Diary: Henry Holland

I'm writing this in Sydney where I've been for the past week launching my sunglasses range Le Specs. It's mental how quiet it is here. I was walking through their equivalent of Piccadilly Circus, which is confusingly called Kings Cross, last night and there were so few people around it was eerie. I've not been out much as I'm still jet-lagged so tonight's going to be my first taste of the Sydney scene.

Last week I went to the Bistrotheque Present 88* pop-up restaurant at a disused office in East London. I was picked up from Embankment in a speedboat and whizzed along the Thames where they dropped me off outside this derelict office block. The whole theme was the Eighties, which I loved, so we ate reworked 1980s classics like spatchcock and tiramisu. It was so much fun I went twice - it was only open for a week.

I thought I knew quite a bit about Tracey Emin, but after seeing her show at the Hayward I realised how much stuff she'd produced that I had no idea about. The room with all her textiles was my fave, but those neon signs are still great. I got shouted at for taking a picture of them and had to run off. I'm really into using text in a similarly brazen way in my designs. At the moment I'm designing a set of knickers that say 'Blonde', 'Brunette' or 'Red Head' on the front. Just so there are no surprises on a one-night stand!

I prefer going to the pub with my mates than big swanky fashion parties but I did have a blast at the Dolce & Gabbana do at the Mr Porter offices. Me and Pixie [Geldof] got our photo taken on the back of a pink Vespa that was set up in front of a wind machine. On the way out I crossed Queen Latifah on the escalator - she was a bit of a surprising guest, as was Beyoncé's sister Solange Knowles.

While I've been in Sydney I was asked if I'd do a slogan tee for an Aussie star. I met this girl called Lara Bingle at a club (she goes out with rugby star Danny Cipriani) and I couldn't resist. I tweeted her my idea, which was 'Play with my dingle Lara Bingle' and apparently she got quite offended until someone explained it's what I do.

It's all go with the preparations for Fashion Week and I'm really excited about my show. Deep down I can tell it's a good one. August is a weird time in fashion as everything shuts down - I'm trying to get my fabrics out of Italy, but everyone there is on holiday. There's a lot of waiting before things go mental in early September. There's always some kind of drama at the zero hour. Last year a whole roll of Harris tweed arrived in totally the wrong colour. You've got to laugh. It's the only way to deal with stress. Luckily I work with my best friends so we always have fun and enjoy ourselves.

I haven't got a NBF now that Aggy [Deyn] is living in the States working on her acting. No one could replace her! My closest friends are the people I came to Lodon with from up North and now we all live in Northwest London. We go to the Greek restaurant Lemonia twice or three times per week. Eating out is just easier than cooking. I live with [Radio 1 DJ] Nick Grimshaw and another mate, Gillian, who writes for The Independent. Grimmy is the messiest person. He's got the biggest room but his belongings spread throughout the entire house. He also steals my clothes. I'll be watching TV on a Sunday morning and he'll be there presenting T4 in my new jumper!

I'm always looking for ways to expand the House of Holland brand so I'm helping out with the national Sky Ride campaign to get people on their bikes. I realised that most women hate traditional cycling clothes - all that clinging Lycra, so not a good look - so I've designed a fitted polka dot cycling jacket with feminine ruching on the sleeves that hopefully will give them back their pedal power.

I did a shoot with Nicola Roberts recently and I said how much I like her. Next thing it's all over the press that she's my muse. It's not like you touch someone's shoulder and anoint them a 'muse'. I prefer to design for a hypothetical person - I have her taste and sensibility in mind when I work on an idea or a theme, but having a consistent muse would be impossible.

Buy Henry's cycling jacket at goskyride.com from 17 August