The Insider: Natalie Hand

This week's installment of The Insider is courtesy of model agency Viva London's director Natalie Hand (the beautiful redhead in the middle right). Born in Nottingham, Hand moved to Paris nine years ago and started booking models for the Viva Paris modelling agency. Seven years later, she was bringing Viva to London and can be credited with building the then little known sister agency to the powerful booker it is today (just two years later), representing everyone from modelling giants Natalia Vodianova, Raquel Zimmermann and Victoria's Secret Angel Doutzen Kroes to young catwalk favourites Edie Campbell, Bette Franke and Kati Nescher.
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Current title: Director / Viva Model Management London

First job: My very first job was playing Marta in 'The Sound of Music' at the Nottingham Theatre Royal at the age of ten. I did get paid for it so it counts?!

My second first job was as a Saturday girl in WHSmiths when I was 16. I quite liked it, time went quickly when it was busy and I was a demon on the till.

 Your first fashion inspiration: Agnetha, the blond singer in Abba. I loved her so much I just wanted to grow up and be her (She was my first crush at the age of 4!) Those silky jumpsuits, that blond flicky '70s hair, Chiquitita...

The moment you knew fashion was your future: I caught the tail end of the true 'Supermodel' era and I was totally intoxicated by their glamour. I loved them all, but particularly Christy T and Amber Valletta. At that time it was just something I couldn't get enough of, I read every single magazine, looked at every image of them as they came out. But I never, ever dreamed I would end up doing what I do now while I was studying for my A levels! It felt like they were on another planet - which if I'm honest at that time they probably were! Other than that, my next epiphany was when I began booking. I thrived on the speed of the fashion industry. I loved the way you could achieve results quickly and how exciting and inspiring things happened every day.

Any moments of doubt: I have a recurrent daydream which usually appears in moments of fatigued paralysis towards the end of Fashion Week. I see myself working in a bakery, pulling out perfect Hot Cross Buns from the oven in a tiny village in the countryside somewhere. Haha I wouldn't last more than half an hour in the real world (let alone the fact that my cooking is so bad I probably wouldn't even have got the job in the first place) but at these pressured, crazy moments the vision has its charms.

Career highlight so far: Moving to Paris to work at one of the most prestigious model agencies in the world. Seven years later moving back to London to set up my own agency and launch it with a beautifully haunting photographic exhibition. Every time I look around Viva London I feel proud- I see how we are building up something very special day by day, step by step.

Fashion world fodder (a favourite anecdote from your years in the trade): Lots and lots I could mention but if I have to choose one maybe it would be when Raquel (Zimmermann) and I went to see Lady Gaga and ended up being introduced to the Lady herself backstage by Nick Knight! We got completely tongue-tied. She asked us if we would like to have a photo taken with her. I have the cutest picture of Raquel looking completely shell-shocked!

Survival tips:

Patience and lots of it!

Determination and discipline

The desire to always go that extra mile

The love of fashion

For more information visit www.vivamodels.fr

 

Kenzo x Vans

Want. Need. Love.
 

Hats and stuff

   

A bit of inspiration for a Friday morning. Have become totally obsessed with hats: beanies, caps, whatever, it's actually got to the stage where i would probably rather leave the house without my trousers than my hat. Bit weird. Feel naked without something on my head - maybe it's got something to do with the f**king FREEZING weather in rubbish old England. Not one sign of summer so far.

What to do this weekend, go to mini-festival The Valley? Potter on Portobello? Krankbrothers?

Whatever you guys do have a goodie.

The Insider: Rosie Sugden

The second installment of The Insider comes courtesy of cashmere designer Rosie Sugden. She launched her eponymous line just last year with a beautiful collection of traditional tartans mixed in with lumo pink beanies and mittens, and knitted turbans which have since found their way into every magazine worth reading. Her second season is to be stocked (amongst others) in Matches and Liberty in London, Henri Bendel in New York and at lovehats.com as well as on her own website rosiesugden.com.

 

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 Current title: Director of Rosie Sugden Scottish Cashmere

First job: My first ever job? I was a shop assistant at Johnstons of Elgin when I was 14. After that I worked at Brora on and off from aged 15-22, interned at Christopher Kane and Walpole British Luxury. I suppose my first proper job is the one I have created for myself now within my own business.

Your first fashion inspiration: Probably Stella McCartney’s horse printed collection at Chloe which was modelled by Kate Moss and Liberty Ross in Vogue. I love horses, I loved that collection and subsequently after it I loved anything Stella created - especially those banana print tops at Chloe.

The moment you knew fashion was your future: I remember watching a documentary about Stella McCartney (there's a re-occurring theme here) which followed her from her degree show to her first job in Paris and I was completely hooked. I recorded it on VHS and watched it over over again plotting my move to Paris... which actually never happened! I loved how cool and nonchalant she and Phoebe Philo were - they were best mates just having a great time designing clothes they loved. I thought they were the bees knees.

Any moments of doubt: Definitely, after I graduated I felt a bit lost and I couldn't get a job. I was applying for internships and jobs and not even hearing anything back. So I decided to take the plunge and start my own business.

Career highlight (so far): So many in the past 6 months since I started my business, hard to choose. Probably when Harriet Quick put a piece about my business on the VOGUE blog. Any piece of press whether online or in a magazine always makes me really chuffed. Other than that I think some of my first sales on my website, and also now that I am wholesale-ing my collection knowing it will be stocked in some fantastic stores with great exposure for my brand is hugely exciting.

Fashion world fodder (a favourite anecdote from your years in the trade): An editor of a high profile fashion/society magazine (take a guess) came into Brora and was so very, very rude and dismissive to me I will never forget it... FYI See my next answer about manners. It doesn't cost anything to just be polite to people!

Survival tips: Be Patient, Polite and Persistent. That's my mantra.
If you are polite then you will go so much further than someone with no manners, it also makes it easier for you to put yourself out there and just write to anyone for a favour or to introduce yourself. So long as you are polite you have nothing to lose. Be persistent, if you want to be noticed sometimes you have to put something right under the end of an editors or buyers nose.
Patience is important too as nothing happens over-night and in the fashion world things do take time. Editors and buyers alike will take all the time they need to decide whether they think a product is right you just have to rest assured they will make a decision and until they do just get on with something else.

Visit rosiesugden.com for more information.

Suitcase Magazine

Last night me and some mates cruised down to Shoreditch House for a few proseccos to celebrate the launch of new magazine Suitcase, from which my photographer friend Roo had shot the cover. It's a kind of hybrid of fashion and travel with loads of slick pictures from some of my favourite places in the world, very cool and kind of different to anything out there right now. 

They don't have a website at the moment but if you want to get the vibe head to their Tumblr, or you'll have to just pick up the real thing at the shops, which i would highly recommend.

Big thanks to Suitcase and Shoreditch House for a super fun night - so many regrets this morning about not taking on the photo-booth. Damn.

Anyways, here's what i wore: beanie//Nike, coat//the Kooples, dress//Asos, shirt//Zara, shoes//Converse

Follow me on Instagram

A few personal pics from Instagram which i'm becoming mildly obsessed with. 

Find me at @LissiLoves.

Bejewelled

I kind of need these shorts.

Model crush: Soo Joo

 

Have a real thing for Asian models at the mo. Something about their poise and innate sense of style just lends itself to the simple clothing i love so well. 

Stumbled across some pics of this previously unknown (to me) model Soo Joo by the amazing new photography find Anouk Morgan, who i'll be posting abput v. shortly. So here's those snaps and a few others of Soo Joo looking badass.