My City, My Style: London
We all know the sartorial clichés about Copenhagen-based shoppers loving minimalism, or French women favouring classic pieces, but how far does where you live actually impact your look? In a new series, we are going to be asking some of the most popular fashion influencers how they define their style and in what ways their home city might be responsible for this.
Here, we're looking at London and asking some of our capital's most stylish residents what the city really means to them in terms of fashion. Here is what Monikh Dale, Natasha Ndlovu, Lindsey Holland, Shini Park and Anna Vitiello had to say on the topic...
Monikh Dale
How would you describe your style in three words?
"Simple, chic, wearable."
What are your go-to brands?
"I love Mara Hoffman, Roksanda, James Perse, Rejina Pyo."
What’s unique about living in London and how does that impact your style?
"In London there are so many different styles. I feel like that blurs the lines of 'trends', and the trend almost becomes, 'Wear what you want to wear, not what you’re told'."
What’s your favourite thing about British style?
"Here we embrace the different, the new - the style that suits that individual person."
Roksanda
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Rejina Pyo
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Mara Hoffman
Credit: CourtesyNatasha Ndlovu
How would you describe your style in three words?
"My style is tailored, minimal and affordable."
What are your go-to brands?
"I love & Other Stories and H&M for the high street. When I want to spend a bit more, I go for Ganni, Nanushka and Zimmerman, among others."
What’s unique about living in London and how does that impact your style?
"London is the centre of fashion. You get so many people from around the world, which means this city’s style cannot be defined, which is a good thing. This enables me to change my look each season if I want to because London doesn’t restrict one’s sense of fashion, rather it expands it."
What’s your favourite thing about British style?
"I love that, at the root of it, all British style values good tailoring – and we have great access to many affordable tailors if we need to tweak something. So, whether you are into a Rick Owens-style harem trouser or you are more corporate, you will want to make sure it fits well."
Chanel
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Nanushka
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Missoma
Credit: CourtesyShini Park
How would you describe your style in three words?
"Practical, classic-with-a-twist, and a total cinephile."
What are your go-to brands?
"Loewe, Jil Sander, The Row, Lemaire, Toteme."
What’s unique about living in London and how does that impact your style?
"There's a freedom in London that allows for any sort of style expression, completely void of judgement – I alone went through multiple sartorial experimentations in the past 12 years.
"Some are more embarrassing than others, that I can say with hindsight. London shapes my style to embrace eternal classics, like a classic trench coat, mixed with edgy design pieces from the ever-bustling London design scene."
What’s your favourite thing about British style?
"British style is truly an amalgamation of all the opportunities and cultures that make up Britain – there's an intense appreciation for great tailoring and functional design, but what I absolutely love is that there's always a sense of humour."
Loewe
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The Row
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Totême
Credit: CourtesyLindsey Holland
How would you describe your style in three words?
"Easy, classic, pared-back."
What are your go-to brands?
"Weekday, Toteme, Bite Studios."
What’s unique about living in London and how does that impact your style?
"I love how eclectic the many pockets of London are and it helps me to always trust in my own self-expression."
What’s your favourite thing about British style?
"I feel that we Brits have a very, 'If you like it, wear it,' mentality and I love that so much."
Bite Studios
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Weekday
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Totême
Credit: CourtesyAnna Vitiello
How would you describe your style in three words?
"Classic, sleek, flamboyant (at times)."
What are your go-to brands?
"Awake, Magda Butrym, Prada, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, Cecilie Bahnsen – brands doing their own thing - that resonates with my style - but which make pieces built to last."
What’s unique about living in London and how does that impact your style?
"The eccentricity. So many out-of-the-ordinary things can happen in one day and for the most part, no one flinches. We celebrate uniqueness and embrace things that are different to what we know.
"Style wise, there’s no ceiling with how much you can experiment and that allowed me – especially as a young person in fashion – to find what I can now define as my style. I’ve always loved volume and couture-inspired pieces and living in London means that I can be as flamboyant as I please, without ever feeling judged or stared at. In the same breath, lots of Londoners are very casual – never too done up or looking too try hard – and also do that really well."
What’s your favourite thing about British style?
"The term ‘British Style’ is pretty broad – some would see it in a more literal sense as the tweeds and tartans of the world – but I wouldn’t settle on it being one thing. For the most part, I love the diversity – you can’t label it because it’s not any one thing. Whether that’s the red-haired woman I saw on the tube the other day who had dressed to match the parrot on her shoulder, or the woman exuding Princess Diana-level elegance in her simple (but perfectly curated) denim get up, we’re good at more than one thing."
Cecilie Bahnsen
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Prada
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Magda Butrym
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