When it comes to personal style, Alexa Chung is always 100 percent genuine— and the fashion world can’t seem to get enough of her.
When it comes to personal style, Alexa Chung is always 100 percent genuine— and the fashion world can’t seem to get enough of her.
If there’s one thing Alexa Chung is most known for, it’s her innately British style sensibilities—one part preppy schoolgirl, two parts Carnaby Street mod—with a healthy dose of eccentricity. Her style, after all, is what catapulted her from TV host to It Girl extraordinaire.
But the 33-year-old model’s penchant for timeless wardrobe classics and effortlessly cool hair? That’s pure Parisian. Speaking to Harper’s BAZAAR on the verandah of National Kitchen by Violet Oon, in a suede mini shift dress with a shaggy bob framing her feline features, the style icon is like a modern-day mash-up of Jean Shrimpton and Françoise Hardy.
Chung muses, “French women have an amazing way with clothes, and seem to understand themselves in a really confident way. I romanticise Paris in the Sixties to be the greatest place on Earth. I basically walk around modern day Paris thinking I’m in Une Femme Est Une Femme.”
As the face of Longchamp for six seasons running now, walking around the streets of Paris is exactly what Chung does in their latest campaign, shot by renowned lensman Peter Lindbergh. The looks she dons in the campaign are pure Alexa; an improbably perfect balance of quirky and cool.
This innate ability to translate any item into a look that is “her” is why Chung is constantly courted for collaborations, and will be launching her own namesake label come 2017. It’s a sartorial shorthand informed by a well-edited mix of basics gone off-kilter.
Case in point: When asked what bag she would choose to carry for the rest of her life, instead of a satchel or rucksack, Chung’s vote is for “something small, structured, boxy-shaped with handles,” like the sheepskin crossbody bag (below).
She quips, “It’s probably not great for the weather right now, but there is a comedy element about carrying a sheepskin bag around in humid weather.” Comedy is something her 2.4 million Instagram followers would know comes naturally to Chung.
Her posts are brimming with witty captions, and videos of her goofing around with her best friends. That’s not to say she takes her many jobs lightly.
Chung was “very excited” to work with Lindbergh, who is known for his work with the original supers. “He was so wonderful, so kind—as with anyone insanely talented to the point of iconic status. He made it really easy... He just wants people to be themselves,” she explains. Lindbergh needn’t have worried.
Chung is perfectly comfortable being herself—and perfectly self-aware. After all, the song that best illustrates her relationship with fashion is Elvis Costello’s “This Year’s Girl.” “It’s about the girl of the moment who wants to make it last but, ultimately, is being broken by the projected image of herself. Any questions?” theeternal It Girl deadpans.
