Leomie Anderson first captured our hearts as the bubbly and effervescent runway upstart on 2011 reality TV show The Model Agency. Fast forward four years and the South London superstar has come a long way. She is a regular on the runways of New York and Milan, is a favorite of Jeremy Scott’s, has taken center stage at Yeezy Seasons One and Two, and most recently flew the British flag at this year’s Victoria’s Secret show for the very first time. She also finds the time to talk about everything from winter hauls to body confidence on her popular blog, Cracked China Cup. Here are 10 things you need to know about her…
1. She auditioned for the Victoria’s Secret show twice before actually bagging a spot this year
“I found out I was going to the casting in July, so I had time to prepare. The first casting is on Monday, then they have the second one — the call back where you see everyone on the panel. The next night, I was in bed watching Scandal and I always take a nap for like an hour. As I wake up, my phone starts ringing and then my booker’s like, ‘you better be sitting down because you’ve got Victoria’s Secret!’ I felt soooo emotional; I tried to call my mom but she never has her phone on her, even though I bought her an iPhone. It was six hours before she found out!”
2. She’s fully aware of how lucky she was to be chosen
“Ed Razek was making this speech backstage to all the girls that were in the show — it made me realize how many girls were fulfilling their dreams, and the dreams of their families. Even Alessandra Ambrosio, who’s been doing it for 16 years, was crying. He made the point that 75,000 men have played in the NFL in the past 20 years but less than 200 girls have walked for Victoria’s Secret. You have one of the rarest jobs in the world. It was then I knew how serious it was.”
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015
3. She understands what a great platform modeling is and would love to branch out if possible
“Some models don’t utilize the connections you can make, the environments that we get to be in, and that’s just stupid. There are girls who say ‘oh I don’t wanna be on Instagram’ but as far as I am concerned, your job is your image — you should want to have control of it. I started my blog in 2012, not for any particular reason but I use it as a tool to show people my interests. That’s why I started doing more YouTube videos and stuff; I’ve always known I like to talk and would love to make documentaries. I don’t wanna ask boring questions, I wanna know the inside scoop.”
4. She’s a Kanye fan, both as a designer and a musician
“He just says whatever is on his mind. It might not even make sense, but I have a lot of respect for that. People are like ‘oh he’s doing too much, he’s crazy’, but that’s how he wants to be. His clothing line sells because people want to dress like him. They’re buying a Kanye sweatshirt because of the power of his name. At the end of the day you have to respect that. I really have respect for people who just say what they feel.”
5. She worked with Kanye in the run up as well as in the presentation
“I also did the hair and make-up test for it with him and Pat McGrath, he was super involved. I really enjoyed doing the first season. The second season was a little more tricky as it was at an awkward time in the schedule and it was dark as fuck backstage, and really hot because of the lights. Girls’ hair started to smoke! But I obviously I liked getting to hear his new music. For the second one, I didn’t have to go to the casting luckily, I just got requested but I know hundreds of people showed up trying to meet him. I went for lunch and people were like like, ‘give this shoe to Kanye! Give this shoe to Kanye!'”
6. She wants to be the face of your favorite beauty brand
“I want to get a beauty campaign. I remember when I was growing up, the first time I even saw a dark skin person doing a make-up campaign was for Sleek. Now, it’s getting better, they have our shades, but they’d still rather use a lighter model to represent a darker skin tone. The first designer piece I bought was by Givenchy, so working with them would be great. I think they always have sick campaigns. I like the fact they always blur the line between menswear and womenswear — that’s totally my style!”
7. She prefers to shop on the mens floor
“I love men’s stuff, I buy tracksuits. I just feel like with menswear, you can wear it oversized, or if you want to change it up you can get it tailored. Most womenswear is for shorter people so it doesn’t ever fit me right. I’m inspired by my older brother, the way I dress is because of him. My bro always used to buy me the newest kicks that were coming out. I remember when I was in secondary school, I would always have a new pair of kicks.”
8. Her favorite social media platform depends on the season
“Instagram for fashion week because during fashion week I love seeing the street style snaps. I have so much stuff to post on there from shows and backstage. Then for Winter, I’m liking Twitter. It’s getting a bit cold so I like a cheeky scroll. Definitely Snapchat for Summer!”
9. Despite the glamour of fashion, Leomie keeps her friendship circles tight…
“I’ve had my closest friends for over ten years, everybody around me I really know, literally I make one new friend every year. People should not force friendships and I feel like in fashion, it’s a lot about forcing friendships.”
10. You won’t find her in a model clique…
“It’s a lot about which girl’s popping, so you’ll see some girls try to get photographed with her in the hopes it will boost their career. I am not into that. People should just learn to be humble in this industry, it’s all ‘I’ve got so many Instagram followers now’ or ‘I’ve done this job, I’m gonna act like a bitch’ but I just believe people will continue to work with you because you’ve got a good personality and you’re good at your job. I am not interested in being a one season girl.”
Credits
Text Lynette Nylander