I dressed a star – now I'd love a Bafta
A Hollywood star wearing one of your dresses is only ever a pipe dream for most aspiring and experienced designers alike.
But for 23-year-old Birmingham City University graduate Rosie Dennington, it's a dream that came true before she'd even landed her first job.
Rosie, who designs under the name Rosie Red, dressed A-lister Helena Bonham Carter in one of her handmade dresses for a recent photo shoot with Vanity Fair magazine as part of a best dressed spread.
If that wasn't enough of a coup, the snaps were taken by legendary photographer Mario Testino, adding a string to Rosie's bow that she never dreamt she'd achieve so early on in her career.
Now, with a dozen internships with a variety of specialist corset creators under her extremely stylish belt, Rosie's CV reads like that of a much more seasoned designer.
Her run-in with Harry Potter star Helena came after dad Jon decided to send samples of his daughter's work to her idol to surprise her last Christmas. Rosie says: "My dad knew I was applying for jobs and getting turned down on account of not having the right on-the-job experience. It's difficult when anyone graduates, because you don't have enough experience but no one is willing to give you any.
"I've always admired Helena's style and I love her movies, so my dad sent her some photographs of my work. By February I received an email to say that Helena's team had sent my images on to her but had heard nothing. I thought 'great, that's another person that doesn't want to know!'"
When March rolled around, however, everything changed.
An email arrived in Rosie's inbox from an unknown sender entitled 'HBC' which she almost deleted as spam.
"I thought it was an email from the bank – it seemed more likely at that point that someone would be asking me to extend my overdraft than asking me to dress Helena Bonham Carter!" says Rosie.
"Helena's personal assistant and I exchanged emails and she told me that Helena loved my designs and would I meet with the assistant to show some of my work. I couldn't believe it, it was so surreal. The first date I was given was cancelled and I was so tired from working so hard to complete the dresses, I couldn't even feel disappointed – I just needed to sleep."
However, Helena hadn't forgotten about Rosie and another date was quickly arranged.
"When I arrived at the meeting, Helena was there too, which was a complete surprise as I thought I was only meeting her PA. I was delighted," says Rosie.
"Helena was so encouraging and supportive – and funny! I didn't feel star struck at all as she was really grounded and genuinely interested in my work. Helena has the busiest life and a family too, so it was a huge compliment that she'd offer me an audience at all."
At this point, Rosie still wasn't sure why she was really meeting the Fight Club star. A series of coincidences however, including the original meeting cancellation, led to the biggest event in Rosie's professional life.
"When trying on my dress, Helena remembered that she'd got a photo shoot the following week and had nothing to wear. She asked if she could take along the dress that I had made.
"I was stunned when I discovered the shoot was for Vanity Fair magazine, to be shot by Mario Testino. If that first meeting hadn't been postponed, the Testino shoot wouldn't have been so close and might never have happened."
Testino was chosen by Diana, Princess of Wales for her own Vanity Fair photo shoot in 1997, and is known for being one of the best fashion photographers in the world.
Naturally, Rosie is still stunned by the sudden success but knows she can't rest on her laurels.
She hopes that this will kick-start her dream career in costume design, one which she hopes might one day earn her some big industry awards.
She said: "I'd love to win a Bafta for my work in costume design, but as well as that I also want to fall madly in love, get married and have a family.
"I'm a huge advocate of positive thinking. Rather than listing what I want to achieve and then letting them manifest, I work out how I am going to get there, work hard and keep a positive outlook."
With the launch of her new collection this month, Rosie Red Corsetry & Couture is proving that a positive attitude and hard work never goes out of fashion.
