I have two perfumes that I refer to as my ‘natural scents’. One for Autumn/Winter and one for Spring/Summer. I use them as the base for any other perfume I decide to wear, acting as if they are simply the skin for the next layer to sit on. The first is Cinematographic Still by Oneironaut, an independent perfumers in Brick Lane. It’s a rich, enveloping scent that I reach for in the colder months with notes of tonka and myrrh on a backdrop of guaiacwood. Cinematographic Still is the most complimented scent I’ve ever worn - also the hardest to recommend to those who ask due to the mouthful that is cinematographicstilbyoneironaut. For parties and dinner I like to layer Lola At Coat Check by Discotéque which also has a woody base (sandalwood and cedarwood) but veers into floral and gourmand territory with lily, jasmine, pink pepper and white chocolate. In the sunnier portion of the year I discovered Chanel’s No.5 L’eau as a fresh, clean and light ‘natural scent’ which blends rose, ylang ylang and jasmine with effervescent citruses and bergamot. I love to layer it with Chloe’s Sous Le Pins - Another woody scent but this time lifted with eucalyptus. I also took great pleasure in finishing No.5 Leau with a scent called Closeness by Harry Style’s brand Pleasing, it’s the closest scent I’ve found to the uncapturable aroma of kissing.

With my day-to-day seasonal perfume combinations settled I was left with an opening for a ferociously sexy date night redolence. So when Chanel extended an invite to do a fragrance discovery session I knew it was the perfect time to figure it out. I went into the session not knowing what to expect but was greeted with cookies by the friendliest team and once seated I was asked by a specialist, who was introduced to me as Angela but whose name tag read ‘Angel’, what I was searching for. I am still unsure if she was misintroduced or just missing an ‘a’ but regardless I took it as a sign that miracles were about to ensue. I told her about my need for the freshest, most intoxicating, post-shower-skin duplicate that I can draw for when I want to tap into a sensual confidence - after all, a change of perfume can make you feel like a new person, as can a lack (I wore none for the appointment and truly felt like I didn’t exist on the way there. Not to mention being able to smell everything and every one without a floral forcefield to spare my nose of the world’s flavours.)

A couple of months before the appointment a team member at Chanel told me many people go in trying to find the smell of a loved one or a stringent memory and end up in tears. The olfactory system is a portal to distilled emotions. I am not much of a crier and the mission was purely to feel sexy so they were in for an easy shift. I also mentioned my body’s rejection of Jasmine. In small doses it’s ok, but I used to wear Lush’s heavy Jasmine offering called Lust and I thought I had a cough for weeks before a client (who was a nurse) asked me to tell her more and let me know what I was describing sounded like anaphylaxis. That eradicated a portion of the 19 options to blind test from a selection known as Les Exclusifs, but health is wealth. A trait I pride myself on is my decisive nature. I let pure instinct rank the sprayed sticks of blank card in a definitive hierarchy. No brain, just gut and nose. There they were: the final two.

This is where it gets luxurious. Once you decide on favourites they are not just revealed and sprayed. First jewellery is removed and placed in a little, black Chanel pouch. Next, your arms are massaged with a generous layer of a thick Chanel lotion before being doused in the chosen scents. Mine were 1957 and No.22.

1957 is what’s known as a skin fragrance - one that settles in and creeps up on you rather than making a grand entrance. The 19 represents Gabrielle’s birthday and the 57 refers to the street where Chanel’s largest USA boutique resides in New York. 1957 is also the year she won Neiman Marcus’s ‘designer of the year’ award. Chanel perfumer Olivier Poige wanted to translate this dance between Paris and NY into a fragrance. The scent travels from white musk and iris to orange blossom and sandalwood. It’s facts like these that made the appointment that much more enjoyable to my little fashion-obsessed brain. Everything has a story in the Chanelsphere. Even the ornaments on the desk had stories - my favourite being the golden frogs. There were two atop the table, one with a crystal in its mouth. The story goes that an open-mouthed frog was gifted to Mme Chanel by dancer, Jacques Chazot. Either Hubert de Givenchy or Yves Saint Laurent ( the rumours of each have run wild but neither 100% confirmed, although YSL is more often named) found a crystal pendant that had fallen from the chandelier in (despicable woman) Gabrielle Chanel’s studio. She asked where to put it and Saint Laurent/Givenchy placed it in the mouth of the frog. The open mouthed frog is known in Feng Shui as the Jim Chan and is said to bring wealth. In Japan it’s referred to as kaeru which translates to ‘to return home safely’ or ‘for fortune to return’. Mme Chanel was wildly superstitious (among other things…) and kept this frog as a motif of the house. Matthieu Blazy continues to weave history into the clothes and the beauty and fragrance branches of the house are no different.

No.22 was created in 1022 by Ernest Beaux - Chanel No. 5 was batch number 5 and No.22 was the 22nd experiment making them cousins, existing in the same lineage. Or maybe No.5 is No.22’s ancestor that gently guides. It’s a potent, powdery floral that engulfs the wearer in tuberose. My decisiveness went out the window once I had both massaged into the ditches of my elbows and the pressure points on my wrists. True to form there was only one way to decide and it was not to. Layering is the only way. Two bases, two hearts and two tops.

Leaving my appointment I no longer felt like I had dissolved into nothingness as I did when I arrived scentless. I felt like running down the steps of Knightsbridge station exclaiming ‘I’m a dancer! I love to dance!’ (see above if you don’t recall the iconic Nicole Kidman ad)

I felt charged up with femininity and the secrets of the trees, the flowers and the fruits. As I should.

Historically, the cool girls will ruin your life. Where is the data? Teen movies. Cool girls are a symbol for assimilation: the absorption of individuality. Just because the thing everybody is doing is quirky doesn’t mean it’s not a part of being accepted. These text posts we are being subjected to morning, noon and night (you know the phrases, I don’t have to tell you!) read like Regina and Gretchen laying out the uniform rules to Cady in the cafeteria. Remember that scene in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’ where Christy Masters, leader of ‘the A-group’ is laughing at Romy and Michele’s PVC mini dresses after their caught posing as the inventors of the post-it note and the underdog of the group, Lisa Looter, steps out of line by deeming their outfits ‘not bad’ and the horror movie strings start playing! Now, Lisa Luder had become an associate fashion editor at Vogue since high school so my knee-jerk reaction was that she knows her shit. Yay! Validation for Romy and Michele! That is until I happened upon this Medium article by Talia Jane that offers a version of events where Lisa Luder is a bullying shapeshifter. Do you see where this is going? In her article, Talia Jane points out that it’s the freaks and ‘uncool’ people that helped Romy and Michele’s boutique attain success. Lisa did show interest in the outfits the protagonists ‘made in home ec’ decades before and was equally shut down, so take Talia’s word with a grain of salt. But the point still stands: not all ‘mean girls’ grow up and become nurses, some of them infiltrate the very industries they ridiculed. I promise you, some of your favourite fashion influencers don’t like fashion. They have whole teams telling them how to look and stand at parties belittling people. Offline they are not experimenting in their wardrobes or obsessing over a designer they just came across.

Many of the most heralded on-screen fashion icons weren’t well received in their fictional worlds. Patsy and Eddie in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ for example: outrageous characters, two distinct looks and constantly ridiculed! Patsy was the butt of all jokes pertaining to the chasing of eternal youth and her excessive pursuit of glamour that stumbles drunkenly along the line of distaste. Eddie was the maximalist, champagne-hippy whose science experiments with Lacroix left eyebrows raised and fun poked. Were Dionne and Cher from Clueless dressed to perfection? YES. But when you zoom out - they were simply wearing what was cool in their high school - case in point is the makeover they give Tai: Bye-bye grungy plaid shirt and hello plaid mini skirt! One of us! Dionne did have her hats - they were definitely her own thing. Hats aside, once we stop being blinded by how much we all wanted to be them, we can admit that Amber was the most stylish - and they make fun of her outfits, didn’t they even call her ‘ensembly challenged’ at one point?! Amber’s looks were pushed even further in the TV series that followed the movie where she wore her famous CD dress - Elsa Schiaparelli was applauding from the afterlife.

In Pat Cleveland’s memoir Walking With The Muses she talks about her mother, Ladybird Cleveland making all of her outfits and how they would sit and design them together. She loved these outfits that they’d dream up but admitted feeling out of place as a young girl when she went to the model casting for the Ebony Fashion Fair around glamorous models in their elegant clothes. It was Pat’s homemade looks that got her stopped in the street by a Vogue editor as a teen, the editor wrote a feature on her designs. I’ve definitely shared this before, multiple times, but in this speech by Solange she reflects on being made fun of as a teen for the capris she bought in New York on her return to school in Houston. The actual cool girl stands firm in her vision and grows into it, eventually finding her people. The actual cool girl isn’t a dictator. We are in an age where ‘digital creator’ is a real, grown-up job - especially in the fashion space, but recently I am seeing less and less creation and more regurgitation. Are we reducing ourselves to templates and AI only to be the 100th voice screaming the same thing into the void? At the early inception of the fashion blogger, many of us came online as a way to find likeminded people because we were looked at sideways for how we dressed in our real lives. Once there became a monetary value to what the early adopters were doing online, it’s natural that it eventually became a rat race. Suddenly the Christy Masters of the world wanted a slice of the pie. Did you see that episode of Daria where Quinn starts writing poetry and dresses like a Beatnik?

Before you put words in my mouth, I don’t think it’s bad to like doing things that everybody else likes to do. What I will say is, it’s been freeing to get to a place in my career where I don’t feel the need to join in constantly. I think this overload of repetition in fashion will be reflected in celebrity culture: I predict that the self-styled will become the next darlings of the industry. I am getting very close to the subject matter of a previous post I wrote titled ‘so you want to be a dresser, huh?’ so let me stop while I’m ahead.

Maybe everyone is posting the exact same thing as a bigger plan to end our collective phone addiction? Whatever the motivation is, I am off to stare at the wall.

Reward for making it to the end: Here are some relevant artefacts relics from the doomscroll

While I don’t necessarily post the news or daily fashion updates, I try to share interviews and stories, ideas and analysis that might spur people to go out searching for more. I love seeing people having mass success on here with subscriptions but I didn’t envision that being my path - especially because I enjoy the freedom I have here to post whatever, whenever without feeling beholden to a strict posting schedule (something I’d see as the bare minimum knowing people were paying their hard earned money to read my posts.)

I want to be fully transparent because I have started to get a lot of interest from brands and existing clients proposing paid partnerships that would live on my Substack. Every app feels so flooded with ads and over the last 4 years that I’ve been a content creator (3 full time) I have aimed to abide by a personal code of conduct when I decide to work with a brand. I love working with brands and interpreting a brief in my own way, dare I say I’m good at it?? Once you start bending your own rules and swaying from your own sense of right and wrong, it’s game over. Because Substack is my favourite place to post, I wanted to lay my requirements out for all to see before I take on any of these offers:

1. Only taking part in campaigns that make sense. This means things I am interested in, think are fab and can write about from a genuine, entertaining and honest place.

2. I am not allowing brands to tell me what to write. I don’t want to regurgitate a press release. Of course feedback is a part of this job but I will not extend that to having words put in my mouth.

3. Ads can NEVER take over my account. Few and far between is the goal. Only sign another contract if I have enough to write about in between ads.

4. No Kardashian brands, EVER. Never have, never will.

Feel free to hold me accountable. This same post will be the one I share with clients. It goes without saying that anything sponsored will be disclosed. It just didn’t feel right to send out collaborations without saying something first.

I respect the audience over here so much so I hope you understand this move. <3

Chani xx

The Halstonettes represented the Halston ideals. They walked in the shows and were muses to his visions. As his career grew and his ideas got bigger, he would take them on grand trips where he designed each individual woman’s wardrobe down to the last second ensuring they would all look great singularly and as a group for the full duration. While many of them were models they were also a group of multi-hyphenates that crossed over through modelling, design, music, acting and more. Household names such as Liza Minelli, Bianca Jagger, Beverly Johnson, Pat Cleveland, Anjelica Huston and Elsa Peretti were all labelled as Halstonette’s. What was forward-thinking was that this group of women he had garnered were diverse: He had women of many races and walks of life and even pushed the full-figured and charismatic Pat Ast as the star of his show which was really unheard of in the 70’s.

Tamara Sturtz-Filby identified unchartered territory in the Halston story and that was the stories of the women. They helped shape Halston the man as much as they aided the brand. After spending the last 30+ years as a journalist, 12 of which were at Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar, Tamara began making waves as a freelancer. She started writing books which gave her the freedom to indulge in the stories that really held her attention and her heart. Her 2023 title, Behind The Gloss delved into 70’s fashion and led her to Chris Royer - a leading lady in the world of Halston who was not only a model but also trained under Halston in fashion design. Royer was a gateway for Sturtz-Filby to hone in on the magic and magnetism of the Halstonettes and the outcome was a tale of power grit and glamour. As a long-time Halstonette fixator, I caught wind of the book and immediately placed my order. Once my copy was in my hands I could not put it down, so the natural next step was of course, to slide in Tamara’s DM’s and interview her. Tamara doesn’t just record the stories of the phenomenal women who orbited the Halston-sphere, she pieces together the world that made it possible.

CHANI RA: The first question is quite broad, why Halston?

TAMARA STURTZ-FILBY: Why Halston? I love the 70s and I wrote a book in 2023 called Behind the Gloss. I interviewed Chris [Royer]. I interviewed Pat Cleveland. Just interviewing those two, especially Chris, made me see Halston in a really different light to what I’d read. I’d read Stephen Gaines books and I just wanted to know more. I love the whole lifestyle and fashion of the 70s and just that whole world.

CR: What set Chris aside? Was it because she was also studying under [Halston] in terms of learning about design or something different?

TSF: Talking to Chris just made me see that there was a man, there was a really generous interesting man behind this facade of the drugs, the Studio 54, the glamour. The relationship that he had with Chris and the way he mentored her and nurtured her and also with Pat in a very different way, it was clear to me that there was a man there whose story hadn’t really been told. [The need] to tell it in a different way seemed to make sense. He seemed to touch so many women’s lives. In quite a dramatic, profound way, so that’s how the women angle came about.

CR: I found it quite refreshing because there are a lot of muse and designer stories in fashion: Claude Montana and Wallis Franken or Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen, they’re always depicted as these quite transactional, explosive, tumultuous relationships where the woman is being bled dry. I have seen Halston portrayed in that way and that’s also what really intrigued me about your book.

TSF: It was quite different, the relationships that he had with people like Elsa [Peretti] Chris, Pat. All those different women were just so drawn to him and I think we’ve just read so much about his tempers! He had those but there was so much more aside and Chris talked about him with such love and affection that I just felt something. I needed to look into it more. Obviously I was fascinated by the actual Halstonettes, I spoke to Chris and Pat while writing a chapter in Behind the Gloss on the Battle of Versailles and obviously Elsa - but that wasn’t enough for a book. I just wanted to include all the women, because right from the very beginning with his sister his relationships with women right through to Leslie at the very end…The more research I did, the more I realised that he really it was such a two way relationship with each and every one of them. Without them, he couldn’t have been what he was, but without him, a lot of them wouldn’t have been what they became.

CR: What did you think in terms of similarities and differences between Halston and someone like Andy Warhol in the curation of their circles?

TSF: With Andy Warhol, when I think of Jane Forth and Donna Jordan, they were much more grungy and kind of mad and wild. Whereas Halston’s women, they were more grown up, you know? Like Chris with her design background. I think Halston was much more… he thought it all through. The diversity of his models, pushing forward the Black models, pushing forward someone that has design talent. I think Andy just gathered these people around him and I don’t know if it was more about ego but I think with Halston, he really gained something from each and every woman.

CR: I think Andy was, in a way more of a voyeur or a spectator to their lives as well, whereas Halston seemed like he found a way to connect with each person on a different level

TSF: And, you know, all the women I’ve written about really were very loyal. They didn’t come and go. A lot of them really stayed for long periods of time in his life. Whereas I think the Warhol set were probably more fluid.

CR: Revolving doors. I really liked as well that you focused so much on Pat Ast because you hear about her [in other Halston retellings] but not in that depth. I think you really made her a human.

TSF: She was someone that I didn’t know too much about. It was a real example of how he was drawn to such different people and gave everyone their space to be who they were and what they wanted to be. He had all these glamorous waif like girls and then he had Pat and she was so part of his life as the other girls were and I think that’s that’s amazing. He really put her front and center, he loved the qualities that made her who she was and designed clothes for her and made her look fabulous.

CR: I think your book is so timely as well because this discussion has come up every few years since the dawn of time, but we’re having those conversations again: Do designers hate women? I think it’s the perfect time to read Power, Grit & Glamour. It reminds people there’s another side to that.

TSF: When Pat was talking about later on when she went to work for those designers of the 80s who she really felt hated women whereas Halston adored women, he loved them he

CR: That came out in the design, it’s that ease he just wanted women to be comfortable which a lot of designers don’t.

TSF: He loved everything about women. He loved their company, he loved their bodies, he loved everything about them

CR: When you were interviewing all the women of Halston’s world, what were the main traits that you noticed? Did they have any similarities between them or a pattern that indicated what Halston was seeking in them? Or was it very much unique personalities?

TSF: think the fact that they were unique was their strength because they are all so different. You’ve got somebody like Eleanor Lambert and then someone like Pat Cleveland who were completely opposite ends of the spectrum and then someone like Elsa [Perretti.] They were all very strong-minded women, they didn’t necessarily know what they wanted but they had character, they were strong, self-assured confident women and I think he was drawn to that. I don’t know if he would have liked signs of weakness particularly but he loved that strength and nurturing that strength. When he saw a talent in someone he just wanted to push it

CR: Something else that I noticed is recurrent in the story is the act of bringing people in, connecting people together and the power of recommendation that comes up so much especially with the Vreelands and the Lamberts and the teams at Bergdorfs. It’s a window into the old ways of the industry. What do you think is something that the new wave of talent in fashion could learn from that era?

TSF: How much time have you got?! It was such a different time, something I really learned when I was researching for Behind The Gloss and speaking to people like Corey Grant Tippin and Pat and Chris and also Sandy Linter, is because everyone was doing it for the first time everyone was in it together, supporting one another. It wasn’t about - yes for Halston he made a lot of money - but it wasn’t about that. He did it because he was passionate and the money just happened and actually it was when the money came that the joy began to go and you know when we came to the 80s and the fashion industry became all about money… I think when anything becomes about money the joy goes and as does the support and the caring and the sharing. It’s every man for themselves. Even when I was working on magazines in the 90s, we were much more ‘in it together’. Now it’s completely changed, there’s so much at stake now

that people are just too scared to support one another and just kind of help each other.

CR: What do you think has changed that?

TSF: The world we live in today: the money and the lack of money. The lack of money that’s being put into [the industry] When I was working on magazines, for example an editor would edit several magazines not just one magazine it’s I think the pressure is is great there is more at stake and again that’s what we saw with Halston’s business. Suddenly when there was so much at stake it changed everything, the passion has to be replaced by stress and pressure and hitting the targets. It’s all about hitting the targets and I think that that’s what’s changed across so many industries.

CR: And I guess then there’s a knock-on effect, if you’re going to link it back to the subject of your book and these unique women - people are not going out and finding these hidden gems that they connect with. It’s more about ‘who can I have in my clothes that already has a following and can get as many eyes on my brand as possible to make the most money?” So you’re not really seeing those stories. I think that’s why people get so excited about what’s happening at Chanel right now, because there are a few new models plucked out of obscurity and put on the cover of Vogue, which we haven’t seen really happen for a while.

TSF: No and just things like doing an internship is now like having to apply for a high level job. Back in the day, you just knocked on someone’s door.

CR: That’s how I got all my internships. I was just on the cusp yeah social media only came out like when I was maybe like late teens early 20s I just caught the end of it where you could email someone like ‘Hi, can I work for you?’ and they might say ‘oh okay you’re passionate, come to work’

TSF: Exactly, exactly. That that’s all gone and that’s what was so much part of that time. I think Corey Grant Tippin just walked into the factory one day and said ‘Can I be here?’ and Andy Warhol’s like ‘yeah.’

CR: Yeah and I think you hear all those stories like Andre Leon Talley, when Diana Vreeland sent a blast of recommendations around town basically saying ‘someone hire him or he has to move back to the south!’ and then he just had a job that week. That doesn’t happen anymore.

TSF: Also i think money was spent, when you look the difference between Diana Vreeland and Grace Mirabella, the way money was just chucked at everything no one really had any idea about money! It was just like ‘oh just do what you want, figure it out’, but that just sparks so much creativity and people still looking back at those spreads that she did.

CR: I do actually really believe in her ethos of the whole ‘the eye has to travel’ thing - i’m getting so off topic - Even with magazines now it’s all about being sellable so we can’t have all these crazy things but what about dreaming? Whatever happened to just inspiring someone to have an idea and that being the purpose of the magazine? Every single thing must be like looking at something you already own and wear, it’s so boring.

TSF: When I interviewed Grace Coddington for Behind the Gloss it was just her and assistant and the photographer and the model, they were just sort of raking the sand in the desert and now you look at those lists of a photo shoot and it’s, my God like 15 different people!

TSF: I do have a theory that sometimes, and this is across all industries, I think they just over complicate things to make people’s jobs feel more worthwhile or like they’re getting more for their money by just making people do all this extra stuff. It’s like that Vivienne Westwood documentary when she comes in and she’s like ‘who are all these people? Why do we need all these people?’

TSF: you know it’s like Halston and Chris with the towel [that inspired] the sarong dress. That’s just the way those ideas just came together. Maybe it was like a trust of instinct almost, I don’t know?

CR: People would just lean into their ideas and see what happened whereas now everyone’s as you said, working towards the targets. Ralph Rucci gave the quote on the back of the book which I quite liked the idea of, it was ‘what emerged first Halston or the ladies, the ladies or Halston?’ Throughout the process of making your book did you come to a conclusion or is it a chicken and egg situation?

TSF: l think it is chicken and egg, I mean the the women were there and they found Halston just as Halston found them. They were there, they just needed plucking. Just like Chris found her way to that sofa that day, I’d say they just found each other in a very natural process.

CR: Did you feel the Netflix series on Halston was accurate?

TSF: I thought just like with Stephen [Gaines’] book, it focused so much on the the drugs and Studio 54 and the negative side. There are other documentaries as well which made him look sad and he wasn’t a tragedy, he wasn’t a tragic character. Even at the end he wasn’t. The series came out when I was starting working on the idea [for the book] so it was a bit of a catalyst, knowing that there is another side to it.

CR: I think everyone will always veer towards scandal, the most sensationalised version of the story sells.

TSF: It was a great series, I really enjoyed it. Visually it was great and you know Chris had a session with Ewan McGregor about the mannerisms and he did so well.

CR: He even got the voice so on point! I watched the series and I did enjoy it but I had a few friends that didn’t really know about Halston that watched it and I would urge them to at least go and watch the CNN documentary on him. Anything else to kind of get a bit of a broader picture, now I can recommend your book too. There was a lot of focus on hookers in the series!

TSF: yes it was just…it was Netflix.

CR: You’ve talked a bit about Into The Gloss I know you’ve done other books, five to be exact-

TSF: I’ve got another one coming out next year on Louis Vuitton!

CR: Amazing! What do you love most about writing non-fiction and biographies?

TSF: Hearing people’s stories, getting information that you just haven’t seen before and building relationships. The relationship I have with Chris now, you know I was looking back to when I first met her online through Instagram and that was 2022 and we still speak on the phone quite regularly about stuff you know, jjust having those relationships has been really it’s great and I just love the research. I just love learning about these people’s lives especially women.

CR: You were a journalist for 30 years so that makes sense!

TSF: With the books you get to focus on one topic for a longer period of time and sit with it for longer. You have much longer deadlines!

CR: I bet you feel spoiled going from that articles to a books!

TSF: But you do have to know when to stop the research because you can go on. It’s forever, it’s indefinite. You can go on and on and on. Now we have so much at our fingertips, library archives, the Vogue archive is phenomenal! I use that so much. You can get down stuck down a rabbit hole for hours.

CR: One final question that I’ve been holding back from asking: Is Pat Cleveland everything that I believe her to be?

TSF: Oh she’s amazing! Yeah!

CR: I bet you had such a great time with the interviews because I love to watch her interviews. She speaks like she’s reading a fairy tale.

TSF: She’s ethereal and descriptive. When I spoke to her for Behind The Gloss we were talking about Antonio Lopez and all sorts of people and yeah the way she talks about people is just very unique, very unique. There’s something very sort of spiritual and kind of magical about her.

CR: I’m glad to hear that it’s real.

TSF: Yeah, no, it’s definitely, definitely real.

CR: She’s like the mother in my head!

TSF: Have you read her book?

CR: Oh, several times.

TSF: Not an easy life. But she’s just... she’s a beautiful soul. She’s one of those.

CR: I wish people would book her more. I love when I see her doing bits and pieces, but I just think she’s still here! She’s a fashion icon! She’s not just a beauty, she’s also a fountain of knowledge. I’d love to see her front and center more. I love that Nick Knight has interviewed her a lot but why isn’t she on every campaign??

TSF: She’s always had that problem, it was always an issue.

CR: It’s amazing that you’ve interviewed her. She’s a vital part actually in keeping all of these 70’s stories alive. It’s so important to keep these stories alive told by the people who were there.

TSF: Their memories are phenomenal, the things they remember! Pat and Chris especially you know the detail it’s really in depth, which again i think just shows how passionate they were at the time.

Power, Grit & Glamour: The Women Behind Halston is a must read. There are stories inside that I haven’t heard before in any other retelling. It’s a great feat that Tamara has devoted so much time to capturing the essence of the Halstonettes, who were truly a once in a lifetime group of women with a story just as rare. To paraphrase the old adage, behind every successful man, is a gang of eccentric women.

Gather round children, as I walk you back to the start of my heyday: 2009. I was 17, fashion obsessed and completely feral. A while ago I was shooting for a job where they insisted on filming in my bedroom (always a scare.) The younger assistants on the team were amazed to flip through my copies of i-D from 2009 and I had that moment you think will never happen to you, where suddenly you’re…vintage? I regretfully got rid of tonnes of magazines when I moved to London in 2017 and not a day goes by where I don’t curse my past self for going through with that sacrifice. I did hold on to a few, one of which being Elle Collections AW2009. Elle, in my humble opinion, did the best collection roundup issues. Here is everything you need to know about that season (according to me and Elle.) For ease I have broken it down into the following categories: Fashion, Models, Diversity, Beauty and Relevant Today. I am making the headings big so you can find your desired category with ease as this is a very image heavy article. Enjoy!

FASHION: WHAT WERE WE LOVING?

platform shoes, thigh high boots and rodarte

As soon as you get to the editor’s letter you are smacked in the face by a lineup of platform heels. The bar has been set straight out the gate: this is the acceptable heel height (and they are proudly plastered with the D&G label so that really is a sign of the times.) You have to remember this was one of many eras of stumbling from club to club and nobody likes a flat-footed stumble. It was a time of posh it-girls on street drugs using their expensive ballet training to stay on relevé all night in a 6 inch platform wedge. All of us commonfolk had to get with the programme! Later in the issue I was hit with a major blast from the past (or ‘maje’ as the slang was:) RODARTE HEELS. Rodarte was founded in 2005 by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the brand is still going but the 2000s and 2010s were a dominant period in the timeline. In 2010, Amanda Fortini at the New Yorker made the incredibly over-zealous statement that Rodarte were ‘the fashion equivalent of a Basquiat. People in the know really love it, but to everyone else it’s inscrutable or a little bit ugly.’

Anyone who was on tumblr at the time would be heavily familiar with these two shoes:

Firstly, the studded spike heels by Christian Louboutin for Rodarte which i spotted on a street style page in here, the red bottom takes on a new life next to a generous smattering of studs and ankle straps that buckled over distressed tights on the runway. Then their famed leather-wrapped thigh-high bondage boots by Nicholas Kirkwood that went all the way up like a fashion-mummification. The boots came in a range of tones from black through all variations of grey and greige until they arrived at a dingy cream that is closer to chewing gum stuck on the ground than it is to that which sits atop a scone.

gareth pugh

Gareth Pugh should be a far bigger name. Pugh debuted at LFW in 2006 and held people’s attention for years with his sculptural, gothic geometry. His main muse was Daphne Guinness who is a rabid supporter of avant-garde design. The pair appeared on magazine covers together and inspired each other’s creative endeavours. This particular show was praised for managing to gather a crowd to watch a video in Paris - a radical act at the time (if only they could see La Watch Party!) although not radical for Gareth Pugh who was known for his performance-art take on fashion. What is interesting is that in this write up it states that Pugh’s presentation led some commentators to hail [video] as the future of catwalk.’ At a time where we are under the threat of AI, it’s comforting to remember the things that have lasted.

balmainia!

It’s hard to encapsulate exactly how big Balmain was during 2009, big enough that the term Balmainia was coined (don’t quote me, but was that the first official ‘mania’ to enter the lexicon since Beatlemania? Let’s says for grandeur purposes.) Christopher Decarnin’s Balmain that season was seminal in defining the look of the moment: angular shoulders and sparkle, but not in a girly, glitzy way - the sparkle we coveted in 2009 was all black and blue and purple. Think bruise tones and silvers. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs hit of the same year ‘Heads Will Roll’ comes to mind:

Glitter on the wet streets

Silver over everything

The river’s all wet

You’re all chrome

Dripping with alchemy

Shiver, stop shivering

The glitter’s all wet

You’re all chrome

In fact, here is a page from my sketchbook in 2009 of a model in, you guessed it, a Balmain AW09 dress with lyrics from Heads Will Roll. Some things never change, but that really was the energy at the time.

On this page they acknowledge that people won’t be wearing the £10k, sequinned Breton striped top with padded shoulders, but they will be wearing something similar. They were right, the highstreet became ‘Night Of 1000 Balmain ‘Inspired’ Dresses’ for a good few years after this collection. Trust me, I was out and about in black sequinned jackets, leggings, and whatever else came my way! Balmain was truly leading the way and Olivier Rousteing inherited, sustained and even grew a real powerhouse when he took over in 2011. Balmainia took years to recover from once caught.

louis vuitton and marc jacobs

In many ways things were significantly worse in 2009 (we will get there) but one way we were spoiled beyond belief was having Marc Jacobs leading his own namesake and Louis Vuitton, simultaneously. It’s worth highlighting the toll such a feat takes on the designer, producing SS, AW, Cruise etc.. year on year for multiple houses demands from every angle: creativity, sanity, stamina. In 2007 Marc Jacobs returned to rehab after being sober for 7 years. Marc was at Louis Vuitton from 1997-2013 and his own brand has been running since 1984. The AW2009 collection for Louis Vuitton was held in a clear tent outside The Louvre and depicted models as playful Parisiennes, more Folies Bergère than ‘french girl’. There will always be someone trying to convince us to embody this dialled down mirage of the French woman. Who invented this monolith? Not Marc Jacobs who sent out the accessory of the season: Large, haphazard bunny ears, wrapped around messy buns (or should I say, top knots, which were all the rage) and fastened with an oversized pearl. The dresses had snatched waists and pouf skirts, ruching, ruffles and pleats (notably on the handbags.) If there were whispers of 80’s inspo at Louis Vuitton then there were screams of it at Marc Jacobs. Note the highly saturated floral legging-boots that predate the Balenciaga version by Demna. It’s nice to look back on Marc Jacobs AW09 in comparison to his most recent collection where the colours and energy show no signs of waning.

alexander mcqueen

Back when Alexander McQueen was alive and reigning as the king of the rebels, we saw this now legendary collection for the first time. The makeup (by Peter Phillips) alone is instantly recognisable. It’s always fun to see what these famed collections were reduced to by the knee-jerk catwalk reports at the time and in this case the outfits and makeup were deemed ‘too extreme’ but it’s stated that the audience were ‘intoxicated by the showmanship’. It wasn’t even included in the ‘Top Ten Best Shows’ section! The show itself was a comment on the dire financial times globally and models walked by a mountain of discarded and demolished TV’s, office furniture and tires. The props were actually all old parts of the sets from his previous shows, can you say ‘reduce, reuse recycle’? Long Live McQueen

special mentions

Everyone LOVED Lanvin, it was named one of the top 10 shows of the season and Alber Elbaz’s elegance was constantly applauded. Chanel and Dior shared a double page spread, if only they knew the houses would now be face to face as rivals - allegedly. At the time they were led by Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano. It’s wild to remember a time with far less creative director reshuffling and just how many true fashion icons were leading the industry all at once in 2009.

Here are the rest of the Top Ten in case you’re curious (excluding any I’ve already included previously in the article - you'll know from the page layout!)

rapid fire thoughts on Elle’s ‘key pieces’

the luxe sweat An unusual sweater that’s casual but interesting.

the sharp shouldered jacket Why were we so obsessed with a statement shoulder?

the Skirt Suit There was a focus on the 1940s as a trend this season. The key detail was noted as a cinched waist and a slit in the skirt. All examples were in black.

leather three ways (dress, shorts and skirts) I wore a (faux) leather t-shirt in 2010 if thats any indicator of how serious this was.

the camel coat Can a classic even be a trend?

the white shirt See above

the shearling jacket These had to have big collars and again, always in black.

the cape anything for the shoulders in 2009!

the one shouldered dress This was truly a HUGE trend, bonus points if the remaining shoulder boasted a huge ruffle or embellishment. Remember when the pop girls couldn’t stop doing peacock feathers or chains on the shoulder? Dark times.

techno florals it’s specified that these should be ‘computer generated’ or ‘pixelated’, Futuristic!

the corset what is a party girl without her corset?

rapid fire thoughts on Elle’s ‘best extra pieces’

thigh high boots what I didn’t mention earlier is how this also lead to us living in thigh high socks and stockings! Stockings were a must - you had to show the band at the top.

calf-length boots most were with a narrow, rounded toe over a true, sharp point. All textures welcome. Bonus points for a scrunch.

high-heeled hiking boots ok, all boots. It was the year of the boot.

studded boots we were honestly adding studs to whatever could hold the weight.

hair ornaments and hats I don’t know if this one was as big IRL, maybe just not in my circle. But the runway was rife and I do wonder if bloggers are to thank as they made for very cute photos, especially bows, berets and ears.

Below are some bonus trend pages, don’t say I don’t do anything for ya!

MODELS: DO YOU REALISE HOW BOOKED THESE GIRLS WERE?

freja beha erichsen

Opening this issue to an immediate black and white Chanel ad with Freja Beha Erichsen was like stepping into a time machine. I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that there were magazines where Freja was in 90% of the ads. The Danish model known as ‘the queen of cool’ joined the ranks of Karl Lagerfeld’s muses and he wasn’t the only designer who was in a frenzy over Freja. My favourite Chanel campaign starring Freja was AW2011 where she played characters in a photobooth, one being a cat (a cousin of Choupette maybe?)

lara stone

The fact that Lara Stone was applauded globally for her curves and was seen to many as plus-sized is a stark reminder that in 2009 all of those words simply meant big boobs. The bleach-browed, blonde bombshell with perfect bunny teeth was undisputedly a supermodel of her time.

magdelena frackowiak

This may be a can of worms to open. Magdalena was one of the top models through the 2000s and 2010s and developed an infamous social media presence that lead to many believing she was struggling with her mental health. She has since stepped back from modelling and focuses on jewellery and spirituality.

I went back and forth for hours on whether or not to include top models such as Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn and Tao Okamoto here, but the 2009 modelling industry was a fuckery and I think you need the context of what was happening on the runways at that time to truly absorb what they were up against. Which brings us to the next category…

DIVERSITY: TRÉS BLANC

In 2009 we were around 11 years into Miuccia Prada’s ‘White Out’, the season where Prada started the trend of sending out streams of near-identical models in an attempt to destabilise the supermodel circus that some designers felt took the spotlight away from the clothes. One image that would feel like one woman to represent the brand…what could go wrong? This move along with the fall of the Berlin Wall opening up Eastern European borders meant modelling agencies had already begun preying on young girls with the promise of modelling (and essentially paying them buttons unless they were part of the tiny percentage to become supermodels) lead to what is known in fashion as the ‘Russian Invasion’. One consequence of this was a complete removal of models of colour from the runway that lasted years. It took Bethann Hardison blasting out letters to industry figures calling out discriminatory brands by name in September 2013 to get the pendulum swinging the other way - and the industry is still recovering from this. Talking about 2009 without addressing this is impossible! Also ironic given the hair at Prada’s AW09 show in this very issue was a forced, textured look attained by backcombing and maybe crimping…

You can see it all over this issue, with trend pages sporting collages of around 65 models per page and 1-3 models of colour - and they’re lucky I am even counting Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn who are almost always included in that head count. Were Chanel and Jourdan absolutelty stunning, unique, show stopping supermodels in their own right who defined an era of modelling? Absolutely - but there is no reason why they should have been made to carry the represenation for Black models between them. Chanel Iman is also half Korean. They even had a feature on the ‘girls of the season’ and had no qualms about selecting only white girls. The pressure on the token models (especially the Black girls who had to deal with the added layer of incompetent stylists and MUAs frying off their hair and painting them grey) who were forced to compete heavily for lone spots on the runways and dwindling bookings. I interviewed Marcellas Reynolds a couple of years ago about his book and Vogue series, both titled ‘Supreme Models’ and we covered this time period in more depth (I actually interviewed him twice - he is so generous with story sharing and he has STORIES!)

Japanese model Tao Okamoto also walked basically every show - in my memory there were a lot of East Asian models on runways at this time but after a google it seems the presence of Liu Wen, Xiao Wen Ju, Ming Xi etc… boomed a little later.

As well as the models, the teams were brazenly white and nobody was shy about it. Look at this image of the Elle team! Back then it was hard to imagine that ELLE UK would be lead by Kenya Hunt today with Chioma Nnadi following on from Edward Enninful at British Vogue. We have so many incredible journalists from all different backgrounds to take in perspectives from and that is one thing that makes magazines of yesteryear a little bland to read at times. The old Vogue pages where they would do ‘People of Vogue’ covering the parties and everybody was white were insane!!

BEAUTY

What was beauty in an age where the phrase ‘clean girl’ had not yet been shoved down our throats? It was messy and unbridled. Smoky eyes, bold lips in all colours and if you did both at once, no one batted an eyelid. Even the ‘natural’ makeup was extremely moody and carved (see the ‘Shady Lady look in the gallery above.) I admire how magazines used to place more emphasis on the beauty looks from the shows. It’s the most accessible part of the show. Could teenage me (or me now tbh) spend thousands on the look? No, but I could get the nail polish or the lipstick. I could sit in the mirror and copy that heavy eyeliner from the Louis Vuitton show and imitate the muted lip it was paired with. I do think fashion has lost it’s DIY spirit in that way. We would be embellishing our own tights, adding our own sequins, cutting the hems, making the headpiece. It was ok to be rough around the edges - in fact it was applauded. It’s again, unavoidable to note how crazy it seems from today’s lens to see a multi-page makeup feature with all white women and all straight hair. What a time to be alive.

A favourite beauty feature is where they show models before and after - not in a remotely mean-spirited way - it was done to highlight the talent and visions of the designers and MUA’s and hairstylists who transformed the models into new characters every few hours. Many more models of the time can be spotted here - Hi Agyness Deyn!

RELEVANT TODAY

gucci

At the start of the issue there is this Gucci advert. When you look at this advert, you understand why people are struggling to find the sex appeal in Demna’s Gucci. Tom Ford’s sexy Gucci is often imitated and never duplicated but Frida Giannini managed just fine at keeping the sensuality going. Demna’s attempts often feel straight from the mind of a porn-addicted, inexperienced adolescent. Speaking of, Frida Giannini has been back on the radar. Mostly for her Gucci leather jackets jolted back into our minds by Madonna resurrecting her Confessions era, where she frequently wore the jackets. Frida’s name is also back in our mouths for her decidedly ‘Facebook Mum’ antics on Instagram where she is frequently found battling AI bots.

street style and bloggers

As today’s industry navigates the role of the content creator, this issue escorts us back to the exact same tension between the old guard and the bloggers. This was just a year before the FROW (or tbh the second row) were disgruntled by the Stephen Jones bow sat atop the head of a 13 year old fashion-blogger named Tavi Gevinson as she sat front row at Dior. There are pages of street style in this issue as the low-fi act was having a huge resurgence. The act of street style photography was previously reserved more for documentary photographers but blogging made it anyone’s game. I distinctly remember a time where you couldn’t walk down a street without discovering a new blogger, keenly seeking out the most tumblr-fabulous outfits they could in their hometowns. This issue features interviews with bloggers Tommy Ton, Peter Miszuk, Craig Arend and Garance Dore who were garnering between 1500 - 40,000 views on their respective websites. To quote Rihanna’s hit ‘Hard’ which, fun fact, was released on my birthday in 2009, ‘where them bloggers at?’

show invites

It was commonplace to feature the show invites each season. I am so relieved that the email and QR code hasn’t been able to completely override the grand invite. There were absolutely seasons which gave way more coverage to the invites and I used to LIVE FOR IT as a kid. It really felt like a look into a secret world.

the 80s trend

One of many examples of AW09 trends that have orbited their way back to us the last few seasons. Where today’s 80’s reboot is more focused on power play, androgyny and sex appeal, the 2009 interpretation was more gaudy, prom inspired, acidic and messy.

‘easy luxe’

This is your reminder that ‘quiet luxury’ has been here before, it has assumed many names and identities. It’s not quiet because it’s trying to be modest about its wealth, it’s hiding under witness protection hoping nobody finds out it’s a trend rooted in snobbery that conflates a beige strain of minimalism with a higher taste level. Do not fall for this known scammer. A The Row jumper by any other name…

london

This quote from an interview with a pre-cancellation John Galliano is eye opening. Not because it’s news to anyone that London is busting with creativity, but because we have needed someone like Laura Weir in charge of the BFC for so long! It makes me so happy to see London’s fashion scene back on its rightful path.

To conclude, I love fashion.

As someone whose job title is (among others) ‘content creator’, travelling can be tricky. Despite the fact that I have never been a ‘take nice photos’ type of poster, something about being in beautiful surroundings makes me feel obligated to. As if it’s a waste of a backdrop - even typing that sounds depressing. On previous trips I have tasked myself with producing something while on my travels and I can safely say that every single one of those works of art are rotting away in my drafts as I type, or worse: obliterated in a cattle call in the ‘recently deleted’ folder in a ruthless cull on the quest for storage space. That aside, I find making any type of content that isn’t either sitting down and talking about fashion or writing incredibly stressful. The effort required for some of the holiday outfit content you see on your feeds is Oscar worthy. I don’t want to be stressed at a time when I am supposed to be resting. I don’t want to be planning looks and angles and concepts while I am supposed to be directing the treasured memories of my child. Every time I have to tell my son to ‘please shh’ so I can talk to my iPhone camera, a fairy loses its wings. I hate working in front of him and avoid it as much as I can. I am painfully aware that to the eyes of a 4-year-old me working and doomscrolling don’t look that different.

To truly enjoy a family trip I had to take it a step further. I couldn’t just not work, I had to look like shit too. I am being a drama queen, I didn’t look like shit, but I decided to just wear ‘whatever’. I didn’t want to be uncomfortable, I didn’t wan’t to wear anything that would stick to my legs when I am still 15% wet from swimming. I didn’t want a hairstyle that would get in my eyes and tangle with my lashes as the sea breeze blows. I didn’t want makeup that would be sandblasted into my face on the beach leading to a gross mixture of foundation and sharp grains dragging at my skin as I attempt to reapply SPF that would act as a landing base for strands of hair to stick to my cheeks. In short: I am over it. Brenda Hashtag may have beaten me to the punch on talking about this topic but maybe the sentiment bares repeating. I am at a point where I never want the read the words ‘cool girl’ or ‘hot girl’ ever again. ‘Euro girl summer’ is more like rubbing salt in the wound when you live in post-Brexit England anyway. The cosplay would be too painful.

So, the question on everybody’s lips: how did I achieve this feat?! I employed the radical method of packing (brace yourself)...things I already wear every day at home! A true eureka moment. I still overpacked though. I have probably listened to Erykah Badu’s ‘Bag Lady’ at least 400 times and still my suitcase runneth over.

Here are the greatest hits of that suitcase that I will base future packing attempts around:

Gucci Marmont Mules

I am a stuck record when it comes to announcing how comfortable these shoes are. The quilted, baby soft leather paired with the wider thong situation eliminate all of the usual pain points of a heeled flipflop. I got mine on Vestiaire a couple of years ago, they are a bit battered due to my forcing them into every outfit I possibly can. I was searching for a second pair (baby blue, size 41 if you’re selling!) but people are asking for £500+ and I don’t want to pay than I paid for these, which were a steal at £265 brand new, not just in the box but she sent me the box, bag AND receipt! I will keep you updated on the quest, but if you happen upon a pair of these I implore you to pull the trigger. You will wear them every day.

Nivea SPF Stick Factor 50+

I was sent this a while ago and I wont lie, I lost it immediately. When I say I lost it what I actually mean is that my child threw it behind the sofa and we had an out-of-site-out-of-mind situation for a month (or two). I am really into the e45 sunscreen, they do one for the face and it’s perfect but I can’t remember where I bought it and it seems not many places stock it. When I finally used the Nivea Stick I was impressed for two major reasons:

1. I can apply it without a mirror because it’s completely invisible. Do you know how powerful it feels to apply sunscreen blind and know you look fine?

2. Due to the teardrop shape it feels like a Gua Sha. Was I ever a Gua Sha user? No. But I enjoy a face massage and this quenches that desire.

The one thing I disliked at first was that I felt that they took the ‘non-greasy’ thing too far because it essentially felt like I wasn’t wearing sunscreen and I need the confirmation of feel. I have since adapted.

Sparkly Bikini

I don’t think I need to explain this. Instant dopamine hit.

Climax Books Tee

I know very little about how to cut the pattern for a T-shirt. What I do believe I am qualified to say is that the Climax Books tee is cut to perfection. The yellow graphics by Loren Tsang on the girly, pink fabric is unbridled joy. Yellow is the one colour I don’t really draw for and I was toying with it in my head. When I saw the pink and yellow colour way I knew it was the perfect gateway piece. A bright T-shirt is a great hack because it always looks like some thought went into it, simply by not being a white T-shirt. I have worn it nonstop since it arrived.

My New Fave Travel Look

I was filming a series about the Whistles relaunch and they sent me some stuff to wear for filming. Everything I chose was very bright and dressy (per usual) and for some reason I felt very drawn to this brown trouser and shirt set for a casual look, should I need one. I was stopped twice in the airport by people asking where it was from. I am writing this on a 5 hour train ride to Dundee and I have the trousers on right now. They are soft, they actually touch the floor and they go with basically everything.

Olympus 80 MJU Zoom

This is my favourite film camera. I may not be working but documenting life is a non-neogtiable. Ever since the digital camera boom of the 2000s onwards where the lack of preservation know-how meant a whole decade of my life was erased, I have been comitted to keeping photo albums. Every birthday, Christmas and holiday I have to have film and then I keep a roll on the go in between occasions just in case. This camera is on me at all times. I may forget to use it every time I should but it’s always there.

Worst packing choice: The silk top and skirt that wrinkled so badly in my suitcase that I paid to have it ironed at the hotel, only to not wear it, re-pack it and open my suitcase at home to the same wrinkled pile of polka dots.

What are your suitcase non-negotiables? Tell me so I can overpack again next time.

The invite was the first clue: A silver, book-shaped charm with a bean engraved inside that hinted at beloved children’s story, Jack and the Beanstalk. Blazy began growing beans for research, studying the shapes and tones that would later reveal themselves as shining minaudières and as peas-in-pods propping up this season’s footwear. When Elsa Peretti introduced her Bean necklace in 1974 for Tiffany & Co, she studied it as a sensual piece due to its tactile curves and also as a symbol of the origin of life, growth, and new beginnings. I see parallels at Chanel, a single bean regenerating as a giant beanstalk that looped not only around the set but woven deep within the floral textiles, each outcome brought to life by the faith of a seed. The saying goes you reap what you sow but in this instance an entire atelier reap what they’ve painstakingly sewn for months on end. Couture is as emotional as it is labourious.

As children, fairytales are used to teach us valuable life lessons while simultaneously expanding our imaginations. As we grow older the fairytales fade and you’re left with the hard reality of life. There was a distinct part of the soundtrack that moved many to tears: Multi-disciplinary Belgian artist Jeanna Criscitiello performing an excerpt from her one woman show ‘...And Then There Was Eve’ called ‘Jeanne Dielman’, inspired by the Chantal Ackerman movie of the same name that is cemented as a seminal piece of feminist cinema. ‘Jeanne Dielman’ is a labourious, three hour film chronicling the main character’s daily routine as she tends to typical ‘women’s work’ while also balancing her career as a sex worker. Jeanna Cristicello’s ‘...And Then There Was Eve’ is a one woman show devoted to Cristicello’s own ‘Eve heroes’ that span from Susan Sontag to Calamity Jane and Pippi Longstocking. Cristicello’s musical performance is described by The Jewish Museum of Belgium as an ‘original music composition which is as repetitive and physically exhausting as the endless loop of mundane chores that lead to Dielman’s catastrophic unraveling.’ Is the key to sanity to keep the fairytale going? If you can do that, can you master anything? Whether or not that’s the answer to the plight of the woman, one thing is sure: if fashion is escapism, haute couture is the purest hit. When Diana Vreeland said ‘style is what gets you out of bed in the morning’ she was on to something. Why else do we paint our toenails in the dead of winter? Fashion is character acting. It can give us a frivolous push to face the daily routine. Blazy has continuously shone a light on a side of women that is rooted in reality and he pays homage to them in a currency of respect and dreams.

A key point in the show was the bride, a Chanel Bride may as well be the patron saint of couture, a closing moment that is as reliable as day and night. However, Blazy broke tradition placing her in the middle of the lineup. She was everything she should be: Feminine, white lace, floral…and yet she still ended up replaced. Replaced in life by adultery and on the runway by the liberated woman, represented by an incarnation of the famous black dress worn by People’s Princess Diana on her coming out moment as an unbridled divorcee. Known as ‘the revenge dress’, the black LBD by Christina Stambolian was so much more than a dress. It was a symbol of freedom and dignity, a woman wrapped in a message who was rising up after a marriage where she was controlled, degraded, worn-down and publicly cheated on. This move by Blazy stands the realities of life as a princess against the fairytales for even in the fantasy world women are shrunk and spat on. Placing a revenge dress as the closing look over the bride is a huge statement: The prince will not save you. The woman is the magic, the creator and the facilitator for her own dreams. Meanwhile Dior keeps providing their ‘Lady Dior’ bags named after Diana to Camilla. Charming.

Golden geese and ugly ducklings laid a motif of opposition in the collection where we saw gilded egg heels, gold tweed suits, beaded birds, a fluffy white raffia hat and coat that looked freshly hatched and a lilac gown shrouded in flora balancing a single golden egg on one shoulder and a soft, white wing on the other.. In her emotional track ‘Pretty Little Birds’ SZA sings

Told you I like gentle giants, so you softened up

And you been jackin’, beanin’, stalkin’ just to get to me, love

I wanna be your golden goose, I wanna shave my legs for you

I wanna take all of my hair down and let you lay in it

Spread all of my limbs out and let you lay in it

The way SZA mixes in the mundane chore of shaving with the mythical golden goose and a nod to Rapunzel mirrors this collection. There’s another line in the song where she references the bird ‘hit the window a few times’, again injecting the realities of hardship and failure into the fantastical. I wonder if Matthieu and team ever listened to this song in the atelier?

Markers that separate Chanel from Blazy’s Chanel began forming as soon as he arrived. Out of body to ready to wear and every day couture. It’s clear that impossibly thin garments are something that has the attention of the atelier. It was a huge focus in Blazy’s Chanel couture debut, pulled out again for Bhavitha Mandava’s polarising-yet-meaningful Met Gala look and seen on Alexa Demie out and about in Paris wearing couture see-through slip dress with embroidered mushrooms along the skirt. This alongside explosions of raffia and the most indulgent explorations with textiles that push the possibilities of intricacy and trompe l’oeil to their limits are the basis for Blazy’s developing dialect of ‘Chanel’ that we are all becoming fluent in.

What has always drawn me to Marc is the way he lives his designs. Where other Creative Director’s resign themselves to the shadows, emerging once in a blue moon in a humble, white t-shirt and jeans adjacent uniform, Marc Jacobs the man has been as experimental as his offerings. We have seen long hair-and-glasses art school kid Marc, kilt Marc, Marc Jacobs ‘BANG Marc (iykyk), facelift Marc and today we co-exist with a Marc Jacobs who is elegant, genderbending and eccentric. The prompt and concise delivery of Marc’s collections also makes me feel as though the final product isn’t the main event. Clichés aside, maybe it’s the journey that’s the star? Marc’s blossoming relationship with his go-to nail artist, Yulenny Garcia aka Muñeca Nails is an unexpected window into his meticulous, obsessive and open ended design process. Intensive jewel selection processes, sketches and search parties for the perfect off the wall colours plucked from obscurity - as an ex-nail tech I imagine Marc is simultaneously Yulenny’s favourite and worst client. What I hadn’t considered is how this window into Jacob’s brain would foreshadow his SS27 collection. The experimentation with very Korean-style sheer gels, his play with tone and ombré and crystals or no crystals - it’s all present in the collection.

As I picked up my phone on June 30th, the first image I saw was a sweet-wrapper shrouded, trio of models in embellished jackets and tights. I gasped! My day was made and as my eyes darted to the credits I said ‘God Bless Marc Jacobs!’ (and then I said it again on Threads because that’s my job, apparently.) The past few seasons we have seen a metamorphosis, beginning at oversized, sculptural collections that shrunk the models down to dolls. I thought last season, all angular and jewel toned was the butterfly, but SS27 is clearly the final form. My speculation is that Marc’s creativity isn’t filed away in seasons, it stretches ideas across the year that all grow from each other. As of last season we have been given the gift of a list of all of the collections that inspired the collection, showing no qualms about shouting out other design houses. An act which many egos would not allow. Recent sightings of Marc wearing Chanel stirred up rumours of him having his eye on Matthieu Blazy’s job - but his eye was firmly on the ‘93 collection that inspired his work. People can be so scandalous! Going through those references in full here would be robbing you of the joyful experience of looking them up yourself.

The standout pieces were jackets that look like military jackets on acid. The warped edges took me back to the golden years of Thierry Mugler and his cartoon-like suit jackets with front panels that fit together like two lightning bolts. As opposed to the wasp waists and high voltage cleavage associated with Mugler, these jackets hung in a more relaxed fashion but the sparkling crystalline beads and sequins that flowed with the abstract edges reminded us this is a party not a kick-back. These star pieces came in three colours: Aubergine, Burgundy and Olive and were paired with contrasting leotards and tights in pairings of Prince Purple, Rust and Teal. These colours were the running thread that gave the experimentation cohesion as models came out in various opacities and finishes. Stretchy basics, sensationally see-through and expertly layered for a game of cache-cache.

A collection that came to my mind immediately when I saw the acid pink and purple, bullet busted dresses, was Marc’s SS2008 Louis Vuitton collection. A historical moment! Every time a fashion-obsessed tween discovers this collection for the first time, a fairy gets its wings. This was the collection of 1000 nurses. Models sashayed out in iterations of the same sheer nurse outfit, with hats that each bore a letter from the brand name and if you were lucky, might have doubled as their own initial: Naomi Campbell got an ‘N’ but Natalia Vodianova secured a ‘V’ instead - I always wondered if that was tense! Beneath the delicately pearlescent nurse dresses were naughty, silk corseted dresses. The dresses came in pastel tones that bled into one and other. They were women with purpose who worked hard and played harder. SS27 might be the nurse’s reckless daughter, living out the technicolour dreams that were her mother’s poorly concealed wishes throughout her nursing career. The daughter doesn’t need to rush home to feed the kids, as MUA Thomas de Kluyver told The Cut ‘this girl works uptown in the day then she goes and parties downtown at night’. Naturally that was conveyed through makeup using the recently revived Marc Jacobs Beauty. I could see people drawing a similarity between Marc Jacobs SS27 and recent displays by Anthony Vaccerello at Saint Laurent, but what separates them is the rigidity and sternness of Saint Laurent’s woman. This Marc Jacobs girl is free and she’s going dancing (in spite of the shoes, Jacobs and Vaccarello might be united in that area!)

The show notes talk about Marc’s desire to ‘offer a little light, shine, colour, beauty and joyful exuberance’ and with one look at the lashings of coloured glass jewellery or the vinyl streamer dresses, this is proven to be a mission accomplished. The short paragraph also references the ability to better recognise abundance, how does this manifest in the collection? Long sleeved, ribbed knit playsuits thin enough to reveal leotards and hot pants and tights. Metallic see-through slips and separates that sit like plastic wrapping. Wear everything all at once but in a weight that feels like you’re wearing nothing. All I have to say is that my ballet class is going to HATE to see me coming this week.

A few days ago I had the pleasure of dressing Rosa Cecilia: a British-Chilean-Italian ‘showwoman and songwriter’ whose performance quality, live vocals and polyglot sensuality are impossible not to dance to. She had reached out to me months ago wanting to work together on her looks for a new project she’s been working on (now bearing the single moniker, Cecilia) and we had just been waiting for the right moment. When Hennesy sponsored her Reggaeton-meets-Soul Train party ‘Casa Del Soul’ in Soho to celebrate the arrival of Bad Bunny’s tour, she decided it was time to pull the trigger on our meeting of minds.

The brief was laid out: She wanted to feel like ‘an Almodóvar muse in her underground night club boudoir.’ She described her new music as ‘bold, flirty, pop’ - she wanted the looks to match. This would be her first time performing these tracks and she needed a look that commanded attention and signalled a change in the tides. While the demo she sent me took me back to hearing Timbaland and Nelly Furtado in school, something in my head was telling me to turn her into Lady Miss Kier of Deee-lite. ‘Groove is in the Heart’ was my favourite song as a small child - mostly because of the music video, which on reflection is what I should have been showing my son instead of attending baby sensory classes. Somewhere along the line of our internet-friendship we realised we both spend a lot of time on the Instagram acount Ficheraz - dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of Latina and Caribbean showgirls through the ages and the diaspora - go figure!

What I extracted from Pedro Almodvar’s movie stills was the camp, perfectly overdressed, technicolour women he dreamt up. Something I should have mentioned in the first paragraph is Cecilia’s ponytail. She had started performing with my favourite kind of voluminous ponytail that almost doubles as a bob due to its density and length that cuts off above the shoulders (not dissimilar to Lady Miss Kier’s blanket of hair that hangs over her signature headband.) We have seen this style on Madonna, Nomi Malone of ‘Showgirls’ and many a 90’s supermodel. I think this subconsciously inspired by latest column for Who What Wear UK that’s all about ponytails. It was my starting point and had me fixated on go-go dancers. Every look we discussed was laid down at the altar of this pony piece. Before I even dove into my spreadsheet of brand contacts, I turned to my own wardrobe. The middle of the venn diagram between Cecilia’s vision and my own stylistic adventures is bursting at the edges with vintage statement pieces.

After sending a few photos of things in my possession, we agreed to do a preliminary fitting at my place. Of course my 3-year-old protogée had to join the fun: He was dedicated to choosing the perfect bangle pairings and jumping on the bed to Bad Bunny’s superbowl performance (I am sure 50% of the views are directly from our household!)

Throughout the dress-up session it was abundantly clear that Cecilia shares my approach to colour and understands the art form that is clashing. The first thing I showed her that felt like it was stolen from one of Pedro Almodóvar’s sets was a vintage Lolita Lempicka jacket that is equal parts Daphne from ‘Scooby Doo’ and The Joker: Purple and green with a sharp waist, big buttons and angular shoulders. The climate-crisis induced heatwave that fell on show day put an end to our Lempicka dreams as I had zero desire to have her suffering on stage. Luckily I had another piece that stole Cecilia’s heart. A silk bralette, vintage Christian Lacroix in that mixed up polka dot pattern that we have all seen in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and was more recently worn by SZA on the Jennifer Hudson Show. I have searched the four corners of the Earth for matching shorts or skirt to no avail. This bra has not received the love it deserves as my bust is one sandwich short of a picnic, however it fit our songstress like a glove.

Once I had a solid selection of vintage pieces I knew were approved, I took her through some look books I had saved courtesy of the team at The 233 Agency who sent us a million options from their roster. Samanta Virginio is a brand operating between London, Venice and New York. For SS26 Virginio created a collection called ‘All Is Fair’ and featured this perfect, stretchy, pointelle super cropped cardigans with tiny buttons and long sleeves that had pedal-pusher’s (or Capri’s to the American’s) to match. They come in an array of colours from olive green to sunny yellow. I opted to pull a mint green set and also a heavily embellished silver bra and hotpants combo that felt like a popstar essential - just in case! Everything looked incredible on her and we had plans to layer the little jacket over the Lacroix bralette, with the buttons fastened under the bust so it was more like a riff on a bolero. Once we added the matching bottoms it felt, dare I say, casual? Luckily I had been sending Cecilia Vinted links from my meticulously trained homepage and she’s ordered a bright blue a-line mini skirt that held its shape with the help of these tiny pleats. It was mini, but not micro mini and sat just below her navel - which was nothing a small adjustment couldn’t fix. We put the silver hotpants under the skirt so when she hit her choreo she looked like a Fendi Peekaboo bag.

The look was finished with a Miami Pink manicure, blue TysGroceries hoops with crystals on them and some gun metal stilettos. None of this should work, but she looked sensational. The colours popped on stage and complimented her energy without competing with it.The true seal of approval came from her mum, who hails from Chile, said it was exactly what she ‘would have worn to the club in the summer of 1986.’ It’s worth noting that her mother is a seamstress and designer - instilling her love of fashion into all other children (her sister followed the same path of making clothes.) Hearing Cecilia’s stories of growing up in a house overrun with feminine energy, watching melodramatic movies with dream wardrobes while her mum sewed was my favourite part of our fitting.

Styling is something I do on the side from time to time, something that I fell into completely by accident because people kept asking me to do it. You can watch the whole origin story here. It’s nice to be in the (very privileged) position where I can say yes only when I feel the right person comes along, because I already have a career outside of it. This way I can really make it a labour of love. One that passes through every now and then when I feel really inspired by the work someone is doing, or how they think. It almost feels the same as interviewing people, apart from I get to formulate a look with my findings instead of an article or video.

The Plan is a not-so-subtle attempt at curating the visual imprint I leave of my son’s childhood which will ultimately inform his eye for years to come. NOW, before you start judging me: I know how I sound. I am aware! I still have endless, spontaneous, rooted firmly in reality, beautiful, undone memories with my son. We play, I throw on a tracksuit and chase him around the park. I am a connoisseur of all things Monster Jam. However, I am also aware of the impact on a person’s stylistic literacy the matriarch has. When I had my podcast, almost every guest stated their mum or grandma as being their first fashion memory. At times I feel like the dressers of the world need to put that shit on to assist in the development of the future of fashion. Something like that.

In the last two weeks I have had multiple interactions with children commenting on my outfits: A little girl in Shilo’s class playing with my blinged out phone lanyard and grabbing my crinkly, abstract, textured Sunnei skirt and announcing ‘you dress different!’ Another of his little friends telling me she loved my two-tone leopard heels and a pleasant conversation with a little girl in the park that went as follows:

‘I like your shoes!’ as she pointed at my red, kitten-heeled flip flops.

‘Thank you, I like your dress.’ I replied, setting the tone that it’s ok to accept a compliment without putting yourself down.

‘It’s not a dress.’ she explained ‘It’s a top and shorts!!’

‘Even better! That means you can climb!’ I exclaimed (it’s good to be enthusiastic about outdoorsy things with kids)

‘I like your dress! My sister loves blue too’ she continued

‘Thank you’ I said, resisting the urge to also correct her and tell her that my ‘dress’ was also a carefully orchestrated combination of separates. ‘Your sister sounds cool!’

The little girl made her way along the climbing frame with a smile. This conversation really took me back to my youth. I would be so excited when I saw a grown-up fashion person in the wild. I remember the thrill of going to a friend’s house as a tween and discovering they had a fashionable older sister who would let us look at their clothes. I also remember the disappointment if I would visit again and they weren’t in a fab look - I’m not ashamed to admit that, as awful as it sounds. This was pre-internet and we got inspo where we could get it! As a kid me and my best friend used to play ‘Totally Spies’ in the park, using compact mirrors to pretend to check around corners and challenging ourselves to pick a stranger and find out as much as we could about them through pure eavesdropping and observation. To this day I am still an avid people watcher (and eavesdropper) while on my travels.Here are a few notes I speed-typed into my phone to immortalise those I happened upon lately:

I recently organised a play date To the V&A to see the Schiaparelli exhibition. My son has a friend who adores fashion (she’s 4) and her mum is an outdoorsy, yogi who works as a teacher and cares a lot about the world but couldn’t care less about clothes. I see opportunities like this to be a role model and revive the role my late Godmother played in my life. It feels like the most organic way to continue her legacy. Around the exhibition I got my imaginary home-school curriculum out and played a game of ‘Is that surreal?!’ as the children were awestruck at the ‘robot baby’ from the 2024 couture collection and the recurrent appearance of surrealist staples like lobsters. Their absolute favourite was the ‘golden booby’ which they took great joy in screeching out loud repeatedly, cutting through the serious museum silence like an inflatable, slapstick-comedy knife.

Growing up I was always mesmerised by characters. The eccentric elders of the fashion world, people who spoke Franglish like Andre Leon Talley or his mentor Diana Vreeland. I would watch Ugly Betty, ANTM and eagerly await cameos from Lisa Love or Kelly Cutrone on The Hills. People full of one-liners and memorable signatures that force an association in your brain that will live forever. For this reason I spent the years from 19-24 only wearing one nail polish colour and one lipstick. I know. Exhausting. I remember once watching this woman named Frenchie on the Soft White Underbelly channel (note: I am no longer a viewer) who was a real character. French accent, extremely witty, coy and mysterious disposition. As a younger woman I would have aspired to have her charm, but I came to realise these characters people create are often a shield and that ‘charm’ is often comedic deflection. It only takes one read of The Chiffon Trenches to see why Mr. Leon Talley had to maintain his larger-than-life persona, the world was trying to take him down. He had to be audacious, intelligent and a presence. As I started to spread my wings in the world I met many of these magnetic, charismatic characters and they tend to be extremely damaged. I have witnessed moments like that famous urban legend of Norma-Jean ‘switching it on’ in the street and going from unnoticed to immediately swarmed by fans as she put her Marilyn body language on. It’s a distraction that enamours you, a veil to make people feel close and impressed without letting them in. Armed with that knowledge, I let go of my desire to be a character - but it didn’t stop my human desire to be impactful.

This week my son learned the word ‘expressive’ and we had a concise yet open ended chat about what it meant. I think that’s the main lesson I want to represent to him: expression. My biggest fear is life stifling the expression out of him. Expressing through style, through creation and consumption by way of books, magazines, exhibitions, music and more. My rule is ‘you can’t have every toy but you can have every book.’ We just got library cards together. I dressed for the occasion.

As Diana Ross once sang, ‘remember me as a good thing.’

What’s happening in fashion tells me this is the perfect time for Ronnie Spector to seep into our wardrobes. The people have been starving the grit of Indie’s peak - a time when Amy Winehouse reigned supreme with a look highly influenced by The Ronnettes and there is an overall fatigue around perfect online identities and housewife optics. Enter the ‘bad girls of rock n roll.’ Ronnie Spector is a rock n roll legend who started in a group called The Ronnettes. Comprised of two sisters from Washington Heights, Ronnie and Estelle and their cousin Nedra, the group formed in the late 1950s and rose to popularity in the early 60’s. It wasn’t just their slightly eerie, all consuming vibrato on records about love and heartbreak that caught people’s attention, but their look too. Estelle had a fashion background and worked at Macy’s, the group let her lead the look with her more seasoned eye for style. Estelle pulled inspiration directly from their surroundings in Spanish Harlem which had a large Puerto Rican community. Their big hair, dark and dramatic eye makeup and tight wiggle dresses served as a cooler and sexier alternative to the lady-like glamour of the groups that came before them. In an emotional instagram caption after Ronnie’s passing, Zendaya took a moment to acknowledge the commitment she had to her look stating “There’s not a time I saw her without her iconic red lips and full teased hair, a true rockstar through and through”. It’s not just the incoming movie that tells us to pay attention to Ronnie’s legacy, but also the new group of girls emerging on the music scene with heavy Ronette’s influence.

If you look at artists that are direct descendants from The Ronnettes and the subsequent girl group the Shangri-La’s like Sade, Amy Winehouse or Lana Del Rey, you see a shared transparency and candidness. Is that why they’re considered ‘bad girls’? Kiko Prendergast has a sneaking suspicion it is, ‘I think what society deems as a “bad girl” is actually just a girl who doesn’t fit into societal standards of what the world thinks a woman should be. That’s what Ronnie Spector was. She did things differently.’ Kiko’s own songs that she pens in L.A. follow the same formula: unbridled, poignant and autobiographical story telling of a young woman with a complicated path.

These women yearn, laugh, cry, they have heartbreak, they endure life’s horrors and they sing about it. Unlike the trad wife these women remove the veneer of perfection. The hair is big and teased, the palette is black and red, the face is painted on for battle and the heart is placed directly on the sleeve. The look has been such an enduring force because it simultaneously expresses deep emotion and mysterious beauty. ‘Glamour is a wonderful armour for a woman who is bearing her soul.’ muses Cosima, a singer from South London whose vocals reverberate into the deepest depths of the heart, ‘The first time I saw/heard them it was clear to me that I wanted a big hair at some point in my life. Right now I’m really influenced by this one image of Ronnie Spector in the 70s, her beehive has flattened out into that big 70s wave and she is wearing a white T-shirt and white jeans. She looks like an angel but the rebelliousness is still intact.’

Ellie Misner is a demi couture designer creating for all bodies. Among the lengthy list of stars being dressed by Misner is another powerhouse vocalist and modern incarnation of Spector’s legacy, Raye who’s signature vintage glamour cuts through a sea of instagram face and trends. ‘working with Raye was always such a delight as she was so involved in the process, we were able to have fittings and she gave feedback on what she wanted. I usually work directly with stylists.’ There is a stylistic authenticity that Ronnie Spector had and committed to for her whole adult life that is present in all of the women mentioned so far. Their manicured hands are in every part of their creative output in a world obsessed with putting women in boxes - at times literally. Before carving out careers as independent artists, Raye was trapped by a record label and Ronnie Spector was trapped by her abusive husband and producer, Phil Spector. The public feel like they are on the journey too, as so many every day women experience adjacent issues, it’s the authenticity and connection we crave. Amy Winehouse and her tattered ballet shoes were the perfect metaphor for her life and struggles. Cosima echoes this sentiment ‘I think people want things that are messier and rawer as we live in a world now where perfection can be bought or impersonated- there has always been a heightened pressure on female artists to present to the world in a way that is glamorous and aspirational.’ The bad girl is the natural next step when songs are shrinking below two algorithm-friendly minutes and we turn to AI with our problems instead of records and to Pinterest for our style instead of expressing our inner uniquities. ‘There’s always going to be a counter to a trend - I think the clean girl era is dead and gone and people are looking more towards fun and sexy and dirty.’ adds Misner. Another upcoming artist channeling the slightly dishevelled, vintage attire is Reign Judge who made her name as a model but has recently revealed that she’s a classically trained singer. Her first single ‘Infatuation’ boasts visuals with Reign starring as the centre of a trio of beauties with Motown arms and exposed lyrics

Ronnie Spector’s biggest influence was Frankie Lymon of 50’s doo-wop group ‘The Teenagers’, but what are this generations songstresses looking to for creative inspiration? For Cosima it’s a repeated anecdote from a friend’s dad on seeing Nina Simone in concert. ‘She came on stage wearing a fur coat and carrying a plastic bag which she dumped on the floor and then began to play.’ That’s the energy she’s bringing to her latest project titled ‘Outsider Music Vol. 1 : You don’t know what you want, do you?’ which she described as ‘breaking off a piece of [her] heaven and giving it to you.’ For Kiko ‘The symphony of the world influences my sound, too, and stories and books and poems. My style comes from my Soul.’ Kiko has just released a single about the characters that left a lasting impression during her time in rehab, a tribute to Amy Winehouse titled ‘Dear Amy’.

I adored the boots. I would routinely bring them out of the glorious, glowing yellow box and inspect them before placing them carefully back until our next check in. Cursed with big-city-living-in-a-small-flat-with-a-partner-a-child-and-no-storage-cupboards, I was having a routine wardrobe cull. I am actually an advocate of keeping everything, I cannot tell you how many times I have sent a garment on its way only for it to show up in my dreams 3 years later spurring on a bout of fashion-grief. However, life isn’t always fair and so I had to sacrifice either shopping or hoarding and so began the wardrobe clear out. Like many fashion enthusiasts I have told the lie to myself that in the future I will start an archive, let people rent out my oddities and finery for shoots, appearances and the like. This is the same girl who declines rental requests on ByRotation in fear something will happen to my clothes. An archive?? Ok, girl. I have also been enjoying leaning into the role of the fashion fairy godmother: That friend of your mums who gives you Chanel nail polish or lets you go through her clear out bags before she drops it off at the charity shop. I believe a true love of fashion is also a love of cultivating that love in future generations. Those women shaped me in so many ways growing up and I don’t think it’s a nurturing you should benefit from without passing it on. And so, I sell my things, I give them to friends, I donate them, fully embracing the life cycle of my wardrobe.

My eyes kept drawing to that damned yellow box that sits like sunshine on my shelf. I started to wonder if the boots were depressed in there. Is this what Marc Jacobs intended when he designed these 160cm delights with endless tiny buckles? The boots are descendants of Glam Rock, siblings of the Club Kids of the hey-day of New York’s night life and cousins of the most flamboyant of Goths, yet there they were, box bound and barely seeing the light of day let alone the life of the night. I imagined where they should be. Stumbling out of bathroom stalls. Falling into taxis. The secret starter of the mystery bruise. They should be buckled up as the final piece of some girl’s long evening of getting ready, the missing link that elevates her to command the room. She should let her friends sign them. Maybe they need badges on the straps? I don’t know, but she knows! I don’t believe it’s worth saving these boots for the future with no story attached to them.

Since I believe in shopping-karma, I imagined someone hopefully bargain hunting and coming across a Marc Jacobs gem. We all know that joy! I listed them on Vinted at £300 knowing I would allow myself to be negotiated back down to what I paid. I received an offer for £200 that came with a message saying that’s the highest they were able to go and sorry if it seems cheeky and would I think about it? I accepted. Did I also send them an unhinged message asking them to please give them a proper life? Of course I did. With great power comes great responsibility.

And now, only one question remains: Should I replace them with the Marc Jacobs Metallic Leather Daisy Heel?

The ball was a last hurrah for their SS26 collection titled Taller Marmo Ball which they describe as ‘opulence carved in movement’ and when scrolling through the look book full of ostrich feathers, trains, kaftans and heavy embellishment it was clear that dramatic motion was intended. These are gowns to express in. Think Lola Falana’s 1976 performance of ‘I Am Love.’ On the dance floor (where one gathers all important information) Yago explained that as they usher in the next collection, he knew they would regret not throwing an actual masked ball for the masked ball inspired collection. Spontaneous glamour is appreciated.

Prior to the ball I was sent what every girl wants to be sent: a pdf of beautiful evening-wear to choose from. I made my decision in a matter of seconds: a pomegranate organza kaftan with a ruffled train and a show-stopping floral headpiece that reminded me of Lady Sings the Blues meets Rihanna’s 2018 British Vogue covers, in a colour palette that took me immediately back to Li Zheng by Chen Man on the cover of i-D in 2012 as part of a series of covers for Chinese New Year. The headpiece was commissioned from Noel Stewart, notable milliner who has created everything for everyone: large chandelier-like extravagance for Celine Dion at the 2019 Met Gala, a small but punchy, baby pink cap made of feathers for Rihanna by way of Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga and every possibility in between. Stewart created those decidedly aloof, down-turned sunhats that conceal the eyes for Lanvin’s AW26. Looking through his portfolio it’s evident how much can be dictated by a hat. A hat sets the tone, it dots the ‘i’ and assigns the character. Every year my resolution is to become a hat person and it becomes a ‘hair vs hat’ war that causes me to relent. Spending an evening in Stewart’s asymmetric Gardenia gave me a new level of understanding for Isabella Blow. You can be anything in a hat, it implies a great level of confidence but really it’s often a shield.

There is something about the colour pink that conjures so much. I have made videos gushing over Schiaperelli’s shocking pink, Kate Moss’ brief stint with pink hair, Lil Kim’s pink looks, that ensemble from ‘What A Way To Go’, the list goes on. I had a few people tell me how ‘whimsical’ my outfit was, maybe it’s because it’s a buzz word? I didn’t feel whimsical at all. The pink flowers made me feel mysterious and intriguing. Pink is complex and natural. Isabella Burley’s use of pink in the building of Climax books is genius because it makes pink feel almost surgical. Writing pink off as whimsical is a drop in the ocean. Pink is rebellious, it’s bottled joy, it’s free. That’s why they try to tax us for it.

With an outfit that loud you really have to keep up, you cannot be overpowered by the garments. Ever. I am not shy when it comes to sartorial side-quests and take pride in leaning in to pretty much every impulsive outfit idea that crosses my mind, but I have to admit when it comes to hair and makeup I’m kind of…boring. Changing outfits 200 times in a row feels like a part of the process of getting ready, but the idea of doing my makeup again is unthinkable and it’s often the roadblock between me and getting creative. Same with hair, if you have natural hair you know that styling can feel like a ‘one shot’ experience. This paired with my very limited time that’s divvied up between work and parenting makes the thought of playing with new beauty looks sound laborious. Every time an event rolls around I default to my go-to brown, defined eye, heavy blush and pouty lip set off by a soft pyramid of brushed out curls with the roots set with gel to create a cello-like frame around my face. I can do it with my eyes closed, It’s hot, it never fails me. I market it as having a signature look but that doesn’t mean I am not the visual equivalent of a stuck record. The ball presented me with a few challenges. The enlarged gardenias looked fine with my hair down but once the billowing ruffles of the gown came into play we were leaning into Coachella 2016 territory and if there’s one thing I am not, it’s boho. I knew I was going to have to snatch my hair back - something I am no stranger to as someone who exercises her biracial right to cosplay as Sade on a regular basis - but never with a floral arrangement larger than my head. I had the house to myself that day and got my work done in record time so I could sit in front of the mirror and scheme.

Pouring over the work of makeup artist Raoul Alejandre and fawning over the way he can blend the whole world into pink, I felt so inspired while simultaneously lowering my expectations due to the wide skill gap between him and I. That morning I had been gifted a bright pink blush by the kindest team at Chanel and decided to try it out with a heavy temple drape. The pigment was rich and vibrant and I felt instantly alive. An eyeshadow in my huge Bright Mattes palette by Beauty Bay that I had never used before caught my eye. It was a magnetic pink but when I brushed it onto my lid it revealed a neon glow that was addictive. I played with tonal pinks to shape the eye then layered on the mascara. With all the self control of a child at a craft table, I pressed my finger tip into the palette and gave each eye one final patter of that neon pink in the centre. I did keep my day-to-day lip, creature comforts.

Something about that pink eyeshadow spilled over into my real life. It’s funny how being given a theme or a character can act as a green light to reassess your habits. That Thursday night felt like a shift; a justification to play as well as a reminder to practice what I preach. Every so often you come across a colour that feels a part of your DNA. When I feel that soul-pull I take it seriously, things cannot enter the permanent beauty rotation without it. For every way that I am easy-going and creative, there is another that I am rigid. Three days later the weather had once again turned bitterly cold after yet another false start of Spring. I had a day of errands so I put on a black tracksuit but as I was tying my hair up in the mirror, I thought of the ball. Specifically, how I felt at the ball. I reached for my eyeshadow palette and did a quick wash of pink across my eyes. We talk about how ‘she shall go to the ball’ but never how the ball can come to us.

I will leave you with event images by the very talented Simao Nogueira:

This cinematic preview set the stage for a collection that told a story that was equal parts fantasy and reality. Biarritz was the birthplace of Chanel as a brand and the same beaches that a young boy named Matthieu would visit with his family on vacations. The first Chanel boutique arrived in Biarritz in 1915 - the idea came while Parisians were fleeing WW1 and finding safety on the coast. Gabrielle Chanel amongst them, staying with lover Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel, took a small break from being a despicable woman to bear a brand that would challenge the social perception of women for decades to come. As well as the first boutique, there was a building in which Gabrielle lived and her growing staff would clock in and out of to work on the collections, Chanel have just purchased this building. If I remember correctly, of his Chanel couture debut, Blazy talked about this notion of things being passed down and inherited. I can’t help but think he is also focused on tying loose ends of Chanel’s history. Operating as if it’s a family business almost. In hindsight, things have been getting more anemonous* every season, I’m wondering if Biarritz has been on Matthieu’s mind for longer than we realised. See also: Recurrent raffia motifs and the Tumblr mermaids that popped up Chanel AW26.

Blazy’s output feels decidedly matriarchal in the way he jumps all the way back to the brand’s initial purpose. He plucks quotes and discoveries from Chanel’s inception and has a keen discernment for the issues and quips that remain relevant. ‘I like to read newspapers, like men’ was once uttered by Gabrielle and became the inspiration for a trio of newspaper print ensembles: A straight forward three-piece skirt suit, a more romantic-yet-casual shirt dress with ruffles and a gown, naturally. While the quote was the seed that gave Blazy the idea, he did give credit to those who famously used the print before him: first and foremost the Suffragettes who would use news stories and banners as dresses in protests, then the usual suspects like Schiaperelli, Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and his favourite, Norwegian designer Per Spook. Of course any fashion sleuth’s ears prick up whenever Chanel and Schiaperelli are mentioned in the same sentence. Gabrielle Chanel did of course try to set Elsa Schiaperelli ablaze by pushing her into a candelabra, lest we forget. It must be a strange and delicate experience to take on such an influential house that has become so far removed from the scandal that surrounds its founder. Matthieu is working with what he’s got.

My hometown is a seaside town - far less glamorous than the one dreamt up by Blazy, but some things I am fluent in. I like to think that stripes are a gene I can pass down or a cardinal rule that I enforce in my home. The striped towel suit in this collection truly rocked my world. Through the starfish trims and seashell embellishments, sparkling sea-blue denim and Anok Yai’s sand goddess dress where even the bag had a train to match, I feel like I am given the power to look at my dreaded hometown through rose tinted glasses. I recently rode a carousel for the first time in around 25 years and was overcome by nostalgia for the beach. I used to take choosing which horse to sit on so seriously, seeing which had the best name and the best saddle colour. I would pretend I was a historically inaccurate princess bounding around the palace grounds. The outfits of this character were born in the pages of the fashion magazines that I absorbed as a child. What a gift?! Maybe life really is a Coco beach? We may have to sell sea shells by the sea shore to buy a piece of it, but one thing I feel business heavy fashion reporting skips over is the inciting of dreams. There are think-pieces, videos and comments galore focusing on the cost of Blazy’s Chanel, but I would rather see something that inspires me and genuinely creates an emotion than something I can afford.

The go-to critique for those who can’t let go of the ghost of Chanel’s past is that Blazy’s designs are alienating the long-standing customer with his wacky, unwearable designs. In reality what we see again and again are collections with range. Chanel has long been about the finest fabrications - hello tweeds? Just when you think the tweeds can’t get more intricate, you realise the suit you’ve been trying to figure out is actually silk masquerading as tweed. This is the magician’s Chanel. But there are also marinerie quarter zips, beach bags with baby shoes slung over them, maternity wear (we’ll get back to this) and easy knits to be thrown on. Last week a friend’s 4 year old daughter arrived at our playdate in a pink, tiered tutu with metallic dots and a hoodie, suddenly that feels quite Chanel. Swim caps were featured repeatedly which represents these opposing ideas perfectly: On one hand, there are connotations of synchronised swimmers in the 50’s, 60’s mod helmets and 20’s flapper hats, but on the other, it’s an extremely useful tool to keep your hair from being disturbed while you swim. Nobody minded when Karl Lagerfeld put Vittoria Cerretti in a crystal covered swim cap (with a train) and matching swimsuit as an Haute Couture bride in 2019! Through the fantastical there is an underlying pulse of practicality, normality even. We are the women and the mermaids.

Of course, I have to talk about Kaya Wilkins. As a mum-in-fashion I know first hand how tricky an industry it is to navigate. Did you know fashion weeks often line up with school holidays? Did you know in 2012, whilst leading Celine, Phoebe Philo was the first woman leading a major fashion house to ever cancel a fashion show and take maternity leave??? Fashion is reactive and so is parenting. I have talked ad nauseam about the stellar casting Anita Bitton does for Blazy’s Chanel and I had the pleasure of chatting with her about just that. In three words Anita described this chapter of Chanel woman as ‘individual, valued and thriving.’ The diversity in race, in age and the androgynes made waves each season, and now we have the pregnant woman in all her glory. ‘When representation is shown with ease it highlights the gaps that exist in the world. There’s a lot of established codes in the industry that perpetuate a language around fashion, and Matthieu is interested in communicating in a different way.’ Bitton continued. What struck me about Kaya’s look was that it actually looks comfortable. It wasn’t just something over the top re-worked to accommodate a bump for the show. It was Chanel-does-maternity. In an interview with Vogue, Wilkins shared that the intention to feature a pregnant woman in the show was set before they found her. Bitton confirms this ‘Chanel is about women in their reality, not a single idea of who they are. Including Kaya reflected that. I believe it was an instinctive choice, acknowledging a moment with sensitivity, as part of the world as it is.’

Each season more women are seen by Chanel. Being such a huge house, Chanel shows more collections per year than the average luxury brand. Blazy is showing Spring/Summer, Autumn/Winter and everything in between and he’s showing it on women in the springsummerautumnwinters of their lives too. Seeing viral clips of ASAP Rocky at the show, enthusiastic about his new baby girl and Rihanna at home and figuring out which of these womenswear pieces he can style for himself all adds to the pro-woman energy. There is nothing shameful, weak or monolithic about being women. However, I am still on the edge of my seat for plus-sized women to join the sorority. Someone call Precious Lee! I’m also on the edge of my seat to see someone style the winged foot of Hermes (that’s Greek her-meez not French air-mes) sandals styled as a layering piece. Instead of being rage-baited, imagine the possibilities. Tie them over ballet shoes! Will they fit over Chanel ballet flats? We need answers!

Another notable moment was Blazy’s first soiree into the logo-mania. Ok, maybe mania is an exaggeration but the double C’s have definitely arrived. But not without intention: Instead of logos slapped on haphazardly as an after-thought, they are actual part of the construction of the garment. CC panels worked into the pattern. A green skirt with a low slung CC to one side followed by a black stripe all the way around stuck out to me. It also harks back to the dropped waists we just saw at Blazy’s AW26 show. it was paired with a beige top that featured the logo in the centre of the chest, with cut-out negative space like a stained glass window. Or was it a dress? The look flows so seamlessly that I have to second guess my own eyes. I can see the cream and red logo co-ord making waves with women in Hip Hop, paired almost too perfectly with a mermaid toned buss down.

I have been trying not to use the word ‘joy’ when discussing Chanel as I sound like a stuck record but Blazy makes it near impossible. This collection caused Harpers Bazaar EIC, Samira Nasr to exclaim ‘I love my job’ in an Instagram caption. She also thanked her mum for holding it down at home. Women and mermaids.

*yes, I made up a word.

The crossover between music and streetwear is less a crossover and more two entities that need each other to breathe. I could talk all day about the ways NIGO’s various design ventures have become Hip Hop staples, and the ascent of the technicolor, youthful Japanese luxury, but one artefact in the exhibit encapsulates that Japanese-American crossover perfectly: The Teriyaki Boyz. The rap group were signed to NIGO’s label, BAPE Sounds and marketed the American way: via branded hamburgers. NIGO actually formed the group who had worldwide fame with their Fast and Furious hit Tokyo Drift. The Teriyaki Boyz branded hamburger felt like an amalgamation of all of NIGO’s interests.

NIGO’s drive to collect ephemera is a grain of sand in comparison to his ambition. The retrospective makes his contributions to streetwear culture, not just in Japan but globally, completely undeniable. A Bathing Ape launched in 1993 (the same year as NOWHERE), Billionaire Boys Club arrived in 2003 with Pharrell Williams and his brand Human Made in 2010. These three giants boast cultural impact of their own, but Nigo as a brand has offered his marketing genius and creative flair to an endless list of global brands from Pepsi to Nike with whom he has his own NIGO x Nike swoosh emblem. A Bathing Ape even had a collab with MAC Cosmetics in 2003. ‘The NIGO Effect’ was coined to explain the aftermath of his collaborations.

The retrospective wouldn’t be compelte without his streetwear-soul-mate, Pharrell. Wherever Pharrell was making waves in fashion, NIGO was always found a step outside of the spotlight. The famed ‘Millionaire’ sunglasses Pharrell made with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton SS2005 were also a NIGO collab. The pair are thick as thieves and while it’s often speculated that NIGO is the creative visionary behind Pharrell, Williams was named as an Official Adviser at Human Made in 2024 - with NIGO telling WWD that Pharrell advises the brands direction. Regardless of who is the brains and who is the brawn, their long-time creative partnership is chronicled throughout the exhibit, all the way up to their faces on Louis Vuitton trunks. It’s hard not to be inspired.

The elephant in the room was unavoidable as I walked towards the final chapter of the exhibit: New Traditions. After making his millions frolicking in Black culture, NIGO took the well trodden path back to his own. Through a gold-roofed teahouse made of glass, you see a large Japanese character in a frame that translates to ‘old age’. At the age of 55, NIGO has dived into Japanese crafts and rituals while his diamond encrusted veneers have been removed and left on display in his retrospective. This portion of display has no cartoon characters, no cowboys or rappers, just 25 ceramic bowls hand made by NIGO who has been travelling around Japan to learn regional styles.

Overall NIGO: From Japan With Love is a testament to how big life can be if you keep your inner child by your side.

When Stephanie found her way into our call it was immediately apparent why Blazy found her so inspiring. My Godmother once scoffed at the idea of an Audrey Hepburn ‘lookalike’ and said ‘Nobody looks like Audrey, her face is all bones!’ I thought it was such an unusual compliment. It was on this call that I realised what she meant. Stephanie’s face is ‘all bones’ in that there is not a treatment in the world that could mimic or improve it. The backdrop was that of a true fashion collector: the bottom of a black skirt billowed down in the top right hand corner, revealing a large orange and cream wall hanging behind it. There were blue dungarees hanging to her left and black leather handbags peaking from behind her. She wore a light blue denim shirt beneath what looked like a navy kimono. Perched atop her nose were huge, black frames with clear lenses - yet her visage was still the headliner. They were the kind of glasses we all imagine ourselves acquiring as we become the most distinguished versions of ourselves. She removed them as we delved into the questions, revealing her eyes, which I knew were green but in motion and boosted by sunlight they were so sparkling and bright they could have been made of glass.

CHANI RA: When people have these big, fairy tale moments, the world starts to view them as an ‘overnight sensation’. Typically, those stories have many years of hard work behind them. How did you get into modelling?

STEPHANIE CAVALLI: Well, I got into modelling last century, at the end of the 1900’s! So, it’s been a while. I started when I was kind of young, around 22, 23 years old, 22, I think. I first started in Italy and then Europe, and then from Europe, I moved to New York in 2002. I worked until I was at the end of my 30s and I took a break. I shaved my head and let go of the modeling business for a while, not the fashion business, because that’s when I started working on my personal collection. I started [modelling] again right before the pandemic. Something like that.

CR: Was the head shave inspired by anything specific? Were you closing that chapter?

SC: Before I shaved my head I was still fighting with my hair. I thought I needed to color it and relax it to be able to work. But it started to look weird or at least I wasn’t feeling it. I decided to just let go of it all. That really killed my already dwindling modeling career. And I moved on. I also moved to the woods in Pennsylvania, but that’s a whole other story…

CR: You said you moved on from modelling but not from fashion - I know you’re a true fashion lover, did that ignite your desire to model? Was modelling something you’d dreamed about doing growing up?

SC: It wasn’t really a dream of mine in the sense that when I first started it just happened. I started because I had a friend who was a photographer, and he had just started working in Milan, so he asked me to go and do some jobs for him: an editorial and a campaign for a smaller denim company in Italy. I got introduced to my agency there. My interest in fashion grew as my interest in other things grew - in the sense that back then I used to go to college, I was studying languages thinking I was going to have a completely different life. I had already worked in the airport for a couple of years for Air Italia so it wasn’t really my intention to do it, it just kind of happened to me. My interest in fashion, especially older fashion, started getting more and more important towards my 30s.I started getting more interested in antiques in general, and then I started looking at antique clothing and then from there I started really developing an interest in fashion as in clothing as a way of also expressing the times that we’re in. I think there’s a big parallel with how people dress and what they’re going through, historically and socially. I’m very fascinated by this parallelism.It’s not something that you can see as you’re living it, or at least that’s how I feel. You see it later, like the difference between Victorian clothes that were very clingy and hard to wear and very heavy, and they kind of corresponded to the way women were perceived and the how women perceived themselves too and the way they were in society, whereas in the 1920s there’s this liberation of the mind that’s starting and then you see clothing changing. You see the little flapper dress, you see ankles, you see, knees, you know.

CR: So, the first time you fell into modelling, what about the second time around? Because you took your break, was that another accident or more of a plan and a readiness?

SC: I didn’t think I was gonna go back to modeling. I thought that was my past life, but then I realised as I was working more and more with clothes that I wanted to do even more and modeling was gonna give me the opportunity not only to make enough money to buy more [vintage and antiques] and to afford more interesting things, but also the possibility to know different people with the same interest in clothing and fashion and craftsmanship. It also gives me the possibility to have so many connections in fashion with collectors. So it’s all intertwined, and it’s working out really well.

CR: It’s all part of a bigger plan! On your first season back in the modelling world, you walked for Rachel Comey, Phillip Lim, and also Tibi, which I found quite interesting because they are known for having a cult following of women that tend to operate outside the box. Do you think that set the tone in a way for this season of your career?

SC: Well, it’s possible. I think it’s everything kind of falling into place and it feels like Tibi is part of this whole mentality that’s actually shifting, like I was saying before, right? It’s the mentality that reflects itself in the clothes. And I think it’s all part of the same melting pot. I’d say it’s because we’re living another one of those cycles where women are more and more important and are more and more self-important, there’s more trust in ourselves, those insecurities that we had before are slowly melting away in different directions and it’s very nice to see how everything is starting to work out and align itself.

CR: Speaking of change, the elephant in the room is obviously, Chanel. What was your first meeting with Mathieu Blazy like?

SC: I have a very good memory of that day because it was an extremely cold day in New York. Those were the first cold days of this season. They told me that he wanted to see me, so I went to this casting along with many, many other girls and women. I walked twice for him, he was very nice to me. He appreciated me and he showed it and I felt relaxed right away. So, when I received a phone call a couple of hours later, I was very happy, very surprised because Chanel, I mean, it’s Chanel! I remember I was in the car with a friend of mine, and I grabbed his, and grabbed his leg as I was talking to my agent. I was like ‘I can’t believe I did that!’ It was similar to other experiences [in terms of casting] , but the outcome is major! I’m very happy about it!

CR: And I’m glad that you know how major it is as well! What was the feeling when you found out you were opening the Chanel couture show and then again for the AW26?

SC: That was unbelievable, really unbelievable. I was not expecting that at all, absolutely. I was just very happy to be a part of it and for me it was really major, haute couture! I had never done an haute couture show before, and the first time I do it I’m gonna be 50 in a couple of months. So, I never in my life thought that could happen.When they told me the second time, it was even more mind-blowing, because I wasn’t expecting to open the show twice in a row. I’m extremely grateful, extremely, extremely grateful and very, very happy about it.

CR: So exciting. I’m so excited on your behalf! When I saw you on the Chanel runway the first time and then again as opener and then AGAIN, I was really rooting for you. Because Matthieu is using the same models each season, for the viewers it feels like we are on the journey with you all. What is the dynamic like BTS at Chanel? From the outside it looks like a sisterhood, the whole world Matthieu is constructing is one that feels and reads as joy, but I would love to know if it’s accurate or if there is still that pure chaos and drama backstage until the lights go up?

SC: Absolutely. We are a group of people and we go for dinners. It’s really relaxed, even right before the show, those 10-15 minutes before going out: everybody’s working, everybody’s concentrated, but there’s no negative tension there. It’s very like you said, I think Matthieu has a lot to do with it because I have never - I’m sure he has his moments of stress - but I have never seen him not smiling. I have never seen him upset about something. I’m sure he has all the reasons in the world because I don’t know how many issues can come up preparing such big collections, when everybody is expecting so much of him. It has to be stressful, it has to be unnerving. I would be a nervous wreck, but he never stops smiling and he is always very caring, he always asks how you are, how you’re doing, he asks about your family. He’s an extremely, extremely, genuinely nice person. So, I think that kind of radiates on the people around him, and everybody is like this. The models, all the people that are part of the crew, everybody is like this. So, the situation is really, really comfortable and chill. Even 10 minutes before the show, when the moments are really important.

CR: I’m really glad to hear that, because sometimes, you know, things look one way, and then you learn later on it’s a completely different way behind the scenes. But it feels authentic, it feels this kind of joy that you’re talking about. I’m now thinking about what you were saying earlier about how fashion moves with the times, he’s led such a big change in the house. I wonder if fashion is finally moving towards a more accepting, hopefully friendlier place.

As I edit this interview I ruminate on this even more. The new(er) guard seems to be dropping the old mentality. Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Chioma Nnadi at British Vogue is so incredibly personable, Chloe Malle at American Vogue seems to be working overtime to change the perception of the ‘mean’ Vogue archetype too.

SC: Yes, I think so. I also mentioned before that these are cycles and we know that everything moves in cycles. So, we might go three steps forward and one back, but there is an evolution, and it’s tangible, it’s visible and it’s very enjoyable as well.

CR: A lot of models are having a sort of ‘second wave’ of their career in their 30s and over now, which is a big deal in this profession where typically your career is antique at 25. It’s a really wonderful change to witness. What advice would you give your younger self advice on modeling from your point of view today?

SC: Well, it’s pretty much the same advice I give to my son who would like to become a model which is that there are gonna be way more no’s than yes’s, because that’s how it is. There are a lot of people out there and It’s mostly not because of you or because of who you are, or because of the way you think. It’s because every client has their own view, their own vision and they want to stick to it and maybe you don’t fit for that vision, but it’s nobody’s fault. Another piece of advice is definitely that you shouldn’t compare yourself to anybody else and you shouldn’t try to be anybody else, because you’re not, and it’s gonna come through. I think the more honest you are with yourself and whoever you’re working with the better, because there’s a reason why you’re there, and it’s not because you pretend to be somebody else. It’s because it’s you, because you look like that, because you have that character and the client appreciates and wants that.

CR: I was very excited when I discovered that you have a vintage store, how did that come about?

SC: My father used to be a flea market aficionado so, he used to take me to flea markets all the time when I was little and he used to bring back home little knick-knacks like old watches that he would repair. So I’ve always been surrounded by antiques. It all started from there. It has deep roots because it’s always been there and when I started to do it during my adult life, I started to do it initially, because I wanted to try and see how it was to actually deal antiques. I really was interested in objects and all kinds of different things that were part of our daily life that are not anymore, but still have a function today. I think it’s very fascinating. I started with objects and then I slowly moved into clothes. Especially a flea market in Paris, there was a booth that I still go to that I loved because it looked like stepping back in time, I saw the amount of clothing that I had no idea existed. I didn’t know there was that big amount of Victorian clothing, I had no idea, and the fact that it was right there and that I could touch it and I could even buy it was for me eye-opening. I decided to look more into it, and then I realised that it’s actually a lot of fun to go look for this kind of stuff. There are events, there are auctions, there are state sales, there are private people that contact you. I feel a little bit like Indiana Jones in a way because sometimes I get into these places, find some treasures, some things that have been there for decades and nobody has looked at and they still have so much life in them, they can still be admired. They don’t have to stay there and keep being dusty. I’m kind of on a mission to save the clothes of the world.

CR: Thank you for your service. I’ve just had a thought: Do you think you’ll get the chance to go into the Chanel archives?

SC: Ooh my goodness! I’ve never even thought of it! You’ve made me think about it now! That would be absolutely fantastic! I don’t know, but I would love to.

CR: I’m going to try and manifest this for you, I’m putting out the vibes.

SC: Thank you, I’ll do the same. And I will let you know, if I do!.

CR: Oh yeah, I want the full feedback that day! When you’re sourcing for your store, is there a muse in your head that you imagine that you’re buying for?

SC: It’s funny because my store, my taste, and my interests fluctuate year after year. Lately I’m very much into the 1920s and the 1930s so, I think about women from that era whose style I admired. I’m thinking about - I have to name her - but Coco Chanel is one of the women I think about as a model because she had this way of dressing that was innovative for the era: the pants and the short hair, kind of masculine, it was the inspiration for the summer collection. It’s that woman that wears the little tank top or the little blouse in high-waisted palazzo pants for example. But there was a time that I was interested in the 50s, and I would think about a woman like Anna Magnani or Jeanne Moreau, women with a certain body, with a certain allure, with a certain strength as well because I mean, I named people that had a certain character too. It depends on the decade and then I think of a certain character from that era that embodies those characteristics.

CR: Do any of those characters ever follow you to the catwalk?

SC: That is a very interesting question. They are definitely an inspiration, they are, but ultimately the catwalk has a lot to do with what I’m wearing at that moment and how I feel and the way it moves. I don’t want to sound pretentious because I don’t pretend to be an actress or anything like that, but the way I move is inspired by the way [the clothes] move mostly. There are certain people that are an inspiration, but I don’t want to be any of them, because they are them, and they’re beautiful but they are not me.

CR: You know there are some designers that are famous for giving a character, like John Galliano, there’s videos of him making up these crazy descriptions, and sending the models out with these long story lines. Then there are other designers, I guess, that choose a model because of what they see in that model, and they want you to just be yourself. So, I was interested in if you ever call on your own inspirations?

SC: If somebody were to tell me, think about this person while you’re wearing this garment the way I would interpret it is, think about this person, but be you. It’s very complicated to explain. Think about this person, yes, get guided by that idea, but you cannot pretend to be. It’s still you. I don’t know if it makes any sense?

CR: It does make sense. It’s like they have an inspiration, but at the end of the day you’re the one who booked the job, right? I’ve got one more question to ask: What is your holy grail vintage item that you’re waiting to find?

SC: It’s never gonna happen, but there was this designer from the early 1900s called Fortuny that did amazing, amazing gowns. It was around, let’s say the 1920s - give or take. That would be one of the things that I would love to find, but it’s impossible. It’s impossible. Those are things that if you find them they’re already tens of thousands of dollars and whoever has that is not getting rid of it, so, it’s just a dream.

CR: You never know! One day! Crazier things have happened!

SC: Exactly. Or another thing that I would love to find is very, very, very old clothing. Very old clothing. I would love to find something from the 1700’s, from the 1600’s, but that’s a completely different level.

CR: You’re looking at museum pieces! Do you have any parting words?

SC: I really just hope that we… I’m getting heavy here, because we’re living very dark, dark, dark times, and I really, really hope next time, if we ever talk again, this is gonna be behind us because these times are really, really, really dark.

CR:I know, it feels a bit strange sitting here talking about clothes, right?

SC: Exactly.

CR: The whole world is watching and waiting and feeling hopeless.

SC: Exactly, so, I really do hope we get to see some light, because every day it’s getting darker, and I hope that eventually we get out of it, and it’s not gonna take years.

We left the call on a sobering note, it’s worth mentioning that our call took place on Wednesday 8th April, while the world sat and waited for Trump to make more irresponsible, ignorant and dangerous announcements with zero regard for the real lives impacted. It’s hard to work in industries like fashion when the world is reaching such dire states, during mass displays of inhumanity and depravity. The role of any artist, be it painter or designer is to either reflect what the world is or what the world needs. I believe Matthieu Blazy’s designs act as an escape, a light source, a shred of joy. Stephanie and her peers are vessels for these messages, they bring the art to life, lead us into a dream and at best, make the audience feel seen. With that said, every single one of us should be using our voice and it showed great strength of character for Stephanie to use hers. Maybe those delicate, glassy eyes were simply reflecting the energy around us? Humanity will always be the most beautiful feature.

Let’s rip the band aid: I am an Editor in Residence at Who What Wear UK. For the last year or so I have watched the predictions unravel about social media personalities popping up in magazine/traditional media roles (derogatory) - the most recent manifestation of this is the backlash surrounding creators taking on red carpet interviews. Jake Shane and Quenlin Blackwell (although, mainly the former) took a lot of heat for potentially being out of depth on the Oscar’s red carpet. Keltie Knight gave a very balanced take on The Cutting Room Floor, shedding light on the pros and cons of having social media stars enter legacy media spaces. She spoke from a place of experience and understanding the game ‘I don’t care how you get there, but you have to treat it with respect’. But to redirect back to magazines, I predicted these opportunities might arise back when Lara Violetta came out with The Violet Papers and Lyas had his appointment at Interview Magazine. Pair that with the rise of analogue tech and print media as a trend, the recent announcement that Brenda Hashtag is Editor-at Large of o32c and supermodel-and-multi-hyphenate Paloma Elsesser hosting her ‘Back Talk’ writing events during fashion week, sound the alarm: we have a happening.

Amber Siwei wrote an an article that tackled the question ‘is a personal brand the key to surviving fashion journalism?’ In this piece Amy Francombe suggested that for journalists, a personal brand was more about having a distinctive voice while Anastasia Vartanian’s POV was that employers will be more interested in writers with strong online presence over just a well stocked CV. The New Yorker put the number $275,300 USD at the forefront of our minds as one Substacker revealed to them that was their annual income from subscriptions alone. I notice journalists branching into the content space is seen as adaptive but creators stepping into journalism is low-brow thievery. I guess without a digestible trajectory or the usual boxes ticked it feels untrustworthy, we doubt how they got the role and if they have the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and most of all talent to do it justice. Journalism is a respected occupation with a well documented lineage that in many ways shapes culture and history. Journalists are studious, educated and academic. Content creators? A dime a dozen! A drop in the ocean! Get ready with me to take a job I don’t deserve! Right???? We live in a time where everyone is self-proclaimed, self-diagnosed and posting their self-inflated highlights - often for money. There are obviously people who look at this with nuance and people who feel slighted and like the world’s gone mad and suddenly everyone is an ADHD-riddled Creative Director with an online course.

Ever since my TikTok started gaining traction in 2022, people would constantly refer to me as a ‘fashion journalist’, something I had a visceral reaction to. Knowing people with degrees in journalism who worked so hard from ‘unpaid intern’ to earn the title made me extremely conscious not to appear as if I was stepping on toes or cutting corners. I am not someone who suffers from imposter syndrome - in fact sometimes I may go too far the other way. I do, however, suffer from British Politeness. At a certain point, around 20 episodes deep into a weekly podcast interviewing people with serious skin in the fashion game, I had to start placing more value on the actual act rather than the accolades and degrees. Magazine’s and panels are quick to rightly or wrongly deem people ‘experts’, myself included. The first time this happened I was shocked - I didn’t realise you could be an expert by simply being really into something, but if you know the information, you know the information. Once again I was blindsided (and flattered) because I thought you had to be ordained as an expert, ministered in by a professor of sorts. Instead you’re quoted in an article and it keeps happening. Suddenly you can say you’ve given expert concise sentences to Vogue Singapore, British Vogue, Who What Wear (US and UK), List, Hypebae and more. I remember the first time I sat on a SHOWstudio panel, the commenters mainly shared the sentiment that they did not want to see any more ‘influencers who don’t know what they’re talking about.’ Despite this I was invited back as a host. It begs the question who needs impressing?

As an ‘uneducated’ person, if I relied on schools and professors to validate my efforts, I would never progress. JT’s appearance on The Cutting Room Floor (second shout out, this is a Recho fan club!) was particularly profound. She recounted studying Fashion Marketing but not having a stable enough home and personal life to ever succeed in getting her degree. As someone who dropped out of college (that’s BEFORE university in the UK for my global readers) at a very tumultuous time in my life, I felt seen. I can’t say creators don’t deserve to enter other avenues because my whole livelihood is the product of alternative pathways and ‘Facebook local’ favourite, The School of Life. Social media can act as a chance for those who may not have had another way in. In light of, or maybe in spite of all of this, allow me to sing for my supper and tell the story of my long love affair with writing.

Chani Ra’s Unorthodox Writing Credentials

• As a child I was reading Vogue, Elle and whatever else I could get my hands on. Magazines acted as a prep school and gave me a window into a world outside of the council estate destiny had dropped me on. I would challenge myself to correctly pronounce all of the European brand names. See also: Libraries.

• Our first computer became the vessel for my primary-school-going-self to cosplay Carrie Bradshaw for hours on end, writing my ‘column’ or my own fictional tales of four fashionable friends navigating what my youthful brain had observed of adult life.

• I was raised listening to Hip Hop and quickly began drawn to the story tellers and word players like Common and Erykah Badu. I would analyse song lyrics for fun, before I knew what Rap Genius was, I would be decoding the double entendres and puns. I would dissect the works of Lupe Fiasco, Outkast, Atmosphere or Akala in English class. As my taste got more eclectic I would seek out emotional songwriters across genres. To this day I am still a ‘lyrics first’ listener.

• Discovering endless Def Poetry Jam performances on YouTube got me into poetry. I enjoyed reading the classics at school but this felt more personal. My Godbrother and I would memorise the spoken word pieces and recite them over and over again.

• I was one of those kids whose poetry would always make it into those collections of works from all of the schools students in the area. It’s just dawned on me that I never got a single copy? Did anyone ever see these books???

• Naturally, I began writing my own poems and keeping diaries as a teen. When I was attending college I had a day with a 2 hour break and instead of making new friends I would leave the campus and sit on a bench writing about heartache. This is where I subconsciously decided that great writing, important writing = pain.

• The blogging era was my playground! I had so many blogs on Blogspot for each of my interests. I was on Tumblr pouring out my heart. I was even using the notes feature on Facebook. The MySpace Bulletin was my NYT Bestseller. There was a thrill about sharing with people I couldn’t see. A friend and I had a Blog in I believe 2011 where we would interviewed people like Terence Koh and Cole Mohr. It was fun, I didn’t consider what we were doing as ‘journalism’. In those days we just called it ‘lolz’. During this time I was also taking any internship I could get my hands on. They weren’t writing internships but as long as I was in fashion’s orbit, I was learning. I have fond memories of eating burgers on the roof at Charlie Le Mindu’s studio with other interns and trying on the wigs when left unattended, dancing around to Lil Kim. Valuable life skills.

• In a typical mid 20’s act of self realisation I threw myself into poetry and decided to keep fashion as a joyful hobby like supporting a football team and write about more serious things to give myself a sense of purpose. I was posting spoken word, having virtual poetry gatherings throughout the Covid lockdowns and self published a book which I used to fund my need for Telfar bags at the time. I paused on existing in the wellness space as I regained happiness. I began to learn people don’t really want to read about your joys in that space, and that’s ok.

• I had a job as a marketing assistant at a branding agency. I lasted 9 months because I hated being micro-managed but that’s another story. In this role my manager would constantly point out my terrible proof-reading skills (remember those self-diagnosed ADHD people I mentioned earlier? Hi!) and flippantly suggesting I get tested for Dyslexia. This was a confidence knock despite people regularly purchasing my book at that time. What I learned leaving that role was the constant mistakes were anxiety-induced. I still struggle with punctuation sometimes, but I don’t have shame around it. I write how I speak. It’s conversational!

• At 29 I got pregnant with my son and this is where I had a huge shift. I wanted to be a closed book. Everything suddenly felt high stakes. I deactivated all of my writing accounts with no warning and never wrote again - almost. I started The Fashion Nap on TikTok as a way to find frivolity and lighten the mood of life. I didn’t even noticed all the scripts I was writing were well…me writing.

• I had writers block for my whole pregnancy and the first 2 years of being a parent (minus the video essays I didn’t acknowledge.) It was in a therapy session that I decided to overcome the block by writing about ‘something else’. Not journalling for all those years was so foreign to me as someone who has a library of every thought I’ve had since 16. I got on Substack and started to talk about the emotions behind my clothes. It felt less invasive and it reignited my passion.

Which brings me to the first role as a writer:

Editor In Residence at Who What Wear UK, 2026.

I still tense at the word ‘journalist’. I think columnist suits me just fine.

Oh, and P.S. I’m journalling again.

Ellie Misner’s AW26 collection titled ‘It’s My Birthday I Can Cry If I Want To’ was created in the tumultuous wake of her 30’s. Since we were little girls, we’ve been longingly absorbing media that portrays womanhood as an endless stream of perfect outfits, perfect relationships, perfect friends and dream jobs with unlimited salaries. It’s no surprise that reality can feel like the ultimate betrayal. It’s the same mirage of 30-something life that’s recounted in Jean Grae’s memoir ‘In My Remaining Years’ where they take us on the spiral of realising adult life isn’t actually sitting in Manhattan with your three girlfriends drinking Cosmos all day! Who knew?! So, what did Ellie Misner do as she turned 30 during a 2025 from hell, feeling anything but ‘chic and put-together’? She put that feeling in a bottle, shook it up and made lemonade.

The lemonade in question is a collection of demi-couture evening looks that add a Bridget-Jones-esque sense of humour to life’s growing pains. ‘Even if everything goes wrong, you can still be fabulous’ explains Ellie as we sit in her studio. As usual each piece is meticulously sculpted and considered and the embellishments are painstaking. Each look has a character assigned: A beautiful hand-beaded bodice covered in pearly buttons and clear crystals that faded into patches of rosy browns, portraying the girl who’s spilled her drink down herself. A backless red gown with stitching on the derrière to emulate the VPL of the girl who’s feeling herself despite obliviously wearing the wrong underwear. There’s a pair of jacquard check gowns in opposing colours that represent the horror of someone arriving in the same dress as you.

The characters are women that we have all been, their flaws and messiness immortalised as the stand-out features that make the collection so special. Misner’s muse was Eliza Doolittle played by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. ‘She’s so real and fun but she’s also SO glam. - I love that juxtaposition.’ says Ellie. Eliza Doolittle embodies the haphazard pull between the woman you are and the woman the world wants you to be - the two women who may never align. ‘I used films I watched growing up for the visual inspo and the real feelings as the concept.’ She also cited Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as an inspiration, especially the leading lady who left an idyllic imprint of womanhood on the mind of Ellie as a child, Truly Scrumptious - the name alone leaves a taste in your mouth so sweet that it summons a sickness. ‘The glamour of those films and idea of coming of age and coming into your own - but the imperfectness of what that is actually like, thats the best bit about it’

True to her habit of taking high camp and editing it into something more dare I say, subtle, there are even looks to represent the cake, the table setting and the gift - which was worn by Ellie herself (as she should!) One skirt had a fringing at the bottom made entirely of silverware. Pulling that off without it looking like a Katy Perry tour outfit is proof that ‘taste’ is right up there with ‘skill’ and ‘talent’.

Instead of a runway show the collection was shown at an intimate dinner at Isabel’s in Mayfair attended by the people of planet Ellie Misner, who know and love the designer and brand alike. This made for a slew of beautiful women, laced up and perching in their seats in creations from the past and present collections. The line between the typical Ellie Misner model and the attendees wearing the collection is blurred in the best way due to the ongoing commitment to casting truly diverse models. ‘It’s really important to me, and I always want to bring that in.’ Couture for all bodies has always been the motto at Ellie Misner. As well as dresses worn by guests and displayed around the venue, there was a fashion film and look book by James Sheridan and Nick Thompson. The styling was handled by Phoebe Lettice-Thompson. It felt like a true celebration of all that Ellie has created, as well as a show format that the team can actually enjoy and participate in. Seeing Ellie wearing her own creation, smiling over the ‘birthday’ cake and working the room was like a performance artist giving herself a do-over at closing her 20’s.

Look book models: Riley Woodell, Altynay Jakisheva, Beatrice Aol, Anna Sarokina

Hear my chat with Ellie Misner about AW26 here

Ellie Misner on The Fashion Nap podcast here

Last month I spoke to students at Liverpool Uni from various fashion courses about being British. I decided to present what was basically a one-woman rant about growing up as a part of the ‘underclass’ which is an outdated term but one I relate to greatly (you know its bad when the PC version is ‘lower class!’) I rarely feel like I can relate to articles and data about people from working class backgrounds in fashion because I never viewed my upbringing as working class. Nobody had jobs. My childhood was adjacent to an episode of Shameless, but I didn’t know any different.

That is a lie, I knew fashion and fashion was different. Fashion pulled me in as soon as I opened my eyes. The existence of fashion not only made sense to me, but it made sense of me, of why I stuck out like a sore thumb on the estate. It existed and therefore regardless of how far my life was from that world, it was where I was going to end up. Who needed a plan? I was born in 1992 which means all of the images of fashion I was seeing in magazines that had been hoarded and scattered around the place were from the golden age of supermodels. Chanel and Versace campaigns were the meaning of life to me as a child. To say that at my current age would be shallow but back then it was a spiritual ascendance. I say all of this to say that on the day I am writing this, March 13th 2026: I finally shopped at Chanel. With my own money. Money that I earned without a plan or a degree. Money I earned doing the only thing I know how to do: talking ad nauseam about fashion. Is it tacky to say that? Maybe, but the fact is that this last year has completely changed my life.

If you read my article titled Blazy Crazy, then you’ll know that I have been under the Blazy spell, drinking the Blazy Kool-aid and have essentially had my brain taken over by the works of this man named Matthieu since the first model stepped onto the runway at his Chanel SS26 debut as CD. Being a shoe girl, I’m always straight to the ‘details’ tab on Vogue runway. I screenshotted at least 10 pairs from that collection and blasted them to my friends with attached declarations of love! I have been head-over-heels (no pun intended) for the last 6 months.

I did not anticipate the obstacles that would be laid in my way. I hustled and worked my A-double-S off making sure the money was right but suddenly I was in the fashion equivalent to Tough Mudder. Amy Odell and Erica Williams are two creators who have been covering ‘Chanelmania’ and exposing the out-of-character tactics being used at Chanel to manufacture a buzz around this collection, I can hand-on-my-heart say I was already manic before they started their reindeer games. I was a woman possessed, I was checking in with the Chanel corner of the Selfridges shoe gallery like they were the OG’s. I just needed a release date and nobody was opening their mouths. I had a false start when one SA gave me the Pre-Spring release date and I went marching over there against my better judgement to find a sea of neutral slingbacks. Once Paris Fashion Week began, the info was presenting itself. I knew I needed ears and eyes everywhere and a team assembled itself by chance. This is where it became a true community effort. I felt more of a village mentality around my acquisition of these shoes than I did around the birth of my child. Here’s the part where I pay respect to those who truly assisted in this quest:

Bhavitha Mandava

Yes, the Chanel woman herself after reading (and enjoying - just saying) my Substack, landed in my DM’s to piece together notable dates - as well as Ms. Rachel level cheerleading and encouragement.

Micah Gabriel

Ran out of an event mid-conversation to send me this urgent voice note when he heard the Paris release date at PFW.

Kept me a few steps ahead leading me to call the flagship and make sure the info I finally got out of a sales assistant in there was reliable.

Gabriela Karefa-Johnson

Sent the prices from the Paris boutique so I could confirm accuracy of the estimated prices on the Chanel website pre-UK launch.

Shared notes on the whereabouts globally of the elusive mules (see below) - spoiler alert: neither of us got the mules.

So now, armed with intel, I make my way to the Elizabeth line with my 3-year-old who I have promised I will take for monster-trucks-and-pizza if he is RRREEEAALLLY patient with mummy in the fancy shoe shop. For some reason I had convinced myself that the Paris stores were only chaotic because the launch was during PFW. I power walked down New Bond Street and saw a crowd in the distance. Was it a mirage? No. It was real and centred around the Chanel store that had opened 1 minute ago.

A staff member came outside and called for ‘anyone here for shoes’ to come inside. I laughed to myself as it landed in my ears as ‘calling all entry level shoppers!’ We marched inside and were greeted with another queue. Did my son insist on coming out of his pushchair? Yes. Did he get swept up in the mob mentality and punch two women? Yes. Of course I corrected the behaviour but it did get us a queue jump. I kept the pride to myself. I was actually very impressed at the lengths the staff went to to accommodate my son. Upstairs of course was another queue but two sweet women who were running the show up there insisted we move to a seated area so Shilo could sit down with his toys and one of them even stood in line on my behalf to not lose my space. We were offered drinks and before the Earl Grey even touched the table, we were summoned.

I had a team of two, Alan and Joe frantically bringing out everything colourful or loud in a size 41. The question I heard most customers being asked was ‘are you looking for an investment to wear all the time or a piece of history that represents the collection?’ I let them know that colour wasn’t going to stop anything being in my regular rotation so the answer was both! While trying on one of many pairs in the mirror a woman stopped me to say how cute Shilo is. She was trying on the deep red and baby pink two-tone slingbacks which I complimented. She said they were for her 22-year-old daughter which she followed by a tongue-in-cheek eye roll and the word ‘spoilt!’. We had a laugh and she asked if I worked in fashion and I gave a vague outline of what I do and asked what she did? She replied simply ‘Oh, nothing!’ My first thoughts were ‘I live for this honesty!’ and ‘GET ITTTT!’ My next thought was more introspective. When I was younger I assumed the only way I would ever find myself in these literal shoes would be through a man. Gabrielle Solis ‘Desperate Housewives’ vibes you know? I wasn’t seeking that out but it seemed to be the most logical route given my background and the jobs I believed were available to me. Now there I was and I did it myself. In that moment I felt so accomplished and that feeling paired with the awe of my inner child and in large part, the 5 supremely late invoices that my agent had been chasing for eternity that all landed in my account that morning…it lead to an escalation.

‘Shall I keep these blue toed heels to the side for you while you decide?’

‘Oh these are coming with me for definite, I’ll be buying more.’

I tried on many shoes and to my surprise, Shilo (my son) wasn’t bored. He was talking to me about colours, seeing which ones matched his Hot Wheels trucks, making friends with the other shoppers and helping the staff pile up hoe boxes. I try not to force my interests on him but I really do enjoy when he takes an interest. I make sure to ask him what he likes or dislikes about the different fabrics and colour combos. While waiting for more sizes I took him to see the jackets, showing him the 3D flowers around the hem and explaining that somebody made those from fabric. I don’t want him to grow up thinking fashion is a silly thing for girls. It’s important to me that he understands what I do and why I work so hard and why I care so much - even if he ends up with completely different interests. He has two working parents and I want him to be proud of what we’re building.

I ended up treating myself to two phenomenal pairs of shoes. It was about to be Mother’s Day! I also made the spontaneous decision to treat my Aunty, who was visiting the following day, to some red and pink, two tone ballerinas. She text me that afternoon to ask if I made it to the shop and if I pulled the trigger on any purchases, to which I responded revealing only that I bought two pairs -hers would be a surprise. She text back ‘I am so proud of you!’ Followed by ‘I know it sounds silly but 2 pairs of Chanel shoes in our family is a big deal!!’ When I say nobody worked, I am not talking about her. My aunty (who is only 8 years my senior because, well I told you, it was like Shameless) has been a dustwoman since she was 19. For a long time she was the ONLY woman in that role in the whole of Sussex! Through that manual labour she funded her own shoe addiction, HUNDREDS of pairs and a dream maximalist wardrobe. When she says this is a big deal coming from our family its because she understands.

‘why are you wearing those shoes?’

Either he was a fashion connoisseur who could spot a fake a mile off, or he had begun the great journey of fitting in. Once over the initial shock I told him that I like interesting things but asked him what shoes he thought I should wear. His suggestion: Normal shoes, like Jordans. From the mouths of babes. This interaction is one I’ve had many times - albeit he is the youngest shade thrower I’ve encountered yet.

The above image is my final school photo from 2009. Black hair dye, fuschia lipstick, a rope chain and a dream. I posted this to my instagram story once and people were in shock - I am not embarrassed of this look. I respect this girl so much because, historically, I have always done what I wanted when it came to clothes. This expression was often to my own detriment within the confines of school. As the internet exhausts the key words ‘personal style’, I fight the urge to slip into a jaded state as I ponder the question: is experimenting only when your ‘for you page’ gives you the green light actually taking a risk? The concept of being an individual as a trend feels like an M C Escher painting.

Style has always felt like an urge. An itch that can’t be scratched until the look is exactly right. It’s something that has always been there. From tantrums as a small child over hating my floral Dr Marten’s to adolescent meltdowns before the club because my eyeliner was uneven, I have always cared how I looked. I don’t know what I was marching to: the beat of my own drum or the beat of the ‘what are you wearing?!’ heckles. What mattered is that I was marching and I had a vision for myself. Diana Vreeland famously said ‘style is what gets you out of bed in the morning’ and I have understood exactly what she meant by that since I was able to dress myself. In school none but one of my friends were into Fashion, the kind with a capital F. I remember one day my group of friends went to the park after school. It was the kind of hot summer that seems to only exist in your memories. Me and my Fashion friend were laid in the grass, pouring over that month’s magazines, swapping issues like Pokemon cards and obsessing over which model was in which editorial, who they were wearing and most importantly, which things we would wear. The fun of the moment was interrupted by a choir of shrieks,

‘WHY ARE YOU READING LESBIAN PORN?!!’ screeched one of the girls before the others joined in the pandemonium.

I was lost for a second until I realised: There was a topless model in one of the editorials. It was the 2000s, you were lucky if the models were wearing a necklace between them in most cases! The reason this memory is so strong in my mind is that it completely defined why I never felt comfortable in that group: They were not my people. That same friend and I discovered a website called lookbook.nu where you could post your outfits and other fashion fans could ‘hype’ your look. Of course we started posting and becoming fans of different users around the world. She wasn’t as outlandish as I was and possibly cared a bit more about fitting in, although she was gaining confidence. One day the ‘friend group’ found her account and sent so many awful messages ridiculing her for wearing a crop top of all things (the trend hadn’t trickled down yet.)

Non-school uniform days were my Met Gala. On one occasion, I discovered this pink chunky knit snood I had was big enough to wear as a tube dress. I paired it with grey tights and then agonised over a shoe. I knew the only real option was a pair of platforms with thick straps in the exact same shade of grey. Was it fine to wear 5’ platforms to school, I hesitated for a few minutes but ultimately I had to commit. I also had to finish the look with a chocolate brown fur coat, huge hoops and way too much jewellery. Were people looking at me like I’d lost my mind? Absolutely. But the bottom line was that the look was always going to come first. Before the judging looks, before the snide comments and before the outside opinions. A result of my outlandish looks was also that no boys liked me, always opting for the cookie-cutter, girl next door - partly because it was designed for the male gaze and partly to seek approval from their peers - and clearly that was not me. One thing I’m proud of is that I never let the consequences of my exploration hold me back. It would bother me that my look wasn’t understood, not that they were right.

I don’t want to dwell on this era for too much longer but I do need to stress that this (above) was my prom outfit. I made it by embellishing an American Apparel dress with a thick black cord, inspired by a tumblr-viral photo of an Alexander Wang dress (that combo did not age well.) I remember my dance teacher looking me up and down with her deep spray tan and stiff, bleached, graduated bob and telling me I looked like a dominatrix. This stylistic experimentation got more and more dramatic before settling to where my style is now. The most thrilling part of style is that I never know where it’s going to go next - no matter how comfortable I feel, it’s never my final form. I respect people that can stick to one aesthetic forever and really commit, but I find myself chronically inspired and questioning and discovering. Never knowing the next move is half the fun.

A pastime of mine is watching fashion icon acceptance speeches. When Solange Knowles, who’s easily one of the biggest dressers of this generation, was honoured by Parson’s School of Design in 2018, she talked about going to New York at 10 years old and getting ‘capri pants’ in three colours. When she wore them to school back in Houston, the girls didn’t get it and made fun of her ‘high-water pants’. She recounts that from there she had to develop a way to maintain her sense of pride when she felt good. I remember the disrespect she got in the early days of her career for being the ‘weird’ sister. Tavi Gevinson created a whole brand as an 11 year old who dressed like an avante garde 70 year old. She built that world online because her age mates IRL more than likely thought Commes Des Garçons was an answer on their French test and Miuccia Prada was a pizza topping

.

In Erykah Badu’s CFDA Fashion Icon Award acceptance speech in 2024 (I know! What took them so damn long? - word to 3Stacks and Badu herself!) she explains that fashion is ‘like a sport’ to her. I believe every dresser should hear this speech as she tells an anecdote about how in her younger days she took her presentation as a spiritual person incredibly seriously. The headwrap was ‘heavy, but it was a sacrifice you make to be a fashion priestess’ she explains. In this story she was waiting for a Santeria reading in her full white regalia and the very respected healer she is visiting turns out not to look how she expected - I’m condensing as you really need to watch the speech and hear it in Badu’s own words - he was a guy in shorts: no robe, no necklaces - just a healer, from a long line of healers and she realised it didn’t matter if he wasn’t dressed for her reading because the gift was’ in him not on him.’ There is such an obsession online with dressing to announce yourself as being a certain way, even to validate your being. I personally like my outfits to lie for me. I want my outfits to gossip about me and tell tall tales about me and confuse and bewilder. The Santeria priest was greater than his outfit, sometimes we are too and on some days I need my outfit to surpass what’s going on behind the scenes. It doesn’t have to be so serious, the role of human being has no uniform.

It’s almost like you put in your 10,000 hours on the way to truly not giving a fuck and wearing whatever you like. Whatever feels good. The reason this ‘personal style’ explosion feels like a dead end is because it doesn’t run deep. It’s become a box to tick, not a natural pull. The truth is, some people’s style is ‘boring’ and that’s OK! It’s OK to like what other people like. A great outfit doesn’t equal a great person. Style is not the only route to be eccentric, chic or characterful and ironically exploring other avenues may lead back to style anyway. In comparison to working with natural inclination and growing into your style, the new approach of waking up and saying ‘I’m going to find my personal style on Pinterest’ feels like a BBL.

Am I saying you need to be berated and judged and heckled to prove your commitment to your style? It sounds like it doesn’t it! On the contrary, I am truly happy anytime I witness somebody have the courage to take a stylistic risk whatever the motivation. What does leave a bad taste in my mouth is the cosplaying of authenticity in the name of engagement and the beating the dead horse of ‘finding your personal style’. If you have to search that hard, it might not be yours?