Illustrator & designer Julie Verhoeven is renowned for her now iconic style. Fashion luminaries such as Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Loewe & Versace have all had the Julie Verhoeven treatment. Verhoeven's large body of work & numerous collaborations are testament to gritty perserverance paying dividends. Her singular vision & 'Rock & Roll meets rainbow' aesthetic gives birth to expressive figures, both glamorous & debauched. She has worked with brands such as H&M, Dover Street Market, Lancome, Selfridges as well as Primal Scream & Fischerspooner.

Mono. grabbed a quick Q&A with Ms Verhoeven, who also very kindly took some photographs of her studio for us...

Mono. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Julie Verhoeven: I wanted to do something in fashion but didn't know what.

M. Does it get easier or harder as you get older?
JV: It's become easier without a doubt, or maybe its just about caring less.

M. What's it like inside your head?
JV: A mushy pile of unsealed bin-bags; billowing out rubbish sporadically…

M. What gives you the greatest joy?
JV: I can narrow this down to 3 things:

1. Dancing like an adolescent.
2. Lying horizontal in my bed.
3. Bear-hugging a loved one.

M. Who or what is your most enduring source of inspiration?
JV: City life & pop music.

M. What do you believe in?
JV: This is it. Only one stab at it.

M. What are you working on right now?
JV: Predominately it's all sorts of stuff for an autumn exhibition at ZINGERpresents, Amsterdam.
Plus a return to a little editorial work.

M. Career high to date?
JV: Still awaiting but hope it's drawing closer.

M. What do you when you are having a bad day?
JV: I either withdraw from the world & lie flat on my back in the dark, or I go to the library in a grump, in the hope to re-energise & excite myself, as tragic as it sounds.

M. What event that has had the biggest impact on your life?
JV: There are several - the death of my parents to cancer, the fleeting arrival & departure of 'Step-mother from hell' & my divorce.

M. What's happening next for you?
JV: Turning my flat upside down & summer jury service!

M. 3 albums that make you happy to be alive?
JV: Bat out of Hell - Meat Loaf, Rumours - Fleetwood Mac & Saturday Night Fever - Bee Gees.

M. Who would you like to interview?
JV: Molly Parkin.

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Words: Matt Ryalls
Images: Julie Verhoeven

The Elvis Iconic Head: Inspired by the Cloche hat.
This hat is part of an ongoing collaboration with designer Flora McLean, House of Flora, based on iconic hairstyles. The Cloche Hat is a bell shaped hat invented by Caroline Reboux in 1908, which became very popular in the 1920's. In the 1960's designer Rudi Gernreich took the idea & made one in the shape of a bobbed hairstyle. Just seeing that one hat picture has changed my perception of how to dress the head forever.

My Dog Buster: the Miniature Schnauzer.
I've had Buster since he was 6 weeks old. I never thought he would have so much influence on me but seeing him run around the park without a care in the world makes me feel very happy. It also helps me think with more clarity, when I take Buster for a walk it is my time away from phone calls or emails. I've had so many ideas for hair & hats when I've been walking him, I often wonder if I'd have had as many without him, he's the one that makes me get outside & get some fresh air.

My Film collection.
My love of film started when I was very young, after my dad made us watch 'The Dam Busters'. I loved how a film could tell a story in a short space of time. I originally began to collect videos but have now changed my whole collection to DVD - I now have nearly 3000 DVD's. I've seen more inspiring hairstyles in film, TV & documentary's, than in any other form of media.

The Book: Cutting Hair the Vidal Sassoon Way.
When I first started training to cut hair I didn't work at Vidal Sassoon because it didn't exist in Birmingham. But I did acquire a book that has stayed with me for the rest of my life. I was always obsessed with Sassoon & the precise geometric haircuts they invented, I guess it's also my love of the Bauhaus art movement, which Vidal was so influenced by too. This book was like gold dust for me.

A Photograph of me aged 18.
I have a photograph of myself that was taken in a photo-booth in 1985. I'd had my haircut quite radical: shaved the fringe off & had straightened my hair with giant straightening irons, no mini ceramic ones back then! I was posing with my denim jacket on back-to-front; I thought I was the dog's bollocks. When I look at this photograph it reminds me of how I didn't care about how I looked, dressed, etc. It's a constant reminder to me that you must always be true to yourself. Never worry what other people think of you, worry more about whether you like them. That's how I felt when that picture was taken.

Photograph of Twiggy by Barry Letegan.
In 2007, I met Barry Lategan, the photographer whose work I'd always admired. He allowed me to buy a print of the famous Twiggy picture he took in 1966 with her short haircut, cloggy black mascara & jumper. For me it's one of the most timeless fashion pictures ever taken. When you look at the print there's no re-touching on the hair or skin. A moment in fashion history that will be remembered forever. It takes pride of place in my living room, near my picture of Kate Mos swith the fairy lights by Corinne Day - another timeless image. So few fashion images become iconic.

Neil Moodie is an internationally renowned session stylist, working for Britsh & Japanese Vogue, i-D, Wonderland & Margaeret Howell, as well as one half of award winning hairdressers, Windle & Moodie.