(I really want to be) Edie Campbell

 

   Having been inspired to do a style file on Edie Campbell this week after seeing her preppy photoshoot for the fall edition of 032c Magazine, I was surprised to find that there is not much coverage of her on the internet regarding her style choices!! I had to really hunt to find photographs of my favourite of her outfits, which tells me that when off-duty, she doesn't like to be in the limelight much! I found this quite intriguing, along with other aspects of her personality that seem to come across in interviews with the naturally stunning model. For a twenty-one year old girl that has the fashion world at her feet, you would not expect the question: "What goes through your head when you walk down the runway?" (asked by Elle in their site interview: Model Minute: Edie Campbell) to be answered with, "I just try not to get the giggles."

  Despite her six years experience in the fashion industry (Edie was first spotted by Vogue editor Lucinda Chambers and was used in a feature photographed by Mario Testino in 2006) Edie seems refreshingly down-to-earth for such a youthful talent and beauty. Her journey to becoming one of the most requested British models has evolved from starring in a Burberry campaign with Kate Moss at the impressive age of just sixteen, to gracing the pages of Italian and British Vogue, to modelling for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Anya Hindmarch, Just Cavalli, Stella McCartney, Diesel and Chanel. It's safe to say that she was the envy of every aspiring model of her age when she was given one of the ultimate modelling privileges- she was personally selected by Karl Lagerfeld to close Chanel's Spring/Summer '12 Couture show as the bride. 

 

Edie on the runway for Burberry Prorsum S/S '13- just one of her talents! 

   Rather than let all these amazing opportunities go to her very pretty head, Edie sticks to her pre-model roots by juggling an Art History degree at the Courtauld Institute of the University of London (beauty and brains!) and being a keen equestrian in her spare time; she's been riding since she was five and her own eventer horse is called Doris- cute! Edie even claimed the Magnolia cup at the acclaimed Glorious Goodwood charity racing event in July. The fact that Edie's mother, Sophie Hicks is a former editor at Tatler and British Vogue and her grandmother too has a background in the fashion industry may have something to do with how unaffected Edie seems by her glamorous career. Edie's mother Sophie is an A-lister in her own right- having served as a stylist to Azzedine Alaïa and then from 1987, having embarked on a path in architecture- Sophie herself designed about 100 Chloé boutiques and the incredible Paris flagship store of Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Sophie's mother and Edie's grandmother Joan Hicks, was a successful model of the fifties who collaborated with celebrated English fashion photographers, Norman Parkinson and John French- so there is no doubt that Edie comes from a family that has fashion in their blood.

 

An image from the Art History-themed shoot for 032c Magazine 
that attracted me to writing about Edie's quirky style



Daniel Riera's Ready-To-Wear shoot with Edie
for the fall '12 edition of style magazine, The Gentlewoman 

  Edie's appearance is definitely as effortless as her charming personality- from her enviable full fringe and her need-no-makeup features to her casual yet carefully-put-together clothes. There is an unmissable geek-tastic aesthetic to her look, captured by the photographs for Berlin's number one contemporary culture read, 032c Magazine in which she channels tailored, slightly ankle-swingery trousers, long, folksy skirts, retro printed jumpers and platformed creeper shoes. However, this vintage-hipster side of her style merges comfortably with the slightly more restrained designer pieces that come built into a high-fashion model's wardrobe. This lethal combination enabled Edie to top Tatler's Best Dressed list of 2010, beating off stiff competition from shoe designer Charlotte Dellal, Ernest Hemingway's model great-granddaughter Dree, Olivia Palermo, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Alexa Chung. In her interview with Elle (See the full interview at http://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/model-minute-edie-campbell-29548) Edie hinted that her idea of personal style is a bit mix-matched, saying: "I quite like actively dressing badly, but I think that's a very English thing." When prompted to reveal her best beauty secrets, Edie said: "I don't have any secrets. It's all pretty dull stuff like `moisturize your face,' but how many times have you been told that?". I love how real this girl is. This photograph of Edie below, taken from a feature in i-D magazine, emphasises to me how this model is unique; for me there is a certain allure about her that really enthralls me to follow her progress in the fashion world. You get a strong impression that modelling is in her family history and she feels a slight duty to do it, yet she is also rightly interested in other things. On reading, Edie quoted Roald Dahl as her favourite author; "I love all of his (Roald Dahl's) short stories, he has the best imagination.". she told Elle.

 


Photo courtesy of i-D Magazine Fall 2012 edition

    So now I've established Edie as an all-round muse- fashion and personality wise, here are my favourite outfits she has worn since her fashion-model reign began. With her confident attitude to clothes, her long, lean figure and her 'natural beauty' combination of dark honey coloured hair and blue eyes, Edie can wear pretty much anything, and everything she does wear gives off the vibe of a totally magnetic, individualistic style. In a brief interview with Vogue, when she was just 18, she stated her best fashion tip as: "Love Yo-self." Everything this girl says is cool and she definitely doesn't take herself too seriously. Edie, can we be friends?
 

   
    Here we have an early picture of Edie, and one of my favourite looks of hers- its simple, classic and chic with that added preppy element that is so familiar in her wardrobe. The grey pleated school-girl skirt, baker-boy cap, ankle socks and satchel all create that neat and innocent vibe yet the satchel was one of Mulberry's 'It' bags of the time and the cap was also bang-on-trend, showing how the two personalities of Edie's wardrobe overlap to create a charming and stylish look.


 

 

  Edie chose to wear this Louise Gray monochrome striped maxi dress to the launch of Lulu & Co at Harvey Nichols back in 2010. The dress is an unusal choice but compliments her willowy frame and balances her narrow figure out with the cap-sleeves. Edie added Dorothy-esque red patent heels to add a pop of quirky colour to her outfit. A cute look and an even better pose!

 

 

    Edie attended a premiere at the Electric Cinema of London wearing this understated and feminine vintage H&M dress- I love that although she has access to all these amazing designer labels, she still covets high-street brands- paired with a Lacoste wool and jacquard cardigan, grey woollen tights and black loafers. I love the refined girlishness of this dress; it hangs so elegantly yet is not too over-the-top. Edie carries a vintage-looking brown bag and her hair just looks incredible but still low-maintenance.

  
   Edie is rocking a seventies vibe here in high-waisted velvet flared trousers in that gorgeous forest-green hue, an adorable butterfly-printed shirt and simple black heels. This is one of those looks that I would be too scared to pull off but it looks awesomely retro-chic on Edie. Again, two colours I probably wouldn't put together but they really compliment each other!
 

   Edie demonstrates how to dress for winter and pull off a subtle look of androgyny in this ridiculously cosy-looking brick-coloured tweed coat. I love the oversized look against the kooky turquoise and patterned micro handbag. Her long silky locks and full bangs look as gorge as ever, and I am so happy to say that I own a scarf that is IDENTICAL to the one Edie is carrying here!! Before I even saw this photograph it was in my everyday-shelf of my wardrobe- namely I was wearing it with everything and anything, and now this makes it even more special!

   A more polished look for Edie- at the Royal Academy of Arts Party in London last spring, she wore this lovely dress from Jonathan Saunders. I adore how the nude shade of the dress is broken up with the blue and white stripes at the neckline, the little white collar is adorable and I also love how Edie has gone for something more fitted, more 'model-like' but has added her own twist with the mannish black brogues and cutsie beige ankle socks. The nude belt is a simple touch but cinches in the waist of the dress perfectly and the black clutch with the black shoes makes an eye-catching contrast with the overal neutral colour palette of the outfit. Love her laidback pony-tail too; it really draws attention to the preppy collar!

    Edie breaks one of fashion's golden rules- mixing black and navy- at a Roberto Cavalli store launch in London, but she pulls it off in a chicer than chic way- I personally love the mixmatch as it stops the outfit looking too plain or all-one-colour. Those velvet shorts are amazing and I'm definitely coveting a pair like that for my wardrobe. The lace-up heels have a cute vintage feel as does the mini-box clutch and the ikat print top brings a bold and funky edge to the look- the plunge neckline is also daring but toned down and made sophisticated with the trench! A trench coat is a must have for cold weather and I love this silk-look one.

  At the Topshop Newgen party of this February, Edie looked the epitiome of evening-cool in this almost cosmic-print top in a fabulous, vivid burnt-red colour and frayed, vintage-look black cut-offs. I think this may be the style that suits Edie best- that half-rocker, half vintage-lover look with the added quirk of another pair of preppy brogues. These metallic green ones are so cool. 

 

 

 

    At the Veuve Cliquot launch party in May this year, Edie turned up rocking this gorgeous mustard hue double-breasted coat by Whistles, teamed with a funky yet effeminate printed blouse and tailored navy city shorts. Taupe coloured strappy heels and a simple square black clutch completed this sophisticated look. You can see that when Edie does dress a little more refined, a little more polished she either adds a quirk of her own or uses bold, bright colour to reflect her out-going personality.

   This stunning Jil Sander pillar-box-red, swing coat is from the shoot for Gentlewoman magazine, photographed by Daniel Riera and set down Paris' Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (in lamen's terms, incredible shopping streets) however I had to include it as I think Edie looks so beautiful and so elegant. It is an amazing coat that feels classic yet experiments with modern structure. The red with the nude shoes, the bare legs and the au natural hair capture the quintessential Parisian-chic style.

 

 

 

    Vogue's Fashion Night Out in London last month saw Edie channelling the hotly-desired petrol-coloured Mulberry Maisie bag in yet another chic outfit. She opted for a plain, navy high-necked sweater, worn under a suede, charcoal three-quarter sleeved blazer and teamed with some paisley-printed pyjama pants. Their baggy shape and drawstring waist was a nod to the sports luxe trend. As usual, Edie added a pair of trusty brogues to complete her outfit.

 

 

 

   Edie went for sleek monochrome to match the typical Chanel colour palette at the Little Black Jacket Exhibition Launch last week, in this Chloe cream buttoned-up shirt vest and wide-legged black satin trousers. Edie stuck to the androgynous look with a groomed high-ponytail and she carried the only accessory suitable for a Chanel event- a classic micro chain bag embellished with the celebrated logo of the night.