Posted: February 8, 2010 at 12:14 pm | Tags: alexa chung
Alexa Chung Model Advice Blog
Alexa Chung was “scarred” by wearing the wrong kind of denim as a youngster.
The British TV presenter – who is currently working with the US store J. Crew to create her own fashion range, inspired by her personal style – says the fabric was a staple material in her wardrobe, but sometimes even she got it wrong.
Recalling her childhood, she told Britain’s Vogue magazine: “The Levi’s brand back then was so in touch with youth culture that it was hard to believe it hadn’t been created in a laboratory by a collective of style bloggers. Even being in the Levi’s store was like stepping on to exotic American soil, which is silly, because we were in Guildford.
“And if you strayed from that brand, you were mocked. I still recall my hapless attempt to wear an outgrown pair of black Gap jeans, leaving me branded and scarred by the nickname Drainpipes for an entire miserable summer.”
Despite being a style icon, Alexa, 26, has realised that sometimes what looks good on the catwalk won’t work in real life.
She said: “I recently tried to work the denim jacket/denim jeans thing, having been inspired by the Spring D+G and Herve Leger shows, but realised once I left the house that it’s an outfit better suited to runways or stadium stages, neither of which I frequent.”
Alexa’s fashion range will mimic her own wardrobe, which will include dungaree dresses, high-waisted skinny jeans, polka dot tea dresses and oversized wool jackets.
>This month’s Vogue is on sale now.
Posted: February 8, 2010 at 12:10 pm
victoria beckham model advice
Victoria Beckham will only design clothes she would wear.
The former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer – whose upmarket clothing ranges have been critically acclaimed – admits she’s a perfectionist when it comes to her work so creates outfits she would be prepared to buy.
She said: “The sales have been phenomenal. It’s been a challenge – obviously people had preconceptions in the beginning – but I’ve worked really really hard. The final test for me is, would I wear it myself?”
The mother-of-three – who is married to soccer star David Beckham – is keen to make all her designs high quality as creating good clothes is something she’s always wanted to do.
She said: “I just really love what I do and I’m passionate about it. It’s what I’ve also wanted to do and for me the quality is very important.”
While her women’s clothes are a huge success, Victoria says she’s in no rush to repeat that with a men’s range.
She told LOVE magazine: “I think Tom Ford is doing an incredible job…but it’s not like I can’t wait to do a men’s line. I love women. I’m a real girl’s girl
Posted: February 8, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Donna Karan’s daughter inspired her DKNY line.
The American designer already had a successful range, the expensive and fancy Donna Karan New York, but soon realised she needed to create clothes which were suitable and affordable for teenage girls and younger women.
She told Britain’s Harper’s Bazaar: “My daughter Gabby and her friends were borrowing the clothes in my closet – she was constantly walking around in these glamorous dresses. I would say, ‘Wait a second, that’s a $15,000 gown you are wearing.’ And she would go off to school. She thought my closet was her closet, that’s kind of how mothers and daughters work.
“I thought, ‘This is going to be a problem,’ because I was designing for me and my friends, not my daughter and her friends. I realised there was a whole generation I could be designing for- my children and my grandchildren. I needed to design the jeans, the T-shirts, the basics.”
DKNY was launched in 1988 and because it was such a hit, she is often regarded as the first designer to successfully establish a diffusion line.
Two years later she created DKNY Jeans – a denim-inspired collection – while DKNY for Men was launched in 1992.
Posted: February 8, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Rihanna is inspired by Brigitte Nielson.
The 46-year-old actress revealed the ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker is so impressed by her edgy sense of style, she begged for the chance to dress up as her for the day.
Brigitte said: “At the People’s Choice Awards, Rihanna came up to me and said, ‘Brigitte, can I just be you for one day?’
‘I’m like, start off bleaching that hair, girl! I always take it as a compliment I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished. The ideas and trends that we created through the years influenced so many things.”
Rihanna is not the only fan of Brigitte’s style, with supermodel Cindy Crawford also expressing her admiration for the ‘Rocky IV’ star’s distinctive look.
She explained to DANSK magazine: “When I did the Herb Ritts shot where I’m covered in fishnet, Cindy Crawford saw it and went, ‘That’s what I want to do!’
“Then she copied me. We did some shoots that were absolutely beyond, but to become an icon and make a difference you have to take chances.”
Brigitte is famed for her cropped peroxide hair and admits hairdressers get worried when they realise she is their client.
She added: “They get so nervous. The last time I changed hairdressers, her hands were shaking. I said: “Calm down. Have a chamomile!’ “
