Sartoria Hilla, Italy

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year: all my best wishes for your plans in 2012! My Twitter account buzzed with excitement about my time in Italy which included a ‘cenone per San Silvestro’ (celebration dinner for New Year’s Eve) and the adventure of discovering unique fashion shops including AntichiKimono. It was also an opportunity for me to introduce MSL Behind the Seams luxury gift service to a new audience.

Behind the Seams also got some positive feedback from a visit to Hilla, my clothes designer based in Orbetello. I have known Hilla for seven years and during that time she has created for me 26 exclusive business dresses in glowing silks, many beautifully designed fitted jackets in resonant, warm colours, several pairs of trousers that fit a female form and a wardrobe of evening gowns and shawls for the many dinner events I attend.

Hilla is a designer, a creator who turns wishes into reality. Hilla sees the world through a designer’s eye, with an uncommon take on engineering fabrics around your form. She has a flair for choosing the right fabrics, the right colours and the right style to suit her female clients. She is inspired by natural things and it is typical of Hilla to design a jacket that combines silk and linen with buttons of mother of pearl shells taken from a bracelet or juxtapose bright colours of black, orange, blue and green to create a dress that is thrilling and striking. Hilla is an intensely creative person and she knows precisely what works. Hilla’s clothes have style, elegance and sophistication. She describes her studio as a ‘Sartoria per signora. Abiti da sera, da cerimonia e da pomeriggio.’ Clothes for women for the evening, special occasions and the afternoon. Visit Hilla’s website: www.sartoriahilla.it and better still take a journey to Orbetello!

Maggie Semple