Caprice Interview

16 September 2008

Caprice Relaxed on a Photoshoot

Lingerie Model and shrewd businesswoman, Caprice is launching her new 'by Caprice' lingerie line with Next this month, as well as appearing in Celebrity Come Dine With Me.Caprice has achieved great success since making the UK her home, producing and starring in Debbie Does Dallas, getting rave reviews for her role in Rent and ploughing her own money into her By Caprice lines, which include lingerie, swimwear, sleepwear and eveningwear.We chatted to her ahead of her launch into Next to see just what makes her lingerie so highly regarded in such a competitive market.

What have you been up to recently?

Well I'm launching my By Caprice Lingerie line in Next, the first individual brand to launch in Next stores. And I've just launched my occasion wear with Littlewoods Direct and our purple dress is the most popular line with them, I'm also appearing in a upcoming episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me. So I'm really excited about everything at the minute!

Who are you appearing with on Celebrity Come Dine With Me?

I'm sworn to secrecy! I've never cooked in my life so it was a challenge to say the least.

Can you tell us where you came in the competition?

I can't!, It's part of my contract, I just can't, you'll have to watch and see.

Ok, when will it be airing then?

It will be airing in October, so you'll have to watch it!

What makes your lingerie different from all the other leading brands?

I take a hit on my margins, I give my customer really good quality and I spend a lot of money getting it right. At the end of the day I make sure that the fabrics are right and that costs money. I mean for a bra it ranges from £18 to £22, which is really competitive.

Do you have any plans to expand your range into the rest of Next?

We're looking at that but right now we're contemplating whether it is the right time, you know with the credit crunch. Maybe in another six to 12 months, when the timing is a bit better.

How did you feel putting your own money into the business?

It scared the shit out of me! You try and educate yourself as much as you can so you can make it work. You learn the logistics about the lingerie industry so you are fully prepared, but I've made a lot of mistakes and lost some money. I'm very hands on with the business and I still model everything, because when I choose another model my profit margins goes down. You know a lot of journalists come up to me and say, "You're still a lingerie model aren't you?" and I say, "No my dear, I was. Do your research, I own the company now.You better believe I'm going to model this stuff because my sales increase."

Did you approach Next or did they approach you?

With everything, Asos, Debenhams, Littlewoods and Next, I went after them and set up the meetings and basically sold ice to an Eskimo.

What's next for you?

Well there's just this next launch that is taking up my time currently, it's launching in 30 stores. They test it Birmingham, Manchester, London and if it's successful, who knows!

You produced and starred in Debbie Does Dallas, did you enjoy it?

I had the best time doing it, people were saying, you know that my career had nose dived, but I loved it.

You were also in Rent and received great reviews. Did you enjoy that?

I loved that too, my vocals weren't that strong and it's so demanding but it was great fun. And you know, such an achievement as an actress to be in the West End. If you can do that you can do anything. Look at all these big stars coming here!

Is that it for now, in terms of acting?

No, There's this show that the BBC bought and I'll be playing Merlo, that's quite exciting, we shoot next year for that.

How did you enjoy Celebrity Big Brother?

I hated it! It was very challenging. I mean if you watch me, you can see I'm kind of recoiled and just in my own world. When you put so many entertainers in one place, there's egos to deal with and there are people trying to steal the camera. It was just battle of the egos. I just stayed out of it. I'd do it again though! because its fantastic for my product, you can't pay for that kind of marketing!