A
lexa Chung tells me that
she was recently diagnosed
with ADHD. This came as
a shock to her, but perhaps
she should have seen it coming; her somewhat hyperactive charm
and refusal to be pinned down have formed the basis of her highly
successful career. ‘I’ve got a multi-track mind,’ she agrees. ‘I find it
hard to focus on one thing.’
We have met in her airy offices in De Beauvoir Town, a leafy
corner of Hackney, near her flat. Chung is wearing jeans, Chanel
shoes and an emerald-green cardigan – ‘vintage, vintage, vintage...
I was an hour late for the photo-shoot, so what I have on is what
was by the bed.’ She’s undoubtedly very beautiful, with endless,
slender legs and dramatic cheekbones, but what is even more
appealing when you meet her is the warmth of her personality and
her instinctive sense of fashion.
Chung has been a style icon ever since she was spotted by a
model scout at Reading Festival aged 16. Basing herself in New
York, she flitted, butterfly-like, from modelling and television pre-
senting, to journalism, DJing and design. But then she hit her thirties
and decided it was time for a little more focus. ‘In Manhattan, I was
living like a freelancer, waiting for the phone to ring about this
TV show, or that modelling gig,’ she explains. ‘I wanted autonomy
and more structure in my life. There was no format for me to
instigate new ideas for my business. I’d done various successful
collaborations [with Superga, Marks & Spencer and AG Jeans,
among others] and I really enjoyed that and used it as an education.
After that, I had the confidence and interest to start my own thing.’
So she returned home – not to the little village of Privett in Hamp-
shire where she was brought up, but to the part of east London that
has always seemed to be her spiritual heartland – to launch her
eponymous fashion line. Investors queued up to put their money
behind her brand, and success, along with a huge amount of press
interest, came quickly. Now three years old, the company employs
24 members of staff, from logistics experts to knitwear designers,
to bring her sketches to life.
‘I’m not expecting to go straight to being Tory Burch,’ Chung
says of the American businesswoman behind the $3.5 billion label.
‘Just because I’m known doesn’t mean this is a fast-track to making
huge amounts of money. I’m looking 10 to 15 years ahead; the aim is
to be growing a tiny little bit, while establishing our tone – cool,
wearable pieces that are quirky but classic.’ Pulling out a covetable
trench-coat from the current collection, she analyses it for my
benefit. ‘The proportions are the thing that make it Alexa Chung- the belt’s wider, the collar’s bigger, the sleeves are shorter, it’s got
a high waist...’
Chung’s aesthetic is, of course, the brand’s greatest asset and
she gives the label’s elegant ruffled skirts, high-necked blouses
and sharply cut minidresses a dash of her innate playful chic. It
comes across not only in the designs, but also on the successful
YouTube channel that she has launched to help her digitally savvy
customers shop her looks. (Watching Chung style five outfits in five
minutes for five different occasions, ranging from a Berlin nightclub
to an Ibiza hen night, is an instant education.) ‘We’re welcoming the
audience into our own world,’ she says of the films. ‘And that direct
communication works really well for us. It’s instinctive for me to
interact with the consumers.’
Indeed, Chung may not have had any formal training, but I’d
argue that she has no rival when it comes to communicating with
her clients. ‘I’m using my skills,’ she agrees. ‘I’m not a designer, and
I didn’t want to emulate the classic design route, but I am settling
in to understanding that I’m in a unique situation. I am me. I do TV,
I do other things... I can put it to the service of the brand.’
What makes her happier than anything else is seeing Alexa
Chung clothes worn on the street. Her customers are ‘an unpredict-
able mix’, she says. ‘There are sophisticated women, but it’s also
a younger audience than we first thought.’ She saw a man running
down the road the other day in one of the womenswear pieces
she has just brought out in collaboration with Barbour, and had
never imagined Melania Trump would also become a fan. ‘She buys
it all the damn time,’ says Chung, laughing. ‘She bought a green
jacket to wear for a Christmas card, and she wore one of our safari
suits when she met the troops – which was exactly who I imagined
would wear a Bianca Jagger-inspired flight suit,’ she adds, with her
signature quick wit.
Chung describes herself as a ‘reluctant’ boss. ‘I have a problem
with wanting everyone to like me,’ she says. ‘But I am involved
in every department, and I have people who are highly capable
and responsible here.’ She is in the office every day when she’s in the
UK, and currently, she and the team are in the middle of a six-week
consultation, learning how to make every part of their supply chain,
from sourcing fabric, to design and delivery, more sustainable.
With two full collections annually, and various drops throughout
the year, the work can feel overwhelming at times, she says. ‘But
I’m 35 now, so this is a new iteration of my life. I’m in a different
zone and the company is the priority.’ Her recognition by Bazaar
as this year’s breakthrough designer is, she says, ‘very exciting. This
is the first award I’ve had as a designer and it’s an incredible accolade.’
The first, perhaps, but certainly not the last.