Ali Hewson is always shocked by her success in the fashion industry - because she has never been style conscious.
Ali Hewson
The 55-year-old fashion designer - who is married to U2's Bono, real name Paul Hewson - was a dreadful dresser during her younger years, which is why she shocked herself by founding the fashion label EDUN with her rock star husband in 2005.
Speaking to The Times newspaper about the irony behind her career, the brunette beauty said: "I am the last person who should be in fashion. I was the worst dresser ever when I was at school. I wore hand-me-downs."
However, Ali has begun to love the industry, but she doesn't allow current trends to dictate her personal style.
She explained: "I've grown to love fashion, but I like to wear what I like to wear."
The company, which is backed by Bernard Arnault of LVMH, was set up to promote trade in Africa and uses natural materials sourced from the continent to create the exclusive pieces.
Speaking about her vision for the label, Ali said: "I want EDUN's clothes to speak for themselves, to stand on their own.
"We want to get the clothes to that point where people just go, 'Wow', and lose interest in everything else.
"We took our designers out there and said, 'This is what you have to work with - they can do this stitch, use this material, you can't have that button.' So we really limited our designers."
Ali's latest collection EDUN 2.0(16), with the guidance of designer Danielle, will feature jackets with uncoordinated buttons, sourced by a worker living in the slums of Nairobi, fringed dresses and Chanel-style pleated silk gowns, which are available on the e-store Net-A-Porter.
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