IF THERE IS one thing fashion designer Alice Temperley wants women to do, it is not to try too hard when they dress up. The 31-year-old London-based designer says the key to looking good is to be as natural as possible. 'We should never look like we try too hard,' she says. 'We should never wear the same brand from head to toe. The clothes we buy should be timeless instead of showing the trend to make a statement.' Temperley, who is due to return to Hong Kong for business in November (she used to live here with her then boyfriend, now husband and business partner, financer Lars Von Bennigsen, before moving back to London and launching her collection in 2000), thinks the key to getting one's style right is, in fact, not to get it looking just so. For example, she says, 'I like to be imperfect with slightly messy hair. It would make you look too finished if you were dressed too perfectly. Nothing should be perfect in this world.' This is the style Temperley strives for in her designs - the 'uncomplicated' look, as she calls it. And it is certainly popular. She launched her label, Temperley London, in 2000 with little more than a pair of scissors, and is now one of the most sought-after designers in the world. Style icons such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow wear her romantic designs and her clothes are sold in more than 30 countries. Temperley says she tends to wear her own designs all the time - but not as a marketing ploy. 'I am trying to make my collection all-in-one,' she says. 'So if I am not wearing my own clothes, that means there is something missing.' She says the idea for an all-in-one collection came from continually packing and unpacking - she spends at least four months of the year travelling, on business (she likes to personally introduce her collection to every outlet that sells it) and for relaxation (she particularly loves Kenya and Mexico). 'When I travel, I want to pack easily with clothes suitable for every occasion in my life, for both parties and meetings,' she says. 'Women today are asking for more from their clothes - that is why I keep thinking more about functionality when I design my collection now.' Temperley's first brush with style came early, at the age of four. 'My mother had a lot of fancy dresses in her old wardrobe; many of them were vintage,' she says. 'My sister and I loved putting on those dresses, clothes and high heels.' Her first fashion mistake was a few years later. 'I was 11 years old and I cut off my hair, used a henna dye and turned my hair orange,' she remembers. 'My mother got upset because my hair was gone.' Even now, one of the most stylish and prettiest designers isn't immune from making mistakes - Temperley constantly buys shoes that are too small. 'I like shoes to look smaller, although I'm only a size five,' she says. 'I always assume they will be comfortable even if they are smaller. But the truth is, they aren't.' It is an error she anticipates she will keep making. 'It happens to me all my life because I love shoes. That is why I've had so many shoes - because I cannot wear a lot of them.'