That's the design philosophy of Nina McLemore, the American designer with her eponymous label, who has dressed Hillary Clinton, Indira Nooyi, Janet Yellen, Elena Kagan, among other powerful women. In this exclusive interview, she tells Times Life why clothes should never speak louder than the women in them.

She dresses the most powerful women in the world.

One would think she has earned the right to boast a bit about her designs. But Nina McLemore tells it just like she designs her clothes - simply yet firmly. "The woman should be the message, not the clothes. That's how I design." Known for her modernised suits and jackets, McLemore's designs are easy to spot once you've seen her work. Her clothes come in solid colours and five different sizes, which can be worn by women of all sizes. Here's what she says about her design and life philosophy.

Pictures: evening dresses

What's your design aesthetic?

Less is more. The cleaner and simpler the design, the more powerful it is. The outfit that has a lot of pattern and design details may overpower the woman. The woman should wear the clothes, not the other way around. The quality and performance of the fabric is extremely important. People judge you by the quality of the fabric. For example, our silk Dupioni from Banga lore is the best in the world, and it has a hand made look, which is very appealing.

We dress women for business meetings, casual weekends and for events in the evening. The mix is such that a woman can travel with just one suitcase.

What makes your collection appeal to powerful women? It's designed for their public appearances, travel schedules, and to look flattering. The fabrics are very high quality so women know they will look neat and trim at the end of the day. We design using colours that look great on stage, at meetings or on television. The collars of our jackets can always be worn standing up, which frame the face and create a more powerful look.

Has workplace style evolved over the years?

Yes, it has. In the 1980s, women tried to dress as female versions of men's clothing. They wore navy blazers, grey flannel skirts, shirts with silk bow ties. In the 1990s, the Armani suit became a major influence and the style featured emphasis on the shoulder, with large shoulder pads and wide shoulders to show more power. Yves Saint Laurent popularised the `Le Smoking' tuxedo suit and the ubiquitous black pants, which has become the uniform of the professional woman. In the 2000s, the style evolved to tilt to wards more feminine, and still powerful - the red power jacket, high collars, shorter, fitted jackets and a return to the dress and skirt.

However, in the last 10 years or so, there has been a lot of confusion as to what power dressing is all about, as a lot of couture designers focussed on the non-working woman. They did keep the idea of power in mind but failed to create anything practical to match the designs. It resulted in sexually-provocative clothing, something that women achievers in the real world couldn't identify with. This lack of any clear role model for professional women resulted in a lot of confusion. Power clothing shouldn't objectify women's bodies at all.

A lot of your factory work is done out of Bangalore... Our clients like the authentic, India-inspired designs. We buy most of our silks, like Dupioni, embroideries and linen from very fine home furnishing mills in Bangalore. The quality is very high.

Do clothes reveal power?

Clothes absolutely reveal power. A `Silent Messages' study demonstrated that 55 per cent of the message delivery was based on the visual - how we lookbehave. Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of psychology, UCLA, who is an authority on non-verbal communication, has talked extensively on the `7% , 38%, 55% Rule' - i.e., the relative impact of words, tone of voice, and body language, respectively, while speaking.

A study by Harvard Business School says the decision not to hire happens in the first 15 seconds! McLemore's design don'ts Respect your business acumen. Don't 1 wear clothes that are too low cut, tight or sexually provocative. Successful men will not mentor or want to be seen with women who dress provocatively, as they are concerned with what other men will assume of the relationship.

Other women won't like you either. I have been in too many meetings where a woman was presenting a plan with a low cut top or tight dress and when the presentation was over, it was clear that the men heard nothing of the substance of her presentation. Wearing a jacket or dress that 2 doesn't fit makes the person look unimportant, even insignificant. The dress should be neat, clean and organised. Don't wear clothes that are frumpy, boring or ill-fitting.

The hair should not be messy as it 3 makes the person look disorganised. Shoes are important and open toe shoes, sandals and sport shoes are not appropriate. Do not wear splashy prints and distracting patterns. Do not wear earrings that dangle or jewellery that makes noise and may be distracting.

Tips to dress for success

Buy the best fabric jacket or dress you can afford and make sure it fits well.

Study colours and determine what looks the best on your skin. Strong colours such as blue and red are universally liked.

Make sure your hair is styled well and groomed, as in business, people focus on the face.

Buy simple yet exquisite-looking jewellery. It is okay to wear it re p e a t e d l y.

Good jewellery denotes success.

Simplicity and solid colours are always the best always the best choice.

Dress for your audience. Dress for the next level you want to achieve. Dress for the occasion.

Also see:  white formal dresses