by No one appreciates the magical power of the perfect party dress more than fashion designer and vintage scientist, Annie Doble. “Life is so short, it should be about having fun,” she says. “I meet so many people who want to stop and talk to me because of the dress I’m wearing. Fashion should be your gateway to having the funnest night ever.”
Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Margot Robbie and Sienna Miller are among the ladies who have recently sported one of Doble’s dresses. But it’s not just the A-list who love Doble’s style: teenagers and their mothers, and even their grandmothers, have flocked to his vintage Aladdin’s cave on Carnaby Street or Ibiza Old Town. “We have girls who are so happy to be here that they burst into tears,” she says. “They are shaking. It’s really nice because they’re all very happy.”
As Doble buys pieces she wants to wear for herself, one of the dangers of the job is that she sells something she wants to keep. “About nine years ago there was an opera coat I got in Amsterdam that didn’t even fit me, it was so small for me, but I didn’t want to sell it,” she says. “A woman came into the shop and wanted it. I put a really ridiculous price on it to get her off, but she ended up accepting it. I think about it to this day.” Then there was the time Kate Moss tried to buy her a white embroidered marabou feather cape. “I had to tell her no, it’s just for show!” she laughed.
Moss is a kindred spirit and longtime supporter of the brand, as well as being Doble’s style lookalike. “She’s amazing,” she shares. “We have such a relationship when we talk about vintage pieces, she spends hours in the shop, she loves it there. And she won’t let me give her any kind of discount.” In perfect Annie style, Moss’ 22-year-old daughter Lila is now a fan of the brand.
Most of Doble’s celebrity fans found her organically, after she avoided publicity for the first seven years after opening her store. “[Celebrities] in fact I just found them ourselves,” she says. “We never achieved. I wanted to keep Annie’s secret and word of mouth as long as possible. I wanted it to grow organically and when you got it, you’d be like, ‘Oh my god, what is this place?'” One of Doble’s earliest champions was Paris Hilton, the American socialite and a party girl. “She would always call me and tell me, saying, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” she shares. “And she would buy so many pieces from me.”
Today, Doble is on speed dial at Hollywood stylists (“I had to pull from the archives for a last-minute suit for Angelina Jolie in Venice the other week,” she shares). Taylor Swift recently wore a gold mini dress from Annie’s. Lauren Sanchez, fiancee of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, is another high-profile fan in the States, and in the UK, Doble made headlines earlier this year when she became the brand of choice for almost all guests at the 25th birthday. the socialite Lola Bute (Sienna Miller, Poppy Delevingne and Princess Olympia of Greece dance in Doble’s decadent, sparkling creation).
Doble’s eye for detail and appreciation of craftsmanship make her so attractive. She began collecting vintage opera coats as a teenager, and was always drawn to the corsetry and boning of Victorian fashion, with designers John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood among her favourites. “In the basement, there are archives and archives of Victorian fashion,” she shares. “I wear so many Victorian-style pieces, corsets and capes.”
During her 15-year career, Doble has built relationships with some of the world’s top vintage collectors, finding pieces she knows her clients will love. “For me, vintage clothes are so well made,” she explains. “The techniques they used, the craftsmanship, the hand beading, the shapes, the boldness… we don’t do things like that anymore.”
After designing a series of collections with some of London’s hottest brands, including Clio Peppiatt, Doble struck out on her own in 2022 to design her first Annie Collection, which she launched with a fashion show at St Paul’s Cathedral. “I’ve learned so much from co-workers,” she says. “I love incorporating their techniques into my designs.”
When we speak, Doble is in Mumbai, in the middle of 12-hour days making her fourth collection, launching early next year. Her pieces speak to her love of vintage, as well as clothes that make you feel happy. “I want to make timeless pieces that you can wear again in 10 years,” she says. “For me, trends are an unsustainable way of shopping. They shouldn’t even be there.”
Now, Doble has brought her party girl aesthetic to London department store Liberty, with her first ever pop-up store, just in time for Christmas. “Going to Annie’s is an experience in itself, so I wanted to keep that magic,” she explains. “We’ve been approached about doing pop-ups before, but this was the first time I thought it made sense.” Liberty’s Christmas capsule collection features reworked versions of some of its classic vintage-inspired designs, including the Stella dress in midnight black, the best-selling Phoenix dress in silver mosaic and the Moonshine dress in deep ruby with gold beads.
Doble’s brand is now a favorite in the fashion industry, but she is also very proud of her work with Greenpeace and as an ambassador for Project Zero, an organization that promotes ocean conservation. “I always wanted to have a voice and change the world,” she says. “That’s very much why we make very small tights. Everything is handmade. I want to make dresses that you will never wear, that you will pass down to your grandchildren.”
