India Hicks, the creator of the eponymous home décor and lifestyle brand, is a force of nature. The celebrated designer challenges all who come across her path to live an extraordinary life! An author, former model, and TV host, she is exuberant, gracious, and quite proud of her accomplishments. Her latest endeavor is the launch of her new collection of high-quality accessories.

India Hicks

A natural beauty, India has been “on the road” for some time, away from her homes in London and Harbour Island, Bahamas, enticing women of all ages to join her in her extraordinary pursuit. She has added another dimension to her growing empire—along the lines of a trunk show business. The format is an “entrepreneurial opportunity” for women to hold events in their homes or private clubs. The objective is to entice women to shop, and sign on to host their own gatherings. But as India stresses, in defying the traditional shopping experience, “I want to build a community, not a company.”

Her newest collection adds style and panache to her home décor and lifestyle brand. Her line features soft scarves, chic leather clutches, tote bags, and an easy-breezy very un-businesslike laptop bag. She also includes quaint little charms, engraved on the back with “sweet sayings.” The idea for the heritage-inspired collection of Love Tokens has its origin in the charms her mother inherited from her mom. If there is one thing we get to find out during our chat with India, is that she has an esteemed lineage!

According to The Telegraph, India Hicks is 678th in line to the British throne. A granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten, she is the goddaughter of the future King of England Prince Charles (she was a bridesmaid at his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer over 30 years ago). Her mother, Lady Pamela Mountbatten Hicks, is a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria and relative of multiple European royal houses. And her father, David Nightingale Hicks, was a renowned interior designer of the 1960s and 1970s.

ELYSZE HELD [E.H.] / Who has impacted you most in your life and how?
INDIA HICKS [I.H.] / Both my parents and in different ways. My father was a brilliant man, very outspoken, surprisingly energetic, and undoubtedly a great design influence in my work. My mother, she is the complete opposite– genteel and very private. She is very quiet, fascinating, well read, a piece of history herself!

E.H. / What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
IH / This business –creating a force of entrepreneurial trailblazers. I want to offer women the opportunity to be at the center of their businesses, headquartered from their homes, on their terms. I have put everything into this. I like the idea of the risk in this. I believe in it, and I know it will succeed. Oh and, of course, motherhood is the biggest risk!

E.H. / You have had the experience of traveling the world…what is your favorite location? What is your favorite city?
I.H. / Impossible to answer, but I do love Miami, and especially Key Biscayne. When each of my children was little, we spent time in Key Biscayne, and it reminds me of a wonderful time in our lives.

E.H. / What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
I.H. / Snobbism. I just cannot bear it. I have met so many extraordinary people from all walks of life. I think you should never pre-judge. But if I meet someone who is a snob, I do not go further with it.

E.H. / How have you maintained your standard, your brand?
I.H. / Very subconsciously–I live the brand, and it has evolved with me. There has not been any strategy. I have had a lot of fun along the way, and I enjoy and love what I do!

E.H. / Tell me one thing about yourself you wouldn’t want me to know.
I.H. / I eat an enormous amount of chocolate, sometimes for breakfast. I like to think I am completely healthy and lead such clean way of living, but I do not!

India Hicks and her daughter Domino.

E.H. / Who are your heroes?
I.H. / So many heroes. The most extraordinary thing about this business is the women I am meeting: these women who have struggled to be independent and are out there making a world for themselves. I believe this business model lends itself to that goal. As women, we have all come such a long way, but there is still quite a way to go.

E.H. / What are your lifelong dreams? Are you living them now?
I.H. / I love where my life is at this moment. I like this age. Some of the insecurities that you felt in your twenties & thirties have gone away. I love my family, my business, how it has all come together.  ■