SOMERSET fashion designer Alice Temperley was among those to receive a prestigious honorary award at a recent Bath Spa University (BSU) graduation ceremony – on her birthday!

Alice, founder of Temperley London and a strong advocate for sustainable fashion, was awarded a prestigious Honorary Doctorate of Arts at at the university’s summer graduation event at The Forum, in Bath, on July
22.

Alice, who was made an MBE in 2011 for services to the fashion industry, founded Temperley London just a year after graduating from the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins.

Her success was held up as an example of the exciting possibilities that could await the graduating cohort from BSU’s School of Design and of Writing Publishing and Humanities.

“My journey into fashion began, rather humbly, making and selling pieces from my flat to fund my studies,” she said.

“One shop led to another, then another, then a few VIPs, then before I quite realised what was happening, I’d built a brand.”

Temperley London has gone on to become known around the world – here snapped in Amsterdam. Picture: Paul Jones/Somerset Leveller

Now expanded into bridal, heritage, eveningwear and ready-to-wear collections, as well as interiors, Temperley’s brand champions slow fashion – committed to its responsibility and operating with true respect for garments.

“Proudly Somerset born and bred”, Alice grew up on the Temperley family’s Burrow Hill cider farm, at Kingsbury Episcopi, with her brand based at nearby Ilminster, offering mentorship to up-and-coming designers and working with charities.

Emma Askew-Miller, senior lecturer in fashion design at BSU, said: “Today, Alice Temperley MBE continues to push boundaries, not only in design, but how fashion can be a force for good: rooted in community, craftsmanship and conscience.

“Conferring an honorary doctorate on Alice Temperley MBE associates Bath Spa University with someone who is an outstanding role model and inspiration for all our students.”

Alice told the ceremony: “To the students here today — if I may offer one piece of advice: you have to love what you do, otherwise it’s incredibly hard to survive. Everything gets chucked at you and that’s life.

“You must be very excited to start your journey. It’s hard, but if you love it then it makes it easier to keep going.”

She also offered the opportunity to the graduating cohort to visit her studio and HQ in Ilminster to see the Temperley London studio and finished by congratulating the BSU graduates of 2025.