Having spent many years living in the United States, and now splitting her time between London and the Bahamas, Wiggy Hindmarch knows all too well how a person’s wardrobe needs to be adaptable. Whether that’s for different climates or occasions, the clothes we wear require a flexibility that complements our lifestyles. It’s this that inspired the designer to found Wiggy Kit, a fashion label that takes inspiration from across the globe and puts functionality at the forefront of every design.
These are qualities we also embrace in our collections here at OKA, and so, having heard Wiggy’s story, we were keen to learn more about her life and style. With the designer’s west London townhouse currently undergoing renovation, we visited her at her home-from-home – her stylish office in Chiswick – to ask her a few quick-fire questions about the world of Wiggy.
Way to Wake Up: My bedroom actually overlooks the River Thames – every morning I wake up and open up all the windows, and I’m greeted by the sound of rowers. So, I lie in bed with my cup of tea and listen to all these poor people getting shouted at.
Work Space: I’m really lucky in the fact that I live in a very old, Grade II listed house, but the kitchen is in a modern glass box in the garden, so when you’re in there you’re completely ensconced in nature. If I’m doing a design session, I have to be at my kitchen table looking out of the window.
Dinner Party Game: My two favourites are Articulate and Linkee – I always win at Linkee. The other one that’s really great is [South American dice game] Perudo; it’s an excellent game and you can get everyone round the table to play – it gets very competitive. My family play a lot of games, especially in our house in Bahamas. We’ve now started doing a yearly pub quiz on the beach, and we have about 75 people who come to it. It’s great.
Way to Greet Guests: We always have music playing when people arrive. For me, it’s all about setting the scene, so it’s usually pitch black in my house apart from a bunch of candles, music going, the fire blazing and a drink in my hand.
6pm Cocktail: It depends where I am. If I’m abroad somewhere hot, it would be a spicy ginger margarita with a salt rim, otherwise it’s a glass of champagne.
Nightcap: Rum is really big in the Bahamas, and one of my closest friends has just launched a rum brand called Idle Assembly, so we’ll often have that as a nightcap, straight.
Night-In Alone: It might start off with either a massage or an assisted stretching session, then a bath, followed by watching some sort of true crime thing on Netflix.
Scent: I have so many beautiful, very expensive perfumes, but the one scent I come back to all the time, and that people always ask me about, is the least expensive one I own. When I was at boarding school years ago, a Spanish friend of mine had something called Nenuco – they sell it in the supermarket and it is a cologne splash that you put on babies. It is completely unisex and the freshest smell you will ever smell. It’s just divine.
Welcome Home: My long-haired miniature dachshund called Winnie; she always lights up my life.
Dance-Around-the-Kitchen Song: There are so many, because that’s the place where I dance all the time. We have the best boogies in our kitchen. It would probably be 1980s hip hop, something like ‘Jump Around’ by House of Pain.
House Plant: I love house plants. I’ve got orchids everywhere, just because you can pick them up when you go to the supermarket. The previous owner of our house was Cath Kidston and she was mad for geraniums – when we first moved into the house they were everywhere. I really like gardenias because they smell very strongly, and I like hydrangeas as well.
On your Nightstand: My new Lumity vitamins, that you take morning and evening – they’re the Instagram sensation for older women that everyone’s swearing by. Usually tiger balm, copious bottles of half-drunk water, and a lip balm.
Colour Palette: I love green, but it has to be greens that you find in nature. For me, my environment and the colours that are around me are really important. I’m in the process of redoing my house right now and I just won’t let anyone get involved in the choice of fabrics or colours because I’m just so specific; I know exactly what I like.
Visit Wiggy Kit's website to find out more about the brand, or shop the edit below.