Cosmopolitan UK — June 2017

38 ·^ COSMOPOLITAN

CELEBRITY

shows that have since followed. The
show created a glacial princess villain
out of Palermo, who worked in the PR
department of Diane Von Furstenberg.
I wonder if that moniker has been
hard to shake off. She goes quiet.
“Look, I think it was a wonderful
learning experience, because it’s the
entertainment industry. It’s very
different to the fashion industry. And
going through all of that gave me a
very clear direction of what I wanted
to focus on.” She pauses. “I don’t have
anything negative to say about it.”
She’s equally sanguine about the
title of ‘It’ girl, which has followed
her since she became a public figure.
“I’m not opposed to it. I have nothing
to say other than we all evolve. I wear
many hats these days!” One thing she
will say about her time on The City is
that it afforded her a front-row seat at
one of the most famous fashion
businesses in the world: Diane Von
Furstenberg. It was here, she says, she
came to understand how a fashion
empire is run. “I would spend time
understanding the business and how
a fashion house is run every day. It
was a really good education for me.”
This is Palermo all over – a studious
collector of experiences. She says she
regrets nothing and, strangely enough,
I believe her, because she is, in many
ways, the ultimate curator. She has
that innate ability to choose and find
the very best from a sea of dross. Every
job (and she has done them all, from
magazine junior to model), and every
experience, she has used in some way
to create her own super brand.
As our time draws to a close, I ask her
to take a look at my Instagram. I’ve
been told it’s not very good, I tell
her. She studies it with frowning
concentration, and suggests I could
think about some borders and maybe
a couple of fashion shots. That evening,
I post a picture of a pair of earrings...
with borders. Like I said, she is the
woman who can sell us anything. ◆
Olivia Palermo was shot at the Presidential
Suite of The Pierre Hotel, New York

The essentials

of a very

beautiful life

ls

Palermo’s

‘It’ kit

Sunglasses

Westward

Leaning,

Fendi, Le

Specs

Mascara YSL

Workout

gear

Jonathan

Simkhai x

Carbon 38,

Koral

Travel essential

Zip-lock bags

Jeans Skinny-cut

Paige, Black

Orchid

Dog coats

(for Mr Butler)

Canine Styles

Lip balm Burt’s

Bees, Vaseline,

Honest Beauty

tinted balm

Lipstick Ciaté

London Satin Kis

Lipstick in Pralin

Bronzer Charlot e

Tilbury Filmstar

Bronze & Glow

Trainers Nike,

Max&Co

Hardest-working

item in her

wardrobe

Black Paige

l h

l

ss

ne

tte

r

w

Black Paige

leather

leggings

Perfume Jo

Malone Orange

Blossom; Annick

Goutal Vent

de Folie

Candles HAIR SEIJI AT THE WALL GROUP, USING BUMBLE AND BUMBLE. MAKE-UP DANIEL MARTIN AT THE WALL GROUP, FOR DIOR BEAUTY. PRODUCTION A+ PRODUCTIONS. FASHION ASSISTANT MADDY ALFORD. JUMPER, AROUND £478, PRABAL GURUNG, BRIEFS (JUST SEEN), £14 FOR A PACK OF 10, HANES.COM. ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS SPLASH NEWS

Diptyque

Baies