FASHION designer Henry Holland may not get home to Ramsbottom much these days but the 30-year-old says his Northern roots are clear to see in his quirky designs.

Famed for his tongue-in-cheek slogan T-shirts, emblazoned with messages including ‘I'll show you who's boss, Kate Moss’, he became one of the most sought-after young designers in Britain.

And it was a dream he had from a young age, with Henry admitting he was eager to leave for the capital to carve out his successful career.

Henry, who went to Edenfield Primary, Bury Grammar School and Holy Cross College, said: “From the age of 13, I desperately wanted to go to London.

“I just wanted to be there, I loved the energy and the fashion industry was all there. That was basically my dream to get there and so I just made it my mission from 13 to get there.

“But I have such fond memories of growing up here. A big part of my work and the sense of humour and the sensibility and personality in what I do is all from my Northern roots and I would never change it for a second.

“I love coming back and I love the people. It’s such a unique place and it will never change and that’s why I love it.

“My family are still here. I come back as much as I can but I travel so much outside of the UK that when I am here, I like to stay in London.”

Known for his fun, flirty and frivolous designs, Henry’s collections have become a firm favourite among the younger fashion elite, with his September London Fashion Week show attended by Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof, Girls Aloud's Nicola Roberts, Daisy Lowe, Kelly Osbourne and One Direction's Harry Styles.

But Henry says you do not need to be an uber-cool celebrity with bags of cash to enjoy fashion.

He said: “Everyone wears fashion, anyone who gets dressed in the morning wears some sort of fashion.

“Fashion is approached by different people in different ways.

“Sometimes it’s about dressing to conform, sometimes it’s about dressing to stand out, sometimes it’s about dressing to keep warm. You know, fashion is clothes.

“It’s should be something that is embraced, that is fun and enjoyed.”

Although he now lives in Primrose Hill, one of the most desirable areas in North West London, jets around the world building his House of Holland label which he set up in 2008 and has had his H! by Henry Holland range stocked in Debenhams since 2010, Henry insists his life is not much different to back in Ramsbottom.

He said: “It’s just the same, it’s just in a different city. I’m very much a Northern boy so not a lot’s changed. Just what I do for a living’s changed, the places that I travel to has changed.”

Henry made a flying visit to the North West earlier this month when he attended Vogue’s first Fashion’s Night Out in Manchester, along with a host of fashionistas, VIPs and designers.

Speaking at the launch party for the shopping extravaganza, he said: “I think it’s really exciting to be here in Manchester with all this high fashion, for an institution like Vogue to choose Manchester as the first place to do Fashion Night Out, outside of London, is amazing.

“I’m really excited for the city and the shoppers and the people, it’s great.

“I used to come shopping here all the time but there wasn’t a Selfridges then. There was only Selfridges in the Trafford Centre so we used to go once a week.

“The shopping here has just got better and better since I left.”

Earlier this week, it was revealed he has designed an exclusive collection of tights for Topshop comprising three different prints — optician letters, palm trees and dollar signs.

And looking to the future, what ambitions does the designer — a former fashion editor at Smash Hits magazine — still have?

He said: “I would like my own shops. I would like grow my business in America, there’s so much.”