don't enjoy the privileges that we do every single day, like women and children in warzones.

I think International Women's Day, as well as being about campaigning and activism, is also about celebration, because femininity is strength. And that, for me, is what I see in this collection. I'm inspired by women every single day. I'm inspired by my friends, I'm inspired by my family, I'm inspired by some of the amazing women that I interview, so just to take a moment to really pay tribute to that kind of strength is really important to me and I hope that these clothes contribute to doing that.

We believe that great style empowers. How do you personally use fashion to build confidence?

I use fashion to feel confident all of the time and actually it's been quite a long journey for me. I feel that I'm someone who has only really discovered her style in her 40s, and I don't think that's a coincidence because my 40s are the decade when I feel most myself and most empowered. I love a good piece of tailoring and a great trouser suit and some really, really well crafted denim. And again, ALIGNE is so brilliant at doing all of those things.
I think the reason I like those items is because they carry with them a certain sense of power. There's a certain sense of feeling put together when you have something that matches but that isn't matchy matchy. 

Which pieces from your collection are you most excited to wear on stage? 

I'm extremely excited that my How To Fail Live Tour is starting on March 19th, especially because I get to wear this collection on the stage. I'm obviously looking forward to wearing the red dress, but I think I'm really looking forward to wearing the black suit because it's a modern, fresh twist on tailoring. The neckline is so unbelievably flattering. Whatever body shape you are. I just think there's something so beautiful and classic about that neckline. So that's going to look amazing on stage.

We champion women creating their own paths. What advice would you give to women looking to embrace of strength and individuality?

That is such a big question, I think what I would say is that there is no one else on this big, wide earth who carries all of your unique qualities and characteristics. There is no one else who is like you so really, it's about leaning into the strength of that, leaning into what makes you unique, leaning into your unique purpose. That is what makes you a superstar. And that is why it's so wonderful that you're part of this planet.

I think I would also say that part of strength is embracing what you perceive to be a weakness, what you might think of as a flaw, because the one thing that connects all of us is that we are imperfect and we do fail, and we do make mistakes. But ultimately, every single mistake and every single failure contains within it some kind of feedback, some kind of data acquisition, something that we can do better or differently next time. And I apply that rule to everything in life, from style to how to show up at work and in friendships.