Savannah Miller talks about her new collection Nine at Debenhams

The 36-year-old British designer has a dewy, English rose complexion which is framed by a blonde, wavy bob – and she radiates a certain ageless, elven beauty that transcends appearance. A grey jersey top from her new collection Nine hangs loosely over her willowy figure, with gold charm necklaces dangling around her neck. Chatting animatedly in clipped, polished tones, she explains that her love of fashion started from a very young age.

“My mother used to have these crazy dinner parties with all these fabulous, glamorous women when I was a child in the early Eighties. I could always hear tinkling glasses and laughter in the front room – it was amazing,” she gushed.

“We lived around the corner from Manolo Blahnik, who loved my mother, so she had this amazing collection of shoes and Hermes scarves she inherited from her great aunt. I took a gold shoe from her cupboard and created a centrepiece with the scarves spilling out across the dining table; my mum and her guests came through to the room to find it sitting there!”

After graduating from Central Saint Martins College with a First Class degree in fashion and knitwear, Savannah worked in London with luxury labels Matthew Williamson and Alexander McQueen. She was thrust into the limelight in 2007 when she collaborated with her Hollywood actress sister Sienna Miller, then the achingly cool zeitgeist of bohemian chic, for their denim label Twenty8Twelve. Five years later she left to launch her online solo collection Savannah with e-tailer Nelly.com; her first affordable clothing range.

Savannah remains very close with Sienna, and says that she still borrows fashion inspiration from her to this day.

“Sienna was and does continue to be ahead of the game,” she told me. “She would always suggest trends way before they became a thing which everyone was doing. It wasn’t even because she wore it herself; she was just very switched on and had her finger on the pulse. I always played it safe, but she liked to take risks and be more fashion-forward. She was amazing!”

Walking along the perfectly spaced rails in the Blythswood Square hotel, it’s clear that Savannah’s collection Nine is a reflection of her own style; grown-up, effortless chic in a palette of wearable soft, neutral tones.

The 70-piece range includes suede fringed heels and bags, vintage inspired lace tops, swallow print dresses and a few trophy pieces – the sequin skirt and leather jacket are already selling out fast. No bold, bright colours or daring avant-garde designs to be seen; perhaps surprising for a designer that was mentored by the late Alexander McQueen; the so-called enfant terrible of the fashion industry.

Her dark blue eyes glitter with nostalgia as she harked back to the glory days of the legendary couture icon, who tragically killed himself in his Mayfair apartment in 2010.

“Lee was a very different designer to me,” Savannah explained. “It was an art form to him; he knew no boundaries.”

“He was constantly creating a new look, mashing punk influences with Inca tribe dress to create this beautiful, crazy fusion that was inspiring and fresh," she said, smiling fondly.

“He taught me a lot about research, that nothing was impossible – but I’m a strong believer in making affordable clothes that a woman can wear everyday to work, running after the kids and walking the dog. She might have been a bit of a boho chick ten years ago, but now she has to look put together and sophisticated. As narcissistic as it sounds, this is what I do best; because I am that woman.”

As we admire each piece, she gestures to a decadent sequin embellishment playfully stitched down a grey cotton jumper sleeve.

“There’s a certain undercurrent in my collection that’s reflective of my bohemian upbringing,” Savannah said dreamily, absorbed in thought as she ran her fingers over the intricate beadwork.

“My parents always had musicians and artists coming to the house. My mother is from South Africa and my father is from America so there was a lot of travelling around as children. There was a slightly gypsy vibe which is infused in the way I do everything.”

Like her parents, Savannah and her husband Nick are kindred spirits with a love of the outdoors; but their own decision to take a leap and move abroad was rather ill-fated.

After her business collapsed in 2013, Savannah and her family sold up their home in the Cotswolds to live in Panama for a year so that Nick, a bushcraft teacher, could set up an adventure holiday company. What should have been a simple, rustic lifestyle in an exotic palm-fringed paradise slowly turned into a harrowing, lonely nightmare for Savannah, who was ridden with anxiety from being away from home and experienced postnatal depression after the birth of her third child, Bali.

Things took a turn for the worse after her son Moses, then aged seven, was involved in a traumatic boat accident in which he severely injured his leg.

Reluctant to dwell too much upon the incident, Savannah paused for a moment when I asked her how her time in Panama changed her life.

“It did help me get my life back on track,” she replied guardedly.

Exhaling deeply, she added: “With any situation that’s challenging you have to sink or swim. I had to dig very deep and it made me very resilent to overcome those tricky thoughts.”

After settling back in Britain last May, life is just the way she had hoped for her children.

Savannah manages to split her time between living in London and working from home two days a week at their idyllic carbon-neutral farmhouse in leafy Gloucestershire.

She said: “Obviously juggling a young family with work is intense in any situation, but I feel very blessed. They go to a lovely local school, have a countryside life where their feet never touch the ground – and they’re kind of feral. I’ll drop them off and pick them up from school, and if I have time I occasionally see friends in the evening. I love a glass of wine and a beautiful meal. And yoga – it keeps me sane.”

In another unexpected confession, she admits that she sometimes sings in the community choir when she has spare time.

“I live in Stroud, let’s not forget!” she added, laughing.

Savannah insists that maintaining a work/life balance is the key to happiness and, though she is reluctant to define herself as a feminist, believes that women can bring something different to the industry due to their innate ‘fighting mother’s spirit.’

“This is going to sound sexist, but not intentionally... we are naturally more inclined to the role of the mother within the home and with her kids by default,” she explained.

“Juggling that with business is tricky, because you have a hell of a lot on your plate. But there is an amazing sense of determination there, a passion and enthusiasm; we’ll put the work in and get ahead because we want to get home on time.”

Now that Nine has launched across the UK, I ask her what she has planned next; a much needed holiday, perhaps?

‘No,’ she tells me; she is preparing to launch her debut bridal collection in New York with wedding company Stone Fox Bride next month.

“I really want to expand my relationship with Debenhams too, but that’s all to be decided and confirmed,” she said. “In five years I would love to have a childrenswear line, and homeware.”

Smiling serenely, she adds: “I feel like people can relate to my brand; it’s all encompassing and I think lifestyle wise it’s a good fit - that’s my goal.”

She might be juggling a young family with her career, but Savannah shows no sign of slowing down yet.