For the Debutantes & Divas theme of our Harrods Christmas 2025 collaboration, I gathered together a rather glamorous collection of little luxuries: a quilted handbag, an antique-inspired perfume bottle, a glittering diamond, a dewy rose, a pearl butterfly and an embellished shell.
These designs began within our existing collection, before being enlarged, elaborated and dressed for their Harrods debut. More hand-stitched beads, shimmering sequins, diamantés and metallic tinsel thread gave each one an extra helping of sparkle.
I’ve never been a debutante, although I’ve no doubt I’ve been a diva. With two little boys on the scene, however, there’s considerably less opportunity to indulge any diva tendencies of my own!
A little dressing-table glamour
Our Quilted Handbag felt particularly at home in this theme—a miniature nod to Harrods’ world-famous accessories department.
Made from fine vintage Irish Linen, its quilted surface is traced in metallic embroidery, with a sequin beneath each tiny glass bead for an extra glimmer of light. A faux pearl clasp finishes the piece, while the hanging loop is positioned to suggest the bag’s strap.
The Boudoir Perfume Bottle brought another little connection to the store itself. Inspired by antique scent bottles, it pairs rustic natural linen with golden embroidery suggesting reflected light, delicate floral detailing and a sweet sequin ribbon around the neck. Something suitably extravagant for the dressing table—or the Christmas tree.
Diamonds and pearls
For our Deluxe Diamond, I added a border of glittering faux crystals around the familiar shape. Fine metallic embroidery suggests the facets of a cut stone, while bright white Irish Linen gives it a wonderfully crisp finish.
The Pearl Butterfly required a little experimentation. We couldn’t find faux pearls in precisely the size and pink shade I wanted, so we hand-dyed them ourselves. The resulting variations, from pale pink to soft peach, became one of my favourite details.
I was particularly pleased that our Pearl Shell found its way into the collection, as my very first Christmas decoration had been a simple seashell, six years earlier. This interpretation was considerably more dressed up: powdery pink Irish Linen beneath a bed of tiny faux pearls, sequins and glass beads, with a large glossy pearl nestled in the centre.
A Rose dressed in dew
Our Dewy Rose drew inspiration from couture ballgowns of past eras and my own sculpted Irish Linen Rose Cushions.
I enlarged the original flower and added dozens of tiny hand-stitched glass beads, suggesting morning dew resting on its plump petals. A special vintage Irish Linen in a soft, muted old-rose pink gave it just the romantic quality I’d hoped for.
Looking back through the wardrobe
The theme also gave me an excuse to look through some photographs from my modelling days for a little debutante-and-diva inspiration.
A shoot for Ireland’s Confetti Wedding Magazine seemed to fit the brief particularly well: pink, roses, bows and jewels. I’m fairly certain there was plenty of perfume involved, too.
Then there were photographs taken by Khara Pringle, with my sculpted Rose Cushion in hand and my Irish Linen Bow Cushion making an appearance. There is rather less time for lounging among luxury cushions these days!
Another of Khara’s photographs shows me with a pre-loved Gucci silk scarf, before I transformed it into a one-of-a-kind cushion. It later found its home in a beautiful Georgian townhouse in Dublin—a lovely reminder of how these different parts of my work connect.
From vintage scarves and couture-inspired cushions to little linen treasures in Knightsbridge, this theme felt particularly close to home.
Seeing the finished pieces in Harrods still brought a rather excited “eek”, though.
Katie xox
