On with the shoe

The dapper pair, Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz, have worked together since they began their prolific creative partnership in 2003 at the helm of English label Aquascutum. Yet ask them about the time they met and they'll complain about being perceived as a married couple. 'It always sounds like a romance,' Herz protests. 'Our eyes met across a crowded room...'

The newly appointed creative directors of luxury Swiss fashion house Bally are ushering in a new era for the heritage label. And, as often happens with married couples, one of them does most of the talking (in this case it's Herz). They mirror each other's body language and even style - the smart black suit, shirt (one button undone) and rectangular-framed glasses.

Fidler is a man of few words - carefully spoken, in a deep voice with a soft northern English accent. Herz is all spice and quick-fire, laughing heartily at his own jokes.

When Fidler graduated in fashion design in Newcastle, he set off for New York.

'I was offered two jobs; one at Calvin Klein and one at Ralph Lauren.' He chose Ralph Lauren, and returned to London two years later to head menswear at Aquascutum, meeting Herz who, in 2003, began as head of womenswear.

Born to a Guyanese mother and English father, Herz, already familiar with the European fashion circuit, had studied at London's Royal College of Arts and designed in Milan, assisting Marc Jacobs, then in Paris with Guy Laroche. 'I never really wanted a job,' Herz adds. 'Creativity is my life. If you took that away, I might as well die.'