Style icon, sex symbol, king of threads and star of The Great British Sewing Bee, Patrick Grant, 44, is dominating the fashion world once again.

The creative director of prestigious Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons, this is a man who has earned his keep grafting the hard way – learning a skill, becoming brilliant at it and then working his way up from the bottom.

Which doesn’t happen much in the celeb world these days.

Now, he’s created a collection for eBay, which gives talented British designers an opportunity to sell their garments worldwide.

The Community Clothing range has seen the designer source a collection of gorgeous clothes for men and women, all crafted by British designers who need a big break and a safe platform to trade to everyone. And it’s all at purse-friendly prices.

Patrick made sure the collection utilised clothing factories’ slow periods for their production to create more jobs, harness specialist skills and, ultimately, give businesses an oomph.

It’s a great idea and the clothes aren’t half bad, too. Minimalist shapes, subtle lines and unisex pieces that can be worn smart, casual, in summer and winter. All put together by Patrick, who knows a thing or two about clothes so we trust him. And the classic block colour palette means that everything can be mixed and matched for instant, easy style

all year round.

Most people will be aware of Patrick as a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee, which, now in its fourth series, has single-handedly made sewing cool and brought him fame, although it’s at a level he is comfortable with.

He said: “My life has not changed as much as people might think. I’m just delighted so many people love it. It had just under four million viewers each week this series.

“I do get recognised a little but luckily fans of the show are so lovely. The show doesn’t attract the negativity other reality competition TV shows get.

“The cross-section of viewers is vast and it’s always people you wouldn’t expect. The Duchess of Cornwall is a big fan, which is great. Loads of unique people love it.”

It’s had a major impact on his industry, too, with sales of sewing machines rising.

He said: “Yep, the actual sewing and tailoring industry has boomed, which is remarkable.

“The sales of sewing machines has soared –more than a million have been sold since the show aired.

“Just think what that has done for home sewing. The industry needs young, enthusiastic people who want to learn how to sew. The show has shown how great it is to make clothes. It’s satisfying and rewarding.

“The enthusiasm has trickled down to the professional industry too, which I’m always happy about.”

Patrick has a lot going on. He runs five businesses but he prefers to work as part of a small team rather than with an army of staff.

He said: “I have five businesses so yes, I’m a busy boy. It’s tough to juggle it all, but it’s all great. I have clothing lines, production factories – all very different. But I love them all.

“Some companies are myself and two other people. The biggest one is the Hammond & Co collection, which is a multi-million pound business. But I do that with Debenhams and they do all the heavy lifting. I just do the szooshing.”

Being a clothes designer, on TV and in the public eye, the pressure is on to look smart at all times but it is something which Patrick says comes naturally.

This, after all, is a man who admits to owning “40 or 50” suits, a wardrobe he describes as “modest”.

He said: “I wouldn’t have ended up in this industry if I wasn’t obsessed with clothes.

“Dressing in suits is natural to me and I have a fairly modest wardrobe. Certain uniforms I wear all the time. That makes it easy not to make any mistakes.

“How many suits do I own? Not as many as people think – 40 or 50. But then I wear them

to work. I do spend more time not in a suit than in one, though.”

Does that mean slob gear to wear at home when the world isn’t watching? He said: “Oh,

all of that. I have these amazing trousers that are a 50s shape in an olive-coloured cotton. I’d wear those with a nice navy blue jumper or an oversized shirt.”

His most extravagant item of clothing is, of course, a suit.Read more at:http://www.marieaustralia.com/short-formal-dresses | http://www.marieaustralia.com/formal-dresses-2016