Alexa Chung talks Shanghai, Britishness, and Barbour

Globally recognized as a TV presenter, model, designer and entrepreneur, Alexa Chung’s realest title is as one of Britain’s longest-serving fashion It-girls. Born in Hampshire and scouted at the UK’s Reading Festival aged 16, Chung went on to become a world famous poster girl for English style — so much so that luxury house Mulberry immortalized her in their lineup, christening one of their permanent handbag designs with her name. Chung’s influence on style was cemented by four consecutive British Style Awards from 2010 to 2013. In 2017, she launched her eponymous fashion brand, securing shows at London Fashion Week and coveted retail spots in Bergdorf Goodman, Matches, and Harrods, before it ceased operations in 2022. Throughout the 2010s, Chung’s consistent, trademark looks – from her devotion to denim, preppy shirting, and pumps, to her signature messy bob – dominated global trends. And her influence persists: the star counts six million followers on Instagram, while “Alexa Chung style” features in 10.1M TikTok posts and #alexachung has 11.1 million Weibo reads. Renowned in the UK and revered as the face of Brit style overseas, Chung’s enduring appeal makes her the ultimate collaborative partner for brands: this past month alone, she co-designed collections for clothing company Madewell and quintessentially British outerwear brand Barbour, in “The edit by Alexa Chung.” But it’s not just her style that’s transfixed fans; Chung’s endearingly witty banter is the perfect balance to her charm. While interviewing Karl Lagerfeld, she once reached a moment where she “didn’t know what to ask, so I asked him whether he prefers The Beatles or The Rolling Stones,” she said. “I cringe about that once a week.” Amid similarly amusing anecdotes, Jing Daily had the opportunity to hear Chung’s take on the business of fashion. Jing Daily: You’ve been a style icon for a long time, what changes have you seen in the fashion industry since your career began? Alexa Chung: One of the more positive changes that I've seen has been people thinking about their output and whether the amount they make is necessary. Definitely in the higher-end market, people are trying to have more of a focus on waste and trying to think of clever ways to use it. Barbour has always offered a service where you can re-wax your jacket. So it basically is about cherishing something and investing in a piece and then sort of keeping it for life. So one of the more positive things that I've noticed is people even thinking about that. That wasn't even really a conversation when I first started out in the industry. But I think the negative in the industry is the speed at which things are moving. There is a huge amount of pressure on design teams to deliver, and it's sort of never enough. As well as environmentally, that is a personal stress for people. Sadly, a lot of people that have been put in their creative director roles in huge fashion houses have found themselves in a mental health crisis too. JD: What are some of your best memories of being in China? AC: I went to Shanghai with Louis Vuitton, and Lana Del Rey played, which was amazing. It was when Marc Jacobs was the creative director there, and they did a show where a steam train pulled into the station and the models got off the train and then walked the platform, and it was one of the most spectacular things my eyeballs has ever seen. Then after we all had an amazing bedroom party, bouncing on beds with Marc Jacobs. It was very funny. In Beijing, I remember it being quite smoggy and sitting in some traffic for a bit. I think I was in and out with Longchamp. Shanghai looks like [a Batman movie] – it looks like a futurescape. I had an amazing massage and some kind of thing where they hold smoking wood over your back, and it releases toxins and tensions. It was amazing. JD: Are there any young designers you’re loving at the moment? AC: I wore Róisín Pierce to the Met Gala last year. She's an Irish designer that I think is incredible. This is not an emerging designer, per se, but I do love Alighieri, who makes gorgeous jewelry, and she's just done interiors like little shell plates and spoons. JD: Your latest Barbour Collection sees you take the role of Creative Director and Designer. How does it differ from the previous seasons you designed under your brand? AC: The previous ones that I did were a collaboration between my brand and Barbour, so it was always being mindful of the type of collection that we were releasing at the time and how Barbour could play into that. It was more theme-led and definitely more characterized by the touchstones of my company, whereas this is my first collaboration with them directly, just me, and that was really lovely. As a result, because I'd had some time off to think about it, I really wanted to go back to being a lot more direct and just making clothes that were missing from my wardrobe. So they were kind of solution pieces that I could truly see myself wearing every day Before I was always a bit frightened to be my own muse. Now I'm like, ‘no, I really am confident that I've got a nice outfit on, and I really want the wax jacket to look good with it.’ I had references from ‘90s clean men's raincoats, or pictures of Oasis at Glastonbury. There was a real Britishness to it. I also really wanted to make knitwear in Scotland, because I missed making knitwear with my company. So we made a really beautiful jumper that was based on a picture of John Walters, and a lemon yellow cardigan, which is kind of a joke within my company when it was still alive, because every season all I wanted is a lemon yellow cardigan, and we'd never make it. JD: How do you preserve your identity when collaborating with brands like Barbour? AC: As flattering as it is to be invited into their company, it's always important to remember that they're borrowing you as much as you're borrowing them. If I compromise too much, then it becomes another Barbour collection. So it's always really important to me that I'm bringing them to my world as well. I might make the jackets a different fabric for the same cut as a classic Barbour Bedale, but suddenly it's my look. Or I haven't personally seen them do knitwear like mine before, which is a lot more colorful and playful. So it's just staying strong and remembering that it's a mutually beneficial relationship, and I don't have to cater to them too much. They should come to our world, too – and that goes for all collaborations. Give a strong sense of who you are and a vision for what it could look like. JD: Do you have a favorite memory wearing a Barbour jacket? AC: I guess all the Glastonbury’s sort of blur into one. I don't think I've ever not worn one at Glasto. It's like my comfort blanket in that situation. There are so many pockets. It's waterproof. It's something you can lay out and sit on. It suddenly becomes a blanket, a duvet. JD: You’ve done lots of fashion collaborations, how do you decide who to work with? AC: The brands that I've collaborated with have always been brands that I already was wearing. I used to work with Superga when I was with the brand, because I've been wearing them for years. I was already wearing Barbour before they came knocking. I was already wearing Madewell jeans before they asked me. So I never say yes to anything that I wouldn't actually wear, or that I didn't think I could add value to from my perspective. JD: Social media has become crucial to fashion, how do you use it for your own career? AC: Just the obvious ways – if I'm promoting a collaboration, then I'll put images from that campaign on it. I'm not particularly good at talking to the people on it. I think if I was a social media or PR advisor, I'd be like, ‘keep your engagement up by responding to all of your followers, make sure that you're inviting them to make a decision with you when you're getting dressed.’ I don't do any of those things. I'm quite isolated in my social media experience. Because I know it as a corporate tool at this point, I deliberately post things that aren't that because I enjoyed it at the beginning when it was more free. So I'll just do like a carousel of stuff I like the look of as a palette cleanse. JD: What defines British fashion to you and how do you feel it’s changed over the years? AC: I think the Brits in general, because we come from an ancient land, we are really good at taking in history and subtext and then subverting it again. And that's where our humor comes from, and that's where good new good music comes from. It's like, okay, we did punk, we did our version of grunge, and then this is our answer to that. It comes from a place of knowledge. That's what I find exciting about British style. It's always winking at you. Not to generalize, but if I think about my French friends and how they get dressed, they're not afraid to just look beautiful. They're not like, ‘that's not that interesting enough.’ They just think, ‘I look really sexy in this.’ The British will think yeah, ‘I look really sexy in a sexy dress. Therefore I'm going to put a bright pink bra underneath it, or I'm going to add a flat shoe.’ Jing Daily presents Jing Masterminds — a regular, exclusive interview series profiling today’s most iconic names in art, fashion, commerce and culture. Delving deep into their personal journeys, creative processes, business strategies and societal impacts, the series offers readers an intimate look at the lives and minds shaping our industries.

Alexa Chung talks Shanghai, Britishness, and Barbour

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Published September 19, 2024

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Alexa Chung talks Shanghai, Britishness, and Barbour