India Rose: Blogger of the Moment
Scanning through the long, long list of fashion blogs that I follow there is one that stands out by a mile. I can guarantee you that over half of the blogs out there will show you how to do the latest Aztec nail art trend, or how to wear the “must have” long maxi skirt, or how to do your hair in a way that a million other girls want to have their hair etc. etc. etc. In short it is easy to regurgitate every fashion trend going but much harder to find someone with a true, individual and unique style. India Rose is that rarity.
Winner of Grazia’s daily best-dressed blogger, India Rose - a 19 year old fashion communication and promotion student at Nottingham Trent, originally from London but now living in Chester - stands out from the crowd. From avidly following her blog it is easy to see why. Her most recent post sees her pairing a plain white tee with grey marl shorts, a black sweater casually wrapped around her waist and a fluorescent COS bra which you can just about see through her t-shirt. Accessorised simply with a silver Michael Kors watch, denim backpack and a Beechfield beanie – this is effortlessly cool style at its best. You know someone’s got it when they can out-dress you in shorts and a tee.
We were lucky enough to have a chat with India herself and she let us in to a few of her style secrets, the music she is rating at the moment and even that inevitable scene kid stage a lot of us somehow managed to go through at one point in our lives. It’s comforting to know that even the most stylish have some skeletons in their wardrobe.
Hey India, hope you’re good. There is a question I have been dying to ask you: It’s such a beautiful and memorable name, is India Rose your real name?
Yes it is, and thank you. My mum was given a really boring name and always promised to herself that her children would have names they were proud of. Quite thankful for that really, as I would have no idea what to call my blog otherwise.
It definitely makes for a great blog title. So, your blog has quite a tom-boyish and effortlessly cool vibe, who are your favourite designers or collections at the moment?
My favourite collections change each season but designers I have always loved are Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Acne, Isabel Marant and Theyskens Theory. I also love a lot of menswear and streetwear brands, such as Supreme, APC, YMC and Albam, and then obviously sneaker brands like Nike, Vans, New Balance, Asics and Superga.
Yeah, I have seen you wearing a beautiful Alexander Wang dress on a recent post. You have recently won Grazia’s Best Dressed Blogger - did you ever think starting out your blog that you would receive this much attention? Any tips for those starting out on their blogs at the moment?
Honestly I had no idea. I just started it to gain a place on my university course. I stopped blogging for a year or two then suddenly had the urge to start it up again, and from then it's just been a natural progression I suppose. I'd say to keep to your own style, as it's so obvious when you're dressing in something solely because it's on trend or because loads of other bloggers are wearing it. Using style sites like Lookbook.nu really help gain viewers too.
What brands/ labels are you looking out for this year?
To be honest I don't really watch specific brands, I just buy something I like if I come across it. Sometimes I get little visions of a look I want to create though, and then I look out for brands I think may have something similar to what I have in my head. Right now I want a pair of matching joggers and sweatshirt from Alexander Wang, some suede Reebok Classics, some Asics gels, loads of LnA basics and the rest I just hope to steal from my guy friends. I do that a lot.
Stealing clothes from guys is the way forward. So who would you say influences you in your fashion style i.e. what icons inspire you?
Honestly it's no one in particular anymore. I find myself disassociating myself with the blogs that I follow, as they don't really have similar style to me. I take a lot of inspiration from my guy friends I suppose, and then images I find from lookbooks or collages and people I see in the street.
Yeah you can tell you don’t really follow the norm when it comes to trends, it’s nice and refreshing. Have you been on holiday this year or to any festivals?
Not yet. This is the longest I've been in the country and it's killing me, last year I managed to go on 8 holidays! I'm going to Amsterdam on Monday though for my birthday, and I'm going to Outlook festival in Croatia in September, then hopefully Berlin at some point before all the clubs like Berghain close down. It's going to be a sad time for Berlin.
Where do you hope to be in the future? Do you have an ideal, dream job?
I'm not 100% sure yet to be honest. I want to see where my blog will take me, and one day to hopefully become a brand or at least help co-design a collection for somebody, alongside styling lookbooks for my favourite brands or websites. That would be incredible.
I can definitely see you designing a collection and you’d make a great stylist. If you could style one person who would it be and how would you dress them?
There are so many people I think could pull off a different look to what they already have that I wouldn't even know where to start with that.
Yeah I know what you mean. Obviously fashion is a massive part of your life but what do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t working in fashion?
I'd still be at university, but probably doing something like photography, which is what I did before I started this degree. I've always wanted to DJ too. Who knows.
You’d make an awesome DJ, judging by your Soundcloud you have a diverse music taste. What are your favourite tunes from this Summer?
There are so many and I could talk about this for days but right now I'm listening to Meddling Loops by Rejjie Snow, Crave and Jesse James, Rhapsodie for Analog OSC by Evil Needle, Angels by The xx, Between Friends by Flying Lotus feat. Earl Sweatshirt, Faint by Boddika, Pearson Sound and Joy Orbison and Toni by Matthew Kyle. I'm loving off Kendrick Lamar at the moment too. To be honest I've overloaded my brain with electronic music over the past few months so I've just started to listen to loads of old school soul, R&B and hip hop. J Dilla, Full Crate and Mar, MF Doom, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu and Common all day every day.
Oh yeah, loving that Between Friends track, so so good. So back to fashion, have you always been so assured in your wardrobe choices or do you have any embarrassing outfits from back in the day?
SO many embarrassing stages. I was a bit of a scene kid at one stage, wearing loads of liquid eyeliner, skinny jeans, bright Nike Dunks and extensions. In fact I've had too many. I won't expose myself too much.
Haa, I feel your pain when it comes to the whole scene kid days. Lastly, your dress sense is quite laid back and effortless so what would you normally wear on a night out?
It really depends on where I'm going, but because of my nightlife I tend to wear what I wear on my blog. High waisted shorts with a cropped tee, a bumbag and platform sneakers, or wearing a tee as a dress. If I'm going to something that requires for me to dress up, which is rare, I'll make more of an effort. The last time I wore anything with a heel was to a debut music event in Nottingham. I couldn't cope going all out so I paired them with my friend's American football jersey and wore it as a dress.
Such a good idea to wear it as a dress, may have to try that out some time! Thank you so much for chatting with us India, have an awesome time in Amsterdam and hope to catch up soon.
To check out more from India Rose’s unique style go to her blog at http://indiaroseblog.blogspot.co.uk/.
Also, have a listen to her soundcloud at http://soundcloud.com/imindiarose/favorites.
Rachel Thom @ThomRachel
