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plan. Today I'm going on a style
journey with the editor in chief of Who What Where UK, the
wonderful Hannah Almassi. Hello and welcome.
Hannah, thank you. Thank you so much for having me,
Amanda. Oh, it's lovely.
Lovely to see you again because we were trying to work out it
was a lot of fashion weeks ago that we last seen each months.
Ago in your store for a press day?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I tried some things on good, fell in
love with some items and I still have a necklace that I wear.
Fantastic. Well, I love to hear that, but I
think it would be really interesting to start by you
describing what, who, what, where is.
Absolutely. So it's a digital first
destination for fashion and beauty.
It's really like your best friend on the inside.
It's always been set out to democratize the industries that
we work in, make style accessible.
It's very inclusive, it's joyful.
It's really just a one stop shop for people to get inspiration
and whether that they come away with a new influencer that they
know or a product that they'd really like to buy that we've
recommended or a trend that they now know about and feel
confident in, it's that kind of high value opportunity.
I don't need everybody to come on and come away buying
something, but as long as they feel like they've taken
something from our content, then I think we're doing our job.
How? How does it work as a big
business model? Do you have advertisers?
Do you do affiliate links? How does it?
Because it sounds fabulous. Because it's free.
Is it? Yes.
It is free, you can completely access all of our content,
there's no paywall whatsoever and that I guess is in a bid to
democratise what we do and and make it available to everybody.
Because most magazines you have to pay a subscription for, don't
you? Yeah.
And I think where we've had a head start is the fact that who,
what, where has been digital from the off.
This wasn't an adjustment period from print.
And I'm very fortunate that our U.S. business which started you
know 10 or so years for the UK, they had so much experience in
how do you monetize the digital content that you're creating.
And so we have a really multifaceted revenue stream set
up. So yes, we have advertising
which is very kind of traditional.
We also have a very robust affiliate business because of
the fact that our reader almost treats us like an e-commerce.
They come to us with the intent to shop very often.
And so there is a very high conversion because you're.
You're giving them an edit, aren't you?
You're giving them your plan. It really is.
It's very curated. We're very strict about what
makes it in. Everybody has to go through very
rigorous training on the editorial team, and we take that
responsibility really seriously. You know, what are we putting in
front of people? Is it good enough?
Should we be recommending this? And then there's all sorts of
other things we do. Like we're very well known for
branded content, for example, that lives on site and in
social, We create events, we have IRL activations.
There's all sorts of ways that we can kind of generate revenue.
And it's a case of bringing all of those things together and
allowing them to feel as organic and editorial as possible.
And So what is the criteria for? What makes it in?
I think we try to consider, are items worth investing in,
whether it's affordable or whether it's something
expensive, You know, is it made well?
Is it going to last? Do we know that brand?
Do we trust that brand? Have we tried it ourselves?
We try to really stay away from, you know, how it's been over the
past few years, these kind of viral TikTok trends where
someone's supposed to buy something to instantly kind of
be part of that movement. And then next week, it's gone.
So we really avoid kind of playing into anything like that.
Who what wear is very well known for trend coverage, but we're
also a destination for capture, wardrobing, classic items,
making really solid investments. And I think that's reflected in
the kind of items that people then buy from us.
So there are certain items that are continually best sellers.
We don't house the stock, obviously, we are just referring
people. But we have so much data at our
fingertips and we really use that to ensure that we are then
giving the reader what they want, reverse engineering what
we do to make it fulfil their needs.
But at the same time, you know, we are editors and we want to
throw in something that's unexpected.
That is a recommendation that they might not know about South,
whether that's editing all of the best things from a very well
known store through to ensuring that we're actually supporting
smaller brands and startups as well.
Yeah. Is sustainability an important
to credential for you? Yeah.
I don't think you can work in a fashion business now and it's
not something that you think about.
And the way we approach it is to be really mindful of our content
and what we're promoting and what we're kind of exposing
people to. So ultimately we are a shopping
destination in many senses, but the team is acutely aware of
what that responsibility looks like and that we don't want to
push any old thing on people. It really is about, is this a
quality purchase? Will it last?
How many times can you wear it? What's all the kind of content
we can do about re wearing using things that you already own?
How do you look after your clothes?
And so it kind of is a 360 approach rather than just going,
oh, well, we've ticked the box now because we've done a story
about sustainable fashion brands.
It has to weave through everything we do.
And so I even have a list of no, no words, which I'm sure my team
think is really uptight. For example, I banned the term
must have a really long time ago.
Good. Because I don't think anything
is a must have. No, If you want it, great.
If you love it, fabulous. If it's not yours, like
whatever, it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be.
Yeah. And I think I kind of started my
career during a time where there was this urgent see and this
kind of wild frenzy for shopping and all having the same item
and, you know, get it before it's gone and all of that kind
of language. And I think that's really
unhealthy now. So must have is a no, no must
have. As well, I think I get it before
it's gone or that I'm adding 38 things to my basket.
It's just not realistic as healthy.
Yeah. So it's really subtle and it
probably won't be obvious to lots of people that we work in
that way, but there is that consideration that runs through
everything thing we do. And is there much difference
between the US edition and the UK edition?
Is there any crossover? There is a lot of crossover.
We work very collaboratively and I'm always grateful to have
their support and their involvement.
You know, they have those those years of experience on on our
business that can be really beneficial.
I work very closely with Hilary Kerr, our Co founder who is
still in the business and also with the whole editorial team,
the social team, the newsletter team.
We're in very close communication every day.
I think the markets are different, yeah.
You know, the interest in in content types and subject
matters, in brands, in style, whether everything is is
different. But there are things that we can
learn. We share a lot of information
with each other. We share a percentage of content
with either side. You know, we have the
opportunity to what's called clone content and localize it or
syndicate something. So it's a really nice
relationship where we're kind of sisters and we talk a lot.
But ultimately, you know, we run independent businesses in many
ways and they are understandably, you know, it's a
bigger market. They are a very big team and
they've been running for longer than us.
But it must be inspiring to be able to have those those
brainstorming sessions at the very least.
I love it. And what I really appreciate is
that everybody in the LA team and the New York team, they're
always so interested in what's happening in the UK for fashion
and for beauty, and that's of interest to their reading.
So, you know, being the London girls, we can actually OfferUp
some inspiration for content as well.
The cool girls, Well, I don't know, I don't know if I'm cool,
but there's always that reputation, isn't there, for
London style and us having that kind of cool edge.
Yeah. We'll keep that, yeah.
What's the demographic? The demographic, So who, what,
where in the UK, She's that kind of core millennial.
She's been with us. Oh, not her.
Yeah, millennials very much our heartline.
But we do have demographics on either side of that as well.
So, you know, we are requiring a younger user.
But there are also women, you know, my mum loves who, what,
where. She buys things from us all the
time. I love it.
Yeah. And I just wondered sort of, and
this is a conversation that I I sort of keep having at the
moment is my generation just don't want to look like our
grannies and don't and and feel slightly insulted that we're not
actually being marketed to as much as we could be.
Honestly, I think this. Is the wonderful thing about who
what wears that within any of our features?
You might see someone in a trend piece, for example, we might
have a Gen. Z girl in there who's into St.
wear. But then you could also have
someone fabulous who's 60 plus and loves tailoring.
And I think we try with all of our content to not consider that
it's an age that we're targeting.
It's a type of person. It's someone who's interested in
fashion or beauty and it kind of doesn't matter.
You know, I think the idea of how to wear such and such when
you're 50, it's quite offensive. It's and it's dated and I, I
just think that that message of it's not about your age, it's
about your approach. Is is so important to be
hammering home to my age group because that's inspiring, Yeah.
Rather than to stop, yeah. Yes, exactly.
You are a content strategist. So what is the next thing in the
world of content creation to do you feel?
That's really interesting. One big project for me at the
moment is that we always need to be moving forward.
We always need to innovate. Who, what, where is a platform
that often does something 1st and then others follow.
And that means that we have to stay on our toes and always keep
pushing forward. So right now I'm thinking about
how do we take all of the things that we're known for and add
value to them? How do we make them richer?
How do we make them more immersive?
How can we get people to kind of connect with our editors more?
And perhaps they start to feel like, Oh yeah, I love that
shopping editor because her style is XYZ and her budget is
blah. And, you know, finding ways to
enrich and the content that we are doing is really important to
me. So it's not just about volume
and a churn. It's about making every piece as
special as it can be. So that's a big project for me
at the moment. We're moving into live shopping,
which is going to be a really big undertaking.
So we will be live streaming was live.
So on social we will be live streaming a it's like a video
that people can directly shop from.
So if you're on Instagram and you can click on the products
that we're talking through and it's all kind of, you know, done
through this really fantastic technology, a third party
platform, and we're working towards that at the moment.
So now it's about, well, what does that look like for us?
How do we make it on brand? You know, I love things like
QVC, for example, but we're very different from a QVC.
So how do we make it aligned to our content?
But also at the same time, how do I train up my team to make
everybody feel comfortable on camera doing something like
that? Oh yes.
So interesting. You know it's going to be a
process and I'm really excited about doing it.
Because editors more and more or have to have become content
creators. I don't want to call them
influencers, but it's content creators and it is a, it's a
different, you have to sort of leave your ego out of the room
and say, do you know what? I just love this anyhow.
I don't care what I look like. Not that you don't care.
You you're prepared, but you can't pick holes in yourself.
You just have to get out there and get talking.
Yes. I think that's one of the
biggest shifts I've seen during my time in this industry is I
started out thinking I would be very much kind of in the
background, fine, very happy to be in the background.
And then in my early years, it became increasingly apparent
that in order to connect with the reader, they actually wanted
to see, you know, the person who was talking about a trend or
talking about a fashion problem. And so I was probably one of the
earliest editors, I think, to be front and centre in that way.
I took on all sorts of crazy challenges, photographed for all
sorts of mad things. And so, yeah, it is a normal
part of the job these days. And it's something that our
editors do have to take into consideration because it is,
it's a very regular ask, not only from an organic
perspective, but from a commercial one as well.
Yeah. Did you find that hard to be in
front of the camera? You know, I was very fortunate
in that my boyfriend at the time, now husband, is a
photographer. Oh, you are one lucky girl.
Yeah, so I was. I was lucky in that he was
really patient and he was good at photographing me and we were
able to do it in a way that felt very relaxed.
And you didn't feel self-conscious?
Yes and no. I got into fashion because I
wanted to be part of that democratization.
I have never fit the mold of your archetypal fashion.
Girly. I'm not tall.
I don't come from a wealthy background.
I, you know, I'm not slim. I'm.
I'm just kind of me. And so I felt like I almost had
a responsibility to represent in that way.
Yeah, and sometimes that's hard because, you know, sometimes it
would be easier to look great in a picture if I was 6 foot tall.
Being 5 foot one, it's definitely more challenging.
But actually, very inspiring. Yeah, I hope so for an awful lot
of girls who are 5 foot 5 foot 15 foot 2.
Yeah. And so you.
Know and and everyone else, but but you know that I I was doing
an interview yesterday with Joe Elvin.
Oh great, who I do my Friday night fashion with and Joe Good
who is all of five foot and you know, we've we've had this sort
of demand for can we talk about dressing if you are 5 foot 5
foot one or five foot 2. Yes, it's a crazy popular topic
on who, what, where as well. Whenever we produce something
from a petite person's perspective, it really performs
very well. There's obviously such a demand.
More brands are starting to provide petite ranges, which I
think is great, but. What was interesting was Joe was
saying, Joe Good was saying yesterday is I do not buy petite
doesn't no, and and just she was talking about sort of
proportions and all of that because yes, you know,
sometimes, sometimes that can get lost.
I'm sure you feel the same when yeah, you probably end up just
buying the regular. I spend a lot of time at my
tailors, too much time. I'm really trying to become very
friendly with her. Just talking content creators,
are there any in particular that to you are doing just the most
phenomenal job? Oh, there are so many.
We have really fantastic people who we work with on a very
regular basis and I think who what we're is very good at
spotting girls who are on the rise.
So right now, who would I recommend?
Abby Emolay, Just stunning. Like she just has the coolest,
minimal, very lux wardrobe. She also has fantastic interiors
taste and she's just such an entrepreneur and a really,
really interesting person. I have started following someone
called, well, her handle is so Valera, but she's called Valeria
and she just has this kind of Uptown Italian vibe.
But she's based in London now and I just really adore her
style. Oh God, so many people.
I'm probably going to offend everybody by not including them,
but. No, that.
Well, let's just. Consider that too.
There's so many and I love discovering new people, new
influencers to have in our network and bring to events.
And really who, what where has always been very close to the
influencer world. We feature people a lot.
And I was also, in my earlier days, really not scared about
that shift. I know a lot of journalists were
very concerned. There was a lot of concern,
wasn't there? Front row.
On down, yeah. I just think it's a natural
extension of where everything was going.
There's room for everybody. Yes, I, I think that's so true.
Now, during your time as an editor previously at Grazia,
you've interviewed the great and the good in terms of designers
and I, you know from my research, you actually haven't
had the tables turned on you that much.
No. I just wonder how does it feel
today to be the other side of the of the?
Interview very peculiar and I have.
I'm having to stop myself from wanting to ask you questions
because that would be my default position.
So very strange. I am probably very quiet and
under the radar about what I do, so this is definitely outside of
my conference. There she went, Very.
Quiet and under the radar, but that makes this conversation
even more exciting for me because I haven't I haven't
listened to you loads and loads and got into your head that
much. I've just.
Always been such a hard worker. I have very much with who, where
or with my time at Gracia. Really been that person who is
on the ground, head down getting the work done rather than being
very visible about the fact that I'm getting the work done.
I was very determined when I was brought on to launch what we're
in the UK. You know, it was an immense
responsibility and pressure and I had to make it work and I was
initially on my own. So to get together with 20 or so
people in the team, it's a very different story.
But that wasn't a time for me to kind of be jazz hands and out
and about. It was for me to to do the work
and get us into a robust situation.
Well, Chapo to you. Thank you.
You're just back from the circus of the shows.
Yes. Any complete stand out moments
for you? I'm going to be so obvious.
I'm a Prada girl. I like.
Extraordinary, isn't it? Yeah.
It was fantastic. It felt really classically
Prada, you know, a little bit challenging, and that's what I
really enjoy about a Prada. Collection that is classically
Prada, isn't it? Exactly.
It always makes you feel slightly uncomfortable.
I loved it, really enjoyed that. And then get getting to see it
at the Reecee, which is where, yes, you know, you get to see
that special close and personal. Yeah, that's the part I enjoy
the most. Obviously it's a buzz being at
fashion shows and it's it's exciting, but I really enjoy
seeing the clothes up close because the fabrication, how
things are made. It's just I'm a bit obsessed
with things like that because I did originally study to be a
fashion designer. And so I have a real
appreciation of manufacturing and yeah, and the time it takes
to create the the most simple looking thing.
Yeah, but that's lovely. So it's a really honed eye that
you have. How many shows did you just?
Oh goodness me, absolutely. No, I did.
I don't know. I kind of.
I was in Milan. I went straight on to Paris.
It's a it's a whirlwind and you almost lose track of yeah,
daytime, I'm sure who you are as a normal person in the real.
World Yeah stand out trends for autumn, winter 25 three.
Yeah, top OK 3. Favorite.
Favorite. 3 I think whoever is manufacturing faux fur or
sheeling that looks like fur for the season to come is going to
have a really profitable season because there is so much of it
everywhere. I couldn't.
Believe how much there were coats, but there's some real
fur. I'm sure there are some real
pieces in there, but it was interesting that a lot of brands
have moved to faux or sheeling alternatives.
But it was even rendered in, you know, it's the hems of skirts.
It's it's little tops, it's full dresses in faux fur.
I mean, it's quite a proper fluffy bad way to use this
fabric. So the big coat, that will be
the thing that obviously catches on in in the biggest way.
But there was definitely some more adventurous takes.
I really appreciated this kind of 80s throwback that we're
seeing. I didn't think I would be keen
on the 80s, but even the saint-laurent show from last
night, that was incredibly kind of, you know, power dressing
driven. And I saw that a lot across
Paris from, you know, Stella McCartney's tailoring through to
there was a really cute Russia's presentation that was like 1980s
party dresses. So it spans the gamut.
And then a final trend. I saw a lot of, oh, I think
there's this move towards a kind of eclectic elegance as a whole.
So this was something that was very prevalent in Milan and also
very reflective of the Milanese women.
I love how they put clothes together, but they're always
fairly dressed up and yet completely casual and kind of
crafty and artsy at the same time.
And I think we're moving out of that kind of quiet luxury period
and into something that's a little bit more adventurous but
still very polished. Very, very well put, Very well
put. What I'd just love to, you know,
as you're so you know, London centric, I'd love your view on
the current state of British fashion.
I think it's. An interesting time for British
fashion. We still have this hotbed of
young, up and coming talent. Now it's a case of how do we
allow those brands to be able to grow, to be profitable.
I think it's a really challenging time.
I think September Fashion Week feels like we're really ramping
up to something that's going to be kind of buzzy and new and
different and have energy. I saw some great things during
London Fashion Week, and we really try at who, what where to
support those smaller brands on the rise wherever possible.
So for me, it's just how do we take that creativity and help
them commercialize what they're doing without losing the soul?
Yeah. And that spirit of London.
So what other what other projects are you really excited
about at the moment? Really excited about I've been
very fortunate that we've grown the team a lot over the past
couple of months. So we're heavily investing in
video, in social, but also our fashion content, our beauty
content. We will be launching our beauty
awards for the third time in a couple of weeks, and that's been
really successful for the past two years.
We approach beauty awards in a very different way from the rest
of the industry. It's really leaning on all of
the testing that we can do, the expanding network that we have,
and it's very visual and it feels very kind of justified to
enter in awards like this. So do you do beauty awards?
Do you do fashion? Awards too.
You don't do a Fashion Awards yet.
Oh, so who knows? Who knows?
So we've got our beauty awards coming up.
We are doing more and more in real life spaces, which is
something I'm really excited about.
I love connecting with the reader.
I love being able to bring our network together and also expand
our network so there's more in terms of brunches, dinners.
We have these wonderful influence activations that we do
twice a year. So yeah, there there is a lot to
come at the moment. Lovely yeah lovely now today
we're going on a personal style journey together so let's start
with what you're wearing okay I'd.
Love to say that, but I didn't think about what to wear today.
And I'm one of those people who just, you know, throw something
on. It feels great.
But I'm quite a planner. I like to not feel flustered in
the morning. So I do often plan my outfits
when I've got something important going on.
And my packing for Paris and Milan was really something.
We will get on to that. So today I'm wearing a skirt
from Prada that I managed to track down in Paris the other
week. I thought I'm.
Going to say it's Prada. I tried it in Milan, didn't have
my size. I went to Paris.
I eventually got it. Yay.
I don't, I don't treat myself to things like this very often, but
it was something that I saw last season, fell in love with and
thought, wow, if I ever get a chance to get one of those
skirts, I know it's very me and I'll love it for Perished,
please. Yeah, yeah.
And a shirt from Frankie Sharp, a Tiger's eye necklace, which is
vintage. There's this wonderful little
shop in Hastings. This woman sells all these
beaded necklaces. And I I think Tiger's eye is
supposed to be quite kind of grounding and calming.
Very good on your colouring too, thank you.
And then some knee high boots that I won't shut up about.
They're from a small brand called Realm.
This lovely girl who just she got sick of working in fast
fashion. She set up her own shoe brand.
They're all really beautifully made.
There's like 5 styles only. She's been doing phenomenally
well. And what sort of price point do?
You like, so they were about, I did buy them when they were on
sale. So I think they're about 150 lbs
when I think they're more around that 200 mark, which when you
consider the prices on the High Street at the moment is not
dissimilar. Not at all.
And I have worn them every day of Fashion Week pretty much.
And I, you know, doing a lot of steps in these bad boys.
Don't you love that? So where did you grow up?
I grew up in a little village in East Sussex called Wadhurst.
It's near Tunbridge Wells and yeah, not in a particularly kind
of high fashion environment. Were you exposed to fashion at
all as a as a child? In some ways, yes.
Not in so far as the industry, but my mum and her mum were both
really, really into fashion. My mum is still incredibly
stylish. They would make their own
clothes a lot. She made my clothes a lot when I
was a kid. And I was apparently very
involved in the process, you know, choosing fabrics and
silhouettes and things like that.
And I think I was quite fussy as a child about what I would wear.
But my mom always had her own unique style, still does.
We both actually like a lot of the same things.
My Nan, I mean, even when she was really, really ill towards
the end, you would still find her Immaculate, you know,
earrings on, necklace on, fabulous blouse on.
And then on my other side of my family, on my dad's side of my
family, he's from Iran. And my Iranian grandmother, I
mean, she's like a luxury fiend. She didn't speak English, but we
shared a language of fashion. So, you know, she would, she
would spot a designer bag from a mile off and probably try and
buy it off someone. And so we would talk a lot about
shopping, even though there was such a language barrier.
So I was very much surrounded by people who were interested in
fashion. No one had worked in fashion.
The closest we got was when I was little, my mom actually set
up a kids clothing brand with her friend where they made these
reversible dungarees. Fantastic.
And so I learned a lot about sewing.
Yeah. And then that kind of continued
into my teenage years where I would make my own things or
adjust things. And.
And then, yes, then I kind of went down the path of studying
fashion science. Were you?
Rebellious at all in your teenage years?
I think I was always fairly well behaved, but I can remember
getting into trouble in sixth form for wearing certain things
to school. Were you?
So you were not in in a uniform then?
We were initially and then in those last two years we were
allowed to wear our own clothes. Yeah.
And I. Can you give me a for instance
but? You know, it was a time of crop
tops and rah rah skirts and it wasn't a great period in
fashion, but I definitely was someone who always wore what I
wanted to wear. I didn't really follow the
trends. I didn't wear what my friends
were wearing. And I was kind of, I guess,
probably known at school for being that girl who was
interested in fashion do. You remember a specific light
bulb moment of God. This is making me feel
different. Yeah, I think it probably
happened really early on, to be honest, in those dresses that my
mom would make for me. Or I can remember conversations
very early on at secondary school where you would start to
bond with people because of what you liked and what you wore.
And that it's a conversation starter, which is what I love
about clothes, isn't. It.
Someone a compliment and you don't know where that story's
going to lead. Where did they get something
from and why did they buy and what does it mean to them?
So yeah, very early on. And I can just remember always
being really interested in clothes to, to the point where I
used to edit my own catalogues together from clippings of other
cat. You know, it was a time when you
bought clothes from catalogues a lot and print catalogues.
And I would cut things out of those and edit them together.
My mom has still got some of these, so it's like I've been
editing since I was about four years old.
Oh. Wow, I love that.
Now, do you work from home at all?
I do a bit, I do hybrid. And so what's your the
difference in terms of what you're wearing when you're
working from home to when you come into the?
Office, I would say the office is my they're my best clothes.
I probably wouldn't sit at home in the Prada skirt.
Well, that would be fabulous for me, but I still I'm quite
dressed when I work from home, I like to be wearing something
that still feels like I'm working.
I will often sit at my desk in heels because I just feel like
that's me. I'm not really.
I've never been a casual person. It's a real rarity to find me in
jeans. And I can recall, you know, six
years ago when I was pregnant, hadn't told anybody yet.
It was really early days. I actually found out on the
first day of London Fashion Week.
I've spent the whole of London Fashion Week be like, Oh my God.
And then I came into the office afterwards and I wore jeans two
days in a row. And my deputy editor at the
time, she was like, something's wrong with Hannah, I think she's
pregnant. And that kind of gave it away.
The fact that I was actually casual for once, everybody kind
of freaked out. So I'm not very good at that.
And I've had to really adjust with being a mum as well.
Well, so Waters stay at home, chill out, Hannah, not work from
home, but you know, after a long day.
I've really grown accustomed to a tracksuit.
Do you? Remember what you wore for your
first day in your job as editor in chief.
Oh goodness. So my first day was a wild one
because we were having a launch party here and, and I didn't
actually really know that until very close to the date.
And I had fortunately just been in LA for another work trip and
went to one of my favorite stores, which is called The Way
We Wore. I don't know if you've ever been
there run by this fantastic woman called Doris, who is just
so knowledgeable and brilliant. And I had bought a vintage 1970s
dress from a brand that was quite popular in America at the
time called Holly Harp. I think it was.
Yeah. Black, slinky, kind of tiered
number. Thank goodness I had that
because I then had a very fancy party to go to on my first day
where I also had to, you know, I was interviewing Alexa Chung
that night. And it was all kind of a bit of
a surprise for me. I wasn't really anticipating
that that would be my first day. So I can remember.
I can't remember what I wore in the daytime, but I can remember
the evening look. And talk about interviewing.
Do you ever sort of work your look according to who you're
interviewing? I.
Don't think I've ever done that, but that's probably because I'm
so belligerent in what I like and what I wear and I don't.
I'm probably not very good at moulding myself.
No, no, no, no, not at all. But I'm I'm often fascinated by
how some people do dress according to who they're, who
they're interviewing, who they're meeting.
I think I have a certain style. I have a particular taste.
It's probably not the same as as a lot of people, but I can
really appreciate how others dress.
Yeah, even if it's wildly different.
Yeah, from me, you know, for example, there is a lot of
content at who, What where that focuses on capture wardrobe
being minimalism. That couldn't be further than
the reality of my wardrobe. But so you're you're dressing
for you rather than trying to fit in.
Always Interesting. Interesting.
I always think that the fashion industry can be a pretty
intimidating industry to circulate in.
And I just wondered if you've ever felt judged by your style
or intimidated by the people around you stylistically.
Yeah. Probably always.
I don't know if that's a feeling that ever really disappears, no
matter how high up the chain you get.
I think it is an industry that is very much based on some
elements that are superficial, so it's hard to escape that.
I think all you can do is just have the confidence in what you
like, how you feel about yourself, try and remain as
strong and as true to who you are as possible.
And that can be really challenging.
You know, you feel, could I get further if I act like this or
dress like this or get more followers on Instagram, whatever
it might be. But I think I've always just
tried to really be known for doing good work, working hard,
being kind to the people around me.
If I look nice in an outfit, wonderful.
If everybody doesn't like what I wear, fine, I'm happy.
So yeah, it's it's a constant kind of battle, I think in in
your head ensuring that you remain yourself.
Yeah. Has that been a a particular
designer or stylist or content creator that's influenced your
style or how do you evolve your style?
Yeah. I think I often look back.
So rather than anybody in the kind of current fashion sphere,
my style has often been very 1970s.
Where that comes from, I have no idea.
So I look back into the archives.
So my references are things like Faye Dunaway's costumes in the
eyes of Laura Mars, one of my favorite films.
Her outfits in that are just fantastic, so slick, polished,
kind of sexy. So I often will look back at all
pictures of Bianca Jagger, for example, And I find more
inspiration there than I often do in what's on offer today.
Yeah. I mean, you've just come back
from show season. How do you approach your
dressing for the show season? Because that must be about as
intimidating as it gets. You know, walking into those
shows, being seated, surrounded by other important editors.
Yes, absolutely. I think I have to remember that
I am not there to be celebrated for my style.
I it's very unlikely that I'm going to get photographed by St.
style photographers. There is a whole kind of
ecosystem that exists with people going to the shows and
wearing the brand and being there to be photographed and to
be visible. So I walk this line, I guess
between making an effort, because I always do, because I
like getting dressed and I like clothes, as well as just being
really sensible. What what am I here for?
I'm here to actually focus on what's going on.
I'm going to walk 20,000 steps a day.
I'm going to be starting at 9:00 AM and I'm going to be getting
back in at one PMI mean 1:00 AM in the morning.
So, you know, you need to be comfortable.
I try to not panic by too many things beforehand because that
never really results in a successful purchase.
So I was very meticulous in my planning.
I had to kind of make about 11 or 12 outfits work one suitcase.
Like I said, I'm not really much impressive girl impressive.
So it did require a lot of planning and I'm very, very
organised with it. So you know, the underwear, the
tights, the shoes, the bag, the jewelry that you know and.
And so do you do a big old try on before packing your bag?
Yeah, I probably do a couple of try ONS.
I think you need the first one to kind of get it out of the
way. And you do wardrobe selfies.
I I do selfies, I bring my mom in.
My mom is like the the guiding voice of Hannah.
That's not you stop trying to not be you or you know that
actually isn't very flattering on you and I need I need that
from someone. So she.
Is the person that you would most trust.
Absolutely. I appreciate when she tells me
that something's not working, but also, you know, she's my
biggest cheerleader as well. I.
Love that. I mean, during your time in the
industry, you must have received some pretty extravagant gift
because that's just how the industry worked.
Yes, I think it's calmed down a little bit over the past couple
of years and I've got to a stage where I will politely decline if
I feel it's something that I'm not going to get much use out
of. Because as you can imagine, you
know, how many years have I worked in the industry?
18 years, my house is kind of fit to burst with things that I
have, you know, feel very fortunate to have been given.
But I actually don't like being wasteful.
I don't like having things that I don't use.
What? What was the most extraordinary
gift you've been given? The most extraordinary I had a
very lucky year, one year million million years ago now,
where I was given two different Celine handbags, not from Celine
directly, it was through other businesses.
I couldn't believe my luck to be quite honest.
Did you love? Them, yes, I loved them and I
still own them. I still own 11.
I gave to someone and I don't use it that much because I
almost want to protect it, like I don't want to destroy it.
And yeah, they, they held a very special place for me.
But sometimes the most exciting purchases, well, the most
exciting things you can own are the things that you're able to
purchase yourself. So whilst it's really lovely to
be given something, I would almost much rather work towards
being able to treat myself to something special.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Would you say that you've ever
used clothes as your armour? Probably all the time.
I think clothes are undeniably there for a reason.
If you're interested in them, you know why you wear what you
wear is really significant in your day.
And so yes, I wouldn't probably feel like myself turning up to
work in something that didn't reflect me in my most, I guess,
powerful state. And and on that note, what do
you reach for when you really need full on power?
Yeah, Red. Anything red.
Big fan of red. I do like to wear in those
moments where I feel like you need to project power.
So anything red. I love tailoring something that
fits really beautifully. And brand.
Brand. I'm not too much of A brand
loyalist if I'm completely honest.
I do have a couple of brands that I probably own multiple
things from. If I had all the money in the
world, it would be Prada. I'm not there.
So there are some brands that I go back to over and over again,
particularly for dresses. So I have a lot from the Rixo
girls who I have known from the start.
I think I was one of the first people that they came and showed
their few prototypes. They are phenomenal.
You know, they started all of that on their kitchen table and
have just grown into such an influential brand.
And I'm also in quite a lot of dresses from Ghost.
Those are two brands that I feel like I've got quite a lot of.
And then in terms of the High Street, I favor Arquette,
Massimo Duty. They both have something in
common in that there's an elegance and a kind of refined
effect to their clothes. Yes, they're a little bit more
expensive. The fabrics are good, the fit is
good. They're timeless but not boring,
so those would be my High Street goatees.
'Cause. I do like cars but I feel cause
is perhaps sometimes not for my proportions, you know?
They are quite interesting and I'm small and AS.
You sit here, I don't think of you as as small.
So, but yes, I understand what you're saying there.
I I do think it is a a more elongated silhouette.
Definitely, so I know a lot of the girls in the team are real
cause devotees and absolutely especially their jeans few
knits. I buy a lot of vintage and where
do you where do you buy your vintage?
So in recent years I've. Been looking more on Etsy
because of the fact that when I lived in East London, you know,
that's how my weekends were spent in my 20s.
I'd go down to Brick Lane with my friends and we'd go to every
vintage store and I'd That market is unbelievable.
I can spend hours there and I found some real gems that I.
Wish I could still fit into now, but I don't really have the
opportunity to spend that time thrifting anymore so I kind of
have to be quite specific in my searches.
What am I looking for? And I use Etsy the most.
And do you use vintage? At all.
I do use vintage sometimes. But I feel like if I'm looking
for true vintage, I don't always find it as easily on interesting
Interesting. Do you have a style icon?
I don't know if I. Do can I say my mom?
I think that's lovely. Yeah, I would say she has.
Always just blazed her own trail.
She wears what she likes, what she feels good in.
She's even smaller than me. We both moan a lot about not
being taller and how much easier life would be if we were taller.
But I've always really appreciated that she has her own
way with clothes. And so yes, no one else who I
really look to. Yeah, to be honest, how would
she? Describe your style DNA in three
words. I have, absolutely.
No idea. She'd probably say that I'm
individual, I think, and I would hope that people would perhaps
describe my style as not too serious.
I think I like to have fun with clothes.
If something's got a loud pattern or some sort of bonkers
detail on it, I'm probably into it.
So a bit playful. Yeah, definitely.
Playful. One more I've been told before.
I don't know if I believe this about myself, but I was told by
an actress on a cover sheet before that I'm very elegant.
I have no idea if I would see myself that way, but it was
probably one of the nicest compliments I've ever received.
Take that, I think we'll. Just print that.
I couldn't believe that she actually said it.
Really. Took me by surprise and it was
just lovely. You know, people don't hand out
compliments like that very readily.
I'm I'm a big believer and. We should hand out more.
I agree. You know, why not?
We should be lifting each other up, but we really should be.
Would you say your style has changed a lot through the
decades? Yes, I think it has been.
That many decades. Admitted there's been enough in
my. 20s I was very experimental, very vintage, heavy.
I would wear some quite daring 1970s things and I think as I've
grown, probably my style has become a little bit safer, not
quite as daring. And you know, that's probably
out of practicality if nothing else.
I just have less time to think about what I'm wearing.
Do you feel you've really nailed?
Your style DNA. Now I have no idea I'm.
Sure, I make some huge errors a lot of the time, but I feel like
I don't go buying things that aren't right for me anymore.
Would you say you've had a worst?
Fashion moment. I'm sure there's been heaps.
But but anything sort of stand out, do you think One that was
particularly embarrassing. I this was a long time ago.
I must have been a junior editor or something like that.
And I can remember buying this quite conceptual Acne Studios
dress on sale. I always used to hop into, I
don't know if you remember Stark Boutique that was in East
London. Yes, it was such a little hot
spot and, and I can remember, yeah, it was very cool.
But it was kind of very delicate, intricately sewn
together pieces of chiffon. And I wore it into work one day.
I was on the tube, hopped off at Tottenham Court Road.
This lovely girl came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and
she said, I think there's something wrong with your dress.
And I think I I was a bit kind of eye rolly and like, she just
doesn't understand. She's Acne's studious.
It's a real idiot. And then she was like, no,
seriously, that. And I kind of looked behind me
and one of the chiffon panels had completely come undone.
And so my bum and my knickers grayed out on the cheap
platform. So that was definitely a rescue
mission that needed to happen. So that was probably one of my
most embarrassing, but good girl, I think.
How lovely, how lovely. And can we just talk about?
Beauty. Sort of hair, nails, makeup.
Yes, well, what's your approach to I am useless at beauty?
I have had my makeup done today. Oh my goodness, you look I mean.
Look, because I wouldn't have been able to.
Do it myself. I'm, I think fashion girls are
often kind of a bit dismissive of beauty.
They, they just want the clothes to do the talking.
And that's probably the zone I've lived in for quite a long
time. I've always been very natural
with my hair, very natural with my makeup.
I'm not someone who goes and gets their nails done all the
time. I'm not great at pampering, but
I have, since we incorporated beauty onto the site a few years
ago, I have become much better versed in brands, treatments.
You know what's worth trying, what's not.
We get to test a lot of products in the office, so I'm definitely
finding a deeper appreciation for beauty now than I probably
had before we were talking earlier.
About you planning your looks for Fashion Week Do you actually
plan your looks at the beginning of the of your week sometimes?
It depends on what my schedule looks like.
So for example, I know I've got a supper club coming up next
week that I'm hosting and I want to make sure that I have it
clear in my head as to what I'm wearing.
I think it's to avoid. I don't like being late.
I don't really like being flustered.
I would say my natural state is to be quite calm and so I almost
have to do everything I can to maintain that.
I don't like being kind of harassed about anything.
So and I'm I, you know, I don't feel I'm the type of person who
can kind of Chuck anything on and look fabulous.
I do need to think about what do I feel good in right now?
Yeah. And tailoring.
Yeah, tailoring. And do you have anyone?
Within who, where that if you're just want a little bit of extra
help with that newness or evolving your style.
Do you just do that yourself or is there any, I mean you talk
about your mother earlier, but is there anyone within the
business that lots of people what I love.
About the team that I have is that everybody has a really
unique perspective on style. There are No 2 girls in our team
who look the same, dress the same, and I really appreciate
that because that means they're bringing in different brand
discoveries or different ways of styling something.
You know, we have the maximalists, we have the Gen.
Z girls, we've got the classicists.
Yeah, we've got the girls who are really casual, the ones who
love vintage, so I'm always kind of learning things through them.
And do they ever come to you and say Hannah?
This would look amazing on you, my lucky editor, my deputy
editor. Maxine knows my style inside and
out, and she is responsible for probably many of my recent
purchases because she was Hannah.
These shoes, they're so you. And I'm like, Oh my God, they
are. So she knows.
She knows when she sees a Hannah thing.
Yeah. You talked about a capsule
wardrobe. What what are the key pieces in
your capsule wardrobe? Yes, so my.
Wardrobe in all honesty, is a real mixing pot like it is
nothing in particular that goes together.
I don't live by the content that I probably produce.
I just think I have too much fun with my clothes and get a bit
carried away. But things that I always wear, I
love a kind of tailored MIDI skirt, a knee high boot, a great
Navy or grey jumper coat. I love a tailored coat and gold
earrings. Those are kind of probably some
some things that I rely on all the time.
I do love dresses, but I feel in recent years I've moved away
from dresses a lot and found that I feel more, I don't know,
I guess sophisticated in the separate.
So I have no idea why that is. I think we just are not in as
much of a dress era at the moment, apart from, you know,
when it's formal wear or wedding season kind of thing.
Let's talk about travel for a moment.
You, you sound like you're a good Packer.
I try to be. Again, organized.
You know, what luggage do you use?
I have a few different. Options.
I have a really fantastic suitcase from July that is like
a chic color and you can get your initials put on it and
that's fantastic. I've also just bought a kind of
Weekender bag, you know, like a soft canvas bag from Cezanne
that's really handy for the plane.
I'm very into, you know, all of the separate, compartmentalized
little. Yeah, Zippy.
I don't really what you call them.
I like all of that stuff to keep everything neat.
All the shoes go in shoe bags, etcetera, etcetera.
I try to look after everything as much as I can.
You are an excellent pack. I buy the sands.
Do you have any current favorite brands other than Prada?
Yes, I do. So by Molina I think is a really
interesting brand. I believe they are now stocked
on John Lewis, but they're doing some interesting things with
tailoring and separates. It's kind of, it's clean, but
it's interesting. So I have a brown tailored suit
from them that I've really, really enjoyed wearing.
I like I said, the Realm shoe. Yeah, the boots that I'm wearing
at the moment. I had quite a splurge in Frankie
Shop last season. That was really, really good.
Yeah. And again, things fit well.
They're nicely made good and nicely oversized.
Yes, exactly. Marcella London I really like.
I'm very keen on trying to buy from smaller brands if I can.
Yeah. So I'm always on the hunt for
something new. And I obviously on my Instagram
I'm targeted endlessly I am sure.
OK, you're guilty secret. What is the most expensive item
you've ever bought? I'm not asking for the price
tag. Yep.
OK, so. Prada bag, I bought that when I
was in Milan one season. I got, I was in the original
Prada store, which is in Joyomo. It's it's stunning, isn't it?
It's such a. Fabulous store.
And you know, the staff are so lovely and you get your little
glass of champagne and before you know it you bought a bag
that did you go in there. On a mission to buy that bag, No
I didn't. It's it's a pointless bag that
carries nothing. I have to sell it because
literally all I can fit in there is, you know, a credit card and
at best a lip barn. But what a joyous memory.
It's beautiful. It's a lovely.
Little Red. Shiny shoulder bag.
It wasn't one of the obvious styles or the IT kind of bag of
the season. I always worry about buying it
items because I think they can fade then they become not it.
Yes. Exactly.
So I tried to. Pick the alternative to the IT
and I love it and she's beautiful, but she's useless.
Sounds like she needs to be on the.
Mantelpiece What's your approach to sustainable fashion?
So for me. Personally, outside of the, the
work that we do at who we're to kind of try and encourage
sensible shopping habits and that side of things, I just
really try to be quite strict with myself.
What am I buying? Why am I buying it?
Does it work? Can I make multiple outfits out?
And then have I made that mistake before in the past?
Does it actually fit me? You know, I've gone through
years of going, Oh well, I'll lose some weight and then I'll
fit into it. Silly.
You never get there. So I try to just be really,
really sensible with my purchasing habits.
And I am also very passionate about looking after my things,
caring for my clothes. You know, nothing gets chucked
on the floor, everything gets mended it, you know, shoes you
borrow some girl love that, but I feel like that's the.
Point, isn't it? You know, actually I buy
something, wear it once. And get rid of.
It I'm complete, I am the girl that.
Put shoe trees in her Manolo's the minute they come off that.
So things like that, you know, that extends the lifetime of
something you've purchased and again, that comes very much from
my mum. It's something I'm trying to
pass down to my child. You know, one of our house rules
is we look after our things, don't we?
Trying he seems to, everything he touches breaks, but we're
trying that. That's a phase.
I'm I'm sure. So when you when you've had
enough of something, where, where does it go?
Do you sell it to a number of places?
So I give a lot to charity. I sell some bits and bobs.
I have my friends come over and they rummage and sometimes
they'll just get packages in the post.
You know, if I know that a, you know, there's a brand that one
of my friends really loves, I'll just put some bits.
Together and send it over. To them, my mum takes a lot.
My mum's friends take a lot. Yeah.
My cousin, her daughter, you know, we, I really try to make
sure that I am kind of sending things to places where they will
be born again rather than just sitting, you know, in a sad pile
at home. Favorite charity?
I always like a British Heart
Foundation shop. They're always very, very good.
I think what Smartworks is doing, you know, from a fashion
perspective, it's just amazing. Phenomenal.
And I, you know, I want to. Manifest that I would really
like who what where to work more closely with them so yeah I
think what they're doing is really interesting you know it
is harnessing the power and the significance of clothing for
being able to kind of have that upward mobility one quick last.
Question the oldest piece you have in your wardrobe?
Oh, now that. Could be, yeah.
I think. Sarah, it's.
Very sentimental to you. I do have a.
Fantastic. Hardy Amy's, if that's how, I'm
not sure if that's even how you pronounce it.
Yeah. Hardy Amy's velvet kind of ball
gown skirt with these incredible purple pansies on it.
It was very reminiscent of, I don't know if you remember that
Christopher Kane collection with the with the pansies.
And I think I bought it at that time because I thought, wow,
like what a parallel. And that's very old in terms of,
you know, age in terms of something I have owned for a
really long time. There's one T-shirt from when I
was probably about 8 or 9 that I still have that holds this kind
of power over me. I think it was only from H&M.
Stripy T-shirt, really, nothing significant.
It just reminds me of a time I remember loving that T-shirt so
much. I'm quite sentimental.
I do hold on to a lot of things. Yeah, but they have.
They have. Stories, yeah.
And even things like, you know. My my wedding band is made from
gold and stones that were in a ring that my grandma passed down
to me that was really kind of falling apart and a bit broken
and I got it made into that. So lovely.
That's been on some quick fires. OK, what fashion advice?
Would you give your 20? Year old self, wear what you
want. Which fashion?
Trend or era would you most like to see make a comeback?
Always the 70s. Right there with you.
Fashionable beauty trend that you'd consigned to room one O 1
the very. Like tattooed eyebrows, your
last impulse by the. Skirt your views on tattoos.
I don't have any because I'm a worse.
But I love them on other people. Grooming or well-being
treatment, You couldn't give up. I do love a massage.
I don't. Have them that often but if
someone told me I could never have a massage again I'd be
quite upset. High end or High Street?
Both. Crocs cute or.
Puke love them for gardening. Sambas or gazelles?
Neither. Not not much of A trainer's girl
sports lux or rock and. Roll probably a bit Rock'n'roll.
Cashmere or cotton? Trilby or Tracy, I do love a
hat. I'll take any hat.
To be honest, I wore a mad hat and during Milan Fashion Week
and loved it. Beanie or Berry Berry.
Trendle. Style, style, colour or
monochrome? Always colour pattern or plain
pattern, she says. Where I know hoarder or editor?
I'm a hoarder that's trying to edit.
You'd be amazed how many people. Say that charity shop or resale,
they both have their merits. I can't.
Cheese, shapewear or lingerie? Lingerie, bikini or one piece?
I like a One Piece these days. And finally, traditional.
Last question, at the end of the day, what do you or don't you
wear in bed? I have become quite.
A pajama connoisseur and and I really like a very chic PJ.
There are loads of great independent brands out there on
it's 9 PMI have some from Liberty.
Your favorite, favorite favorite.
Favorite OH. I think it's my honor ones.
They're this beautiful kind of sagee green color, so comfy and
I've had them for ages and every time I wash them, they still
look great. Gorgeous Hannah.
What a lovely, lovely conversation for me, so special
because someone so entrenched in the industry that I've been
entrenched in for many, many, many years.
So thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
It's been such fun. It's great.
Lovely. Thank you.