Cosmopolitan UK — June 2017

COSMOPOLITAN · 33

Of course Olivia Palermo is not a

celebrity. Not really. The 31-year-old

New Yorker is something far more

aspirational than that. She is an

influencer and social media sensation

who has used her sometime-celebrity

(you’ll remember her from 2008

reality show The City) to leverage

herself into a multimillion-pound

lifestyle and fashion brand. A simple

pap shot of Palermo in a Topshop

jacket can guarantee a sell-out of said

jacket within 48 hours. She merely has

to post an image of a pair of Max&Co

trainers on her Instagram account (4.7

million followers) for the brand to be

besieged with requests. She can sell

anything from bangles and bronzer to

iPhone cases and dog coats. And sell

she does. She’s designed ‘collaborations’

with Ciaté Beauty (the Nantucket My

Haute Vacation Coral Nail Polish is

particularly good) as well as Westward

Leaning sunglasses, which has eight

pairs of shades named after her

favourite places in the world – Dumbo,

Palm Beach, Berlin... you get the idea.

She has worked on a jewellery line

with a brand I’ve never heard of called

BaubleBar (now obsessed, naturally)

and has ‘collaborated’ on a limited-

edition bag with Aspinal Of London.

The list goes on. And on. On top of

all this, she is also the rather curiously

named global style ambassador for

Banana Republic. I thought this

meant she basically gets lots of free

clothes which she has to wear as she

travels the world. Silly old me.

“It’s actually overseeing what their

fall direction is going to be,” she tells

me, as we take a corner in the hotel’s

café. “It’s seeing their inspiration and

starting to work on their spring edits

online as well as bringing in new

photographers. I oversee all the creative.

All the visuals, styling... all of that.”

(She’s also designing a collection for

them, due in September.)

It’s a smart move by Banana

Republic, a brand that has struggled

to capture the imagination of i

I’m looking for Olivia Palermo.” The hotel

receptionist stares blankly back at me. “Olivia

Pa..ler..mo?” I say, slower this time. Still nothing.

“Is she a guest here?” the woman asks, frowning,

then languidly taps through the computer database.

I lean over the desk. “Erm, not exactly. I’m meeting

her for an interview. She’s a... she’s a...” I whisper

the last part, “She’s a celebrity.” The woman smiles.

“Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am. Should I have known that?”

Hello,