Fashion is personal – just ask these women, who are defining the way we want to look right now.
AMA LOU
Singer-songwriter, London
Ama Lou’s style may seem effortless, but the British singer puts a lot of consideration into how she dresses.
‘I’m a vintage archivist,’ explains the 21-year-old.
‘Take the trousers I came in wearing today. They’re French workman trousers in herringbone from the 1940s. Usually herringbone from that period is dyed indigo, but these are natural, which is super-rare. Most people just see cream trousers but I study the clothing of different eras.’
Ama Lou describes herself as a visual person: ‘When I’m trying to work out a song, I see it in textures, then I translate it into sound.’
The video for her 2018 EP DDD is a 13-minute saga following an LA crime ring, encompassing pop, soul and R&B.
‘My ideas and my sound change a lot,’ she says. ‘The one constant is me.’
SYDNEY LIMA
DJ, model and writer, London
Sydney, 29, is writing a book about quarter-life crises.
‘I started out modelling, but got into writing because I had a lot of time on my hands,’ she says.
A regular magazine contributor, Sydney covers topics including mental health, online misogyny and antidepressants:
‘These themes are important for our generation. I’m speaking about my personal experiences within that.’
In her book, released later this year, Sydney considers the expectations we place on ourselves and where we thought we’d be by 30.
‘I thought I’d have a house or be engaged by now,’ she laughs. ‘Sometimes keeping your head above water feels quite manic. We’re part of this generation that wants instant success.’
GABRIELLE RICHARDSON
Artist, curator and co-founder of Art Hoe Collective, New York
Gabrielle has been making waves in the US art scene since 2015.
‘We were young artists of colour speaking our minds and showcasing our work on Tumblr,’ the 23-year-old says of Art Hoe, the collective she helped start that has been praised by the likes of Willow Smith and Amandla Stenberg.
‘We saw ourselves in each other. It was painful to be a queer black artist and not feel like your work was being represented, so we formed this awesome online and offline platform for queer people of colour to showcase their artwork.’
Her love for art has infiltrated her wardrobe.
‘Style is like any form of creative expression,’ she says.
‘It’s an outlet for you to make a statement through your clothing. I always wear my “Feminist” chain by my friend Mayan [Toledano]’s brand Me and You. Clothing is part of my identity. It’s who I am.’
FENN O’MEALLY
Director, London
‘I’ve always loved the idea of presenting,’ says 25-year-old Fenn.
‘We grew up with Reggie Yates, Fearne Cotton and Angellica Bell talking to us. I made my own YouTube channel, and I quickly learned that I loved interviewing people and finding out their stories. You can learn so much through conversation.’
A passion for storytelling led to Fenn adding ‘filmmaker’ to her CV: after teaching herself how to shoot and edit her own short films, she’s worked with Paul Smith, and she shot the behind-the-scenes video for Stormzy’s February ELLE cover shoot.
As for style, the multi-hyphenate credits her mum as her biggest influence.
‘When I was little, she used to put me in patent crocodile boots, dalmatian prints and frilly polka-dot halter necks... I loved it! As I got older I’d buy staples and combine them with whatever I could find in her wardrobe.’
RINA SAWAYAMA
Singer-songwriter, London
Japanese-British singer Rina, 28, has been garnering attention in music and fashion with her bold pop music and eclectic style.
‘My interest in fashion started with Madonna and Lady Gaga,’ she says.
‘I love it when music is confessional and ridiculous – it’s what I love about fashion, too. I identify with the queer culture that connects them.’
She released mini-album Rina in 2o17, which looked at the internet and its effects on young people’s mental health. The University of Cambridge alumnus is now working on her debut record, turning her attention to lineage, ethnicity and identity.
‘The most important thing is to write an album I’m deeply proud of,’ she says. ‘One that I can really heal from, and help heal others with, too.’
LITTLE SIMZ
Rapper, London
British rapper Little Simz sounds like nobody else on the planet, but if you had to find a comparison, her introspective, confessional stylings aren’t worlds away from Grammy and Pulitzer winner Kendrick Lamar, who once said about her, ‘She might be the illest doing it right now.’
At 25, Simz has already created two critically acclaimed full-length albums, but her recent release, Grey Area, is her most personal yet.
‘In making it, I learnt that I’m actually quite stubborn,’ she says.
‘I don’t like being told what to do. I know that about myself, but when [emerging producer and childhood friend] Inflo encouraged me to sit in my feelings, that’s when it really came to the surface.’
Her earliest style memory is Missy Elliott wearing an oversized black vinyl ‘bin bag’ jacket in her video for the 1997 single The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).
‘It was odd but interesting. It’s unexpected and that’s cool,’ says Simz. ‘I’ve never been bound to one particular style. It’s like with music: you can’t be afraid to try something new.’
VERONIKA HEILBRUNNER
Stylist and editor, Berlin
When Veronika was a child, she used to sit in the corner of her bedroom, creating make-believe worlds and imagining the people who lived there – and, more importantly, she would ask herself what those characters would be wearing.
‘The coolest part is that I now get to do that for real,’ she laughs.
After starting out her career in modelling, Veronika became a fashion assistant and worked her way up to fashion editor at the likes of Mytheresa and Harper’s Bazaar Germany, while simultaneously becoming a street-style star – without even trying.
‘I think I always stuck out at shows because I'd wear sneakers with dresses while everyone else was in high heels,’ she says.
And this relaxed, cool-girl style works for her, especially since she became a mother – Veronika gave birth to her son Walter with partner Justin O’Shea last June.
After co-founding website Hey Woman! with editor Julia Knolle in 2o15, Veronika is forging a career path that’s entirely her own, involving writing, modelling and everything else in between:
‘I’m happy to be freelance and live from one day to the next. Hard work and my love for fashion brought me here. You’re most successful when your work is your hobby – a hobby you really love.’
TAMU McPHERSON
Photographer and blogger, Milan
Born in Jamaica, before living in New York and eventually settling in Milan, Tamu, 42, knows a thing or two about change.
The former lawyer has built an illustrious career as a street-style photographer and magazine editor, and she runs her own website, All The Pretty Birds.
Tamu is as likely to talk US politics as she is AW19 shows or her vibrant style:
‘I communicate what I’m feeling,’ she explains.
‘At the end of the day, you’re looking for an audience you can communicate with consistently, so if you’re trying to be something else, it’s not going to work out.’
This article appears in the June 2019 edition of ELLE UK. Subscribe here to make sure you never miss an issue.
