Burberry's Gabriella Wilde: The Up-and-Coming Actress

    Gabriella Wilde, (full name Gabriella Zanna Vanessa Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe- just a teeny bit of a mouthful!) has the angelic looks, the interesting background and the charming personality. All of which, along with a healthy dose of raw talent, have landed her a role alongside Chloë Moretz in April's Hollywood re-make, Carrie. If you haven't heard of this girl, this post should get her on your radar.
   Despite her insistence in a 2008 interview with The Mail that she has absolutely no training for acting, Burberry girl Gabriella made her film debut the following year, starring in St Trinian's 2. This seemed like the perfect role, considering Gabriella attended St Swithin's boarding school in Winchester during her youth. Three years on, and she has been uncovered as a multi-talented young woman. This year, as well as promoting Carrie, she will attend film festivals with her independent US film, Squatters and carry on as a model for Burberry Prorsum.



Gabriella with Roo Panes in Burberry's AW12 Campaign

     With her father being a successful businessman, and her mother a former model (she was photographed by the acclaimed David Bailey), it seems twenty-three year old Gabriella was bred for the limelight. As a child, however, her aspiration was to be an artist and she remains a gifted painter in her spare time. Gabriella was fourteen years old when she was scouted by Naomi Campbell- at a dinner party! The blonde natural beauty was subsequently introduced to Premier model agency, with its co-founder, Carole White describing Gabriella as a girl with "timeless elegance, beauty and intelligence". Gabriella has juggled her modelling career with her newly-found passion for acting: appearing in Topshop, LK Bennett and Lacoste campaigns and starring in Doctor Who and 2011's cinema release The Three Musketeers.
    

Gabriella in The Three Musketeers

    In interviews, Gabriella comes across as modest, polite and very grounded. Her voice is as beautiful as her face! She holds a refreshing proud-to-be British charisma. Talking to Teen Vogue, she gushed: "The best thing about being from Britain is that it's a melting pot of cultures, characters and creativity." Regarding her A-list persona, she said: "I have never had the ambition to be famous for nothing: you have to do something with your life". Gabriella's model status is definitely not undeserved. If Christopher Bailey takes a shine to you, then there is no denying that you have that special something. But Gabriella's flair for fashion can also surely be seen by everyone. She told Glamour magazine that her interest in fashion came at the mere age of eight: "I wore this weird silver skirt, white turtle neck, and a silver cap!"  
    Gabriella's look is typically very pulled-together; her red carpet choices are flawless, simple and they scream sex siren. The red floor-length gown she wore to the London premiere of The Three Musketeers speaks for itself. Off-duty her style remains refined, yet it has an effortless, personal vibe that seems slightly influenced by her country background- parkas, Burberry quilted field boots and fox-motifs spring to mind. She is also an avid fan of beanies- I too have really started to covet them in my accessory collection this season. 




The beanie- a must-have in your winter wardrobe!

The Three Musketeers Premiere

Gabriella makes a parka and black fur work at the
English International Ballet

   Gabriella has admitted that she likes to recycle clothes- favouring her mother's vintage pieces. She told The Mail (jokily, of course!), that although she loves having a vast family- she has several half-siblings as well as her real sister Octavia- it can be a bit of a pain: "...it's unwise to leave clothes around because one or other of my sisters are bound to borrow them!"
   There is not a reoccuring pattern in Gabriella's wardrobe choices, which I like. She herself defines her style as 'ever-changing': "I'm a bit of a fashion magpie!", she told Teen Vogue. She varies between looking chic and polished (the yellow jacket, skinnies, open-toed courts and clutch combo), youthful and current (the Burberry pantsuit), and a bit rocky (fringing, leather hot-pants and that awesome burnt-out biker jacket below). 

    Christopher Bailey's boyish, baby blue trouser suit is one of my favourite looks on Gabriella. It's so flattering on her lean frame, and the patterned shirt is ultra-cute. In fact, the full-on suit is set to be one of the biggest trends of this spring/summer, featuring at Louis Vuitton and J.W Anderson to name a few. Gabriella's topknot makes a change from her signature flowing locks. I also love how she is not afraid to play around with a random pop of colour- a metallic yellow tends to be avoided yet her clutch really finishes off her outfit here. Gabriella suits strong colours such as the cobalt pictured below, and the metallic purple of this amazing Burberry trench (second below). This was a truly gorgeous, bold look for September's London Fashion Week.

With her modelling partner, Roo Panes

   Creating this snippet of Gabriella's style evolution allows me to conclude that it is no wonder she was picked for one of fashion's most prestigious advertising jobs. Her bearing in the Burberry AW12 campaign is mesmerizing, and I have high expectations for her acting in one of Hollywood's most coveted roles, as Sue Snell in Carrie. She is undoubtedly one to keep your eye on in 2013!

An English Rose

Photographed by Leo Cackett for L'Officiel Paris 2012