5 minutes with... designer & seamstress Ulrika Vallance

With a fashion career spanning more than 20 years behind her, Swedish born designer and seamstress Ulrika Vallance has just launched a new loungewear brand. Inspired by her love of vintage fabrics and 1920s era silhouettes she's created a collection of beautifully tailored, buttery soft silk cotton slips, robes, camisoles and shorts in antique hues and classic shapes.

After leaving home aged 19, with a dream of learning French and becoming a designer, Ulrika headed to Provence to study fashion at the International School in Marseille. From there she went on to apprentice in Karl Lagerfeld's studio in Paris and design womenswear in Florence before relocating to London where she created bespoke flower girl dresses for her first label Ulrika Bogö. She currently lives in New York with her two young sons and musician/travel writer husband, where she designs from a small studio in a revamped can factory near her Brooklyn home.

Designed with comfort and luxury in mind, the debut collection focuses on cut, detail and texture. The Le Marais robe (above) with its low slung belt and wide pleats takes its inspiration from flapper dresses of the 1920s, while the Brooklyn (below) is a classic kimono style gown that has been reworked with modern elbow length sleeve.

We think they are pretty gorgeous so we asked Ulrika to share a few of her style inspirations.