Author, DJ, model, TV host, cat-eye connoisseur, and contributing editor to British Vogue—is there anything Alexa Chung can't do? Probably not. But there is plenty that she chooses not to do, including fashion design...contrary to popular belief. We caught up with the modern-day Renaissance woman at the FIT show she hosted last night and got a chance to chat and apparently clear the air. At the end of last year, the world started buzzing about Alexa's soon-to-debut "new line," but that wishful thinking was just that—wishful thinking. "If you chat a bit in one interview, then the internet regurgitates it, and it becomes a fact," Alexa says. "What starts as rumor becomes a reality you have nothing to do with. It's the rule of three: once it's hit three new sources, they're like, 'Well, as a fact, Alexa is the new face of Calvin Klein.'" Unfortunately, that's also not true (but wouldn't it be great??).
While Alexa's talents may not be gracing the field of fashion design just yet—"I would like to give it a go one day," she says—this style icon still has plenty of insight into the sartorial world. Her passion has taken her from high-fashion catwalks to front rows of NYFW: "I'm obsessed with fashion and clothes so, for me, fashion shows are about being entertained and experiencing a visual assault of joy." And while she may not have attended fashion school, it's probably safe to say that after having your own collaboration with Madewell and being name-dropped as a design muse means you'll have picked up a few tricks of the trade along the way.
So listen up, future McQueens and von Furstenbergs: "Work experience is always a good place to start, and also refusing to be set back by people who are critical," Alexa advises. "It's an odd industry because it's one that's quite complex and there are only a few spots for certain people to dwell. But the more you get into it, the more lovely you realize people are, especially at the top of their profession. The top designers are all incredibly helpful and nice, and it's a community." The takeaway? "My advice would be that if you do make it, look after the people coming up below you." Sounds good to us.
