Words/Interview by Annette Lin
Ollie Henderson, with her platinum blonde hair, gravelly voice and almost blasé approach to life, is just one of those people who are – there’s no other word for it – cool. When I met her she just seemed like she took everything in her stride, and I would have perhaps been jealous of such self-assuredness, except that it was kind of infectious.
Can you tell me about what you’re wearing?
Well my pants are from Romance [was Born], the top is from Ellery and these bracelets are from Lebanon.
They’re so cool, I really want them.
Thanks, yeah they’re cool.
Do you have any stories about them?
Well…
Okay Lebanon, what were you doing in Lebanon?
Well I went a holiday with one of my best friends Rachel Rutt. It was after Dubai Fashion Week and we thought, which was a pretty strenuous week I guess and we decided that we needed a holiday. Originally we were going to go to India but you needed to get a visa and so… it was literally a matter of just picking a point on the map of somewhere in the area so we decided Lebanon and coincidentally one of my best friends from London was there visiting his family at the same time. So we had a a fantastic trip, we got to stay with his family in the countryside, they were very accommodating. The people there are just so lovely. So I’m planning a little bit of an extended holiday there.
Extended, like how long are we talking about?
I’m thinking three months. I really want to go and experience the city.
Beirut?
Just Beirut.
And this banana earring, where’s that from?
Another mate of mine … brought it back from the Big Banana and gave it to me for my birthday.
So how would you describe your style?
… Me.
What are your favourite things to wear?
Um… favourite things to wear… I have this tartan skirt that I really like wearing. It looks a bit like a schoolgirl skirt, I always like to pretend that I’m in Cruel Intentions when I’m wearing it. Although I rewatched that movie and they don’t actually wear tartan skirts. But whenever I see tartan skirts I think of it.
It reminds me of Clueless.
Yeah, another 90s classic.
So I guess do you just throw on whatever you feel like in the morning, or do you have other models or designers that you really love? Or blogs?
Not really. Self-inspired, I guess.
I guess it’s just how I feel. Romance Was Born is definitely my favourite designer, I love their stuff.
Have you walked for them?
Yeah.
And what’s that like?
It’s always great, because it’s always such a production. It’s a show I really enjoy being involved in because I really appreciate their creative talent. I think it’s definitely my favourite show to walk in at Australian Fashion Week.
What about overseas?
I really love the McQueen shows. They always do a good one. I really like them. I don’t know. I know this is really bad as a model, but I don’t actually know designers very well.
That’s okay. We won’t put that one in.
Well you know…
It’s most about style for you as opposed to designers, hey.
Yeah, totally. I think that you don’t need a lot of money to have good style and you don’t really need to know the designers, I don’t think it’s the most important thing. A white shirt can be from Karen Walker or it can be from Target. If it’s styled in the right way it’ll still look good.
See Ollie’s amazing portfolio @ Chic, she also looked stunning at this week’s David Jones autumn winter 2012 runway show!
