Thursday 15th November saw indie pop beauty and fashionista Marina and the Diamonds perform her brand new single 'How To Be A Heartbreaker' along with 5 other of her well-known tracks at the latest hot spot in Mayfair - luxury live music venue and champagne lounge 'Baroque.' Fitting perfectly in the sensual and sumptuous settings of 'Baroque' , Marina wore two specially made, beautifully embellished, baroque dresses, designed by womenswear Hasan Hejazi, who refers to Marina as his "Muse". In a rich, deep palette of maroon Marina was the epitome of artistic and sophisticated glamour with killer vocals, setting the stage on fire and giving her performance that added wow-factor. Marina wore dress number two, following her performance, where she joined the party, after a quick change into a slinky shimmering blue baroque number, a dress that was more suited for mingling with the crowd and indulging in a few glasses of baroques trademark champagne compete towers. A truly glamorous evening, complimented by a dazzling performance and aesthetically beautiful baroque dress. Idol caught up with Marina Diamandis and womenswear designer Hasan Hejazi...
MARINA, WHAT ABOUT HASAN'S DESIGNS DO LOVE THE MOST?
He has a intrinsic understanding of the femininity and its relation to strength. I love his designs so much; they manage to blend glamour, power and attitude all whilst embracing the traditional feminine aesthetic that I adore. It's really rare to find a designer that does that naturally.
  
YOU'VE KNOWN HASAN FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW AND HE REFERS TO YOU AS HIS MUSE - HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? 
I don't really feel anything! I see it as 2 friends feeding off each other's seperate inspirations. It's all felt quite casual. I think when I first tried his gowns on and they fit like a glove on the bust AND the waist, it was a revelation. I knew we'd go on to work together.
 
YOU CLEARLY HAVE A STRONG INTEREST IN FASHION - HOW DO YOU THINK FASHION AND MUSIC TRANSLATE AND INFLUENCE EACH OTHER? 
I see clothing and style as an extension of an artist's musical ideas. It enables you to make your concept 3D- something you can see and touch, as opposed to just hear. I'd be a really different artist without the use of fashion.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HASAN'S DESIGNS?
Elegant, powerful, feminine- with a hint of frivolity.
WHAT IN YOUR OPINION MAKES HIM STAND OUT FROM OTHER DESIGNERS?
His designs always look and feel luxurious. He never does anything by halves. Everything is of the highest quality.
HASAN, THE OUTFITS YOU DESIGNED FOR MARINA ARE INSPIRED BY THE VENUE BAROQUE - WHERE DID THIS IDEA COME FROM? WHAT ABOUT THE VENUE INSPIRED YOU THE MOST? 
I was inspired most by the title of the club and the luxury interior, as a result I wanted to keep the dress simple but with a grand statement with the embroidery which was hand done by Hawthorne and Heaney.  
 
ARE YOU WORKING ON ANY NEW PROJECTS? WHAT HAVE YOU GOT PLANNED NEXT?
I am currently working on the WEDDINGBELLS project that features the Baroque dresses in a grand style photoshoot which will be released soon after the event takes places. I am also really concentrating on ,my next RTW collection for A/W 13/14 which I am very excited about as I haven't done a seasonal collection since S/S12. 
YOU OPENLY CALL MARINA YOUR MUSE BUT HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE GIRL WHO WEARS YOUR DESIGNS?
Yes she is my muse as she closely represents the kind of women I envisage wearing my designs, she is strong, individual, fun and creative. There is  also a strong sense of powerful sexuality in there to. 
WHAT WAS THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF MAKING MARINA'S DRESS?
It was just a case of using the clubs look as a basis and starting point for sketching ideas and from there developing those ideas. I of course thought about Marina and what silhouette she looks great in and it all progresses from there. From the start I knew I wanted to use embroidery for the first time so this was a very exciting part of the creative process for me and we ended up using a very traditional technique but applying it in a more contemporary colour palette. Lastly we had fittings as I wanted the fit of the dress to be the strongest detail, it has been fully corseted on the inside to subtly accentuate Marinas hour glass figure. The dress was still being hand finished up until the last minute but seeing it on finished for the first time made everything worthwhile.

Interview by Oliva Todd