My Life: Henry Holland

He can’t say too much about it, however, as he wants to keep the most spectacular part a secret and a surprise.

Henry is “curating” the launch ceremony, and has created, he says, “a huge installation that is going to appear as part of a performance piece”. He can say no more about the detail, but adds enticingly: “It is awe-inspiring and huge.”

On a site visit to the new shopping centre before doors open, he seems impressed by what he sees. “The actual space and concept and design feels really fresh,” he says. “It’s about investing for growth. It’s a really exciting time for Leeds.”

He knows Leeds fairly well as his sister went to university in the city. “And I grew up down the road,” he adds, meaning Ramsbottom, near Bury. “We used to come shopping here because you had the first Harvey Nichols.”

Trained as a fashion journalist, Henry is well known as the childhood friend of Lancashire supermodel turned actor Agyness Deyn, who was scouted by a model agency while visiting him at college. He fell into designing almost by accident, making his fashion week debut seven years ago with a collection of 1980s-style statement T-shirts dedicated to fashion icons. T-shirts, it seems, were the only items of clothing he knew how to make at the time. Now his House of Holland is an internationally acclaimed brand, with high-profile wearers including Katy Perry, Jessie J and MIA, who famously wore one of Holland’s dresses to the 2009 Grammys when she was nine months pregnant. Since 2009, he has also had his H! by Henry Holland range for Debenhams.

With his trademark floppy quiff and a small rucksack on his back as he attends the Trinity site safety induction, Henry looks ready for anything, especially travel. He is about to tour the world, visiting Tokyo, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, with various collections including his eyewear range.

He designs for his peers, he says (he is 29) but hopes there are pieces for all ages. In his spring/summer collection, hitting stores now, the theme is Nineties’ grunge – “Injecting a bit of teenage angst,” he says. “I tried my best, but it still became quite jolly at the end with tie-dyes and embellishment and florals. Our customer is quite youthful and playful but has a strong personality and is quite outspoken. They are quite bold. My mum is nearly 70, but she wears my stuff all the time.”

Henry is a proud and vocal ambassador for British fashion. “We are at the forefront of the world’s consciousness in terms of fashion,” he says. “London Fashion Week was seen as a week off for the designers. Now you’ve got Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders and the big brands returning to London – this season we’ve got Tom Ford, Burberry, Mulberry.”

If you had told an American fashion editor ten years ago that this would be the case, they would have laughed, he says.“For a lot of people, myself included, it’s really about time, because we have got the best creative minds, the best colleges.”

Meanwhile, there is the spectacle of the Trinity Leeds opening to look forward to. Whatever it is, it’s going to be huge. “It’s the first time I have ever done anything on this scale, quite literally.”

Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ

Who is Henry Holland?

Henry Holland, 29, is from Ramsbottom, near Bury. After graduating from the London College of Printing in Journalism, he hit the headlines in 2006 with his T-shirts featuring catchphrases including “Get Your Freak On Giles Deacon”. In 2008, House of Holland held its first solo show at London. Now in its 13th season, stockists include Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. His muses include his childhood friend the model Agyness Deyn and Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts.