White Trash Beautiful

"WE wanted to make something for strong, empowered women who are in touch with their soft, sensitive sides and who are comfortable with their femininity - who can also kick ass," said Nikki Lund when we met her and Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora at the Sanderson for a look at their new collection, White Trash Beautiful.

The clothes are exactly what you would expect the lead guitarist of one of the world's most famous rock 'n' roll bands to want women to wear: seductively revealing, often spray-on and always dramatic. Fabrics are leather, suede, silk, stretchy snake print and lots of elastane, while detailing focuses on zips - there's even a zip-crotch leotard.

Lund - who once interned for Anna Sui and Jill Stuart in New York - learned her cutting sewing skills from her mother who was, she says, "a seamstress out of necessity; she didn't have a lot of money but she wanted to have nice things."

Lund and Sambora were introduced by a mutual friend after the musician decided that a song that he had been writing for the band sounded too misogynistic - but it did sound like a good name for a fashion brand. "Three days later," he tells us, "Nikki turned up with some incredible fabrics that I'd never seen before and we just started jamming."

But this is no ordinary celebrity collaboration, insists Sambora. "We didn't want it to be JLo's perfume or Beyoncé's Cologne - this is a clothing line. It's serious and, ultimately, we will do a men's line - I already some of the WTB pieces on stage and we've made a jacket for Jon [Bon Jovi]."

Who else would they like to dress? "Jennifer Anniston, definitely, she'd look amazing in the clothes," enthuses Lund. "And Salma Hayek, she's really sexy." Sambora has other ideas: he names Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie as his ideal clientele. "Megan has a really fantastic, feisty attitude that would work really well with the collection."

Meanwhile, Lund's advice for dressing stylishly is deceptively simple: "Wear what you can get away with. But you've got to rock it. Be confident." Sambora's is more straight forward: "I like women in tight jeans, tight Capri pants or short skirts with great stockings." Sounds like the ultimate WTB girl.