Venus In Furs
Ch'lita Collins moves to her own beat, from flying to New York for a fringe cut to jet-setting to styling icons like Alexa Chung. People are obsessed, and her bestie Biz Sherbert finds out why.
Interview by BIZ SHERBERT
Photos by CARLOS DURO YAGÜE
There’s something about Ch'lita Collins that drives people crazy. Sure, she’s beautiful and always wearing something very cool. But more than anything, Ch’lita doesn’t play to the crowd, and she doesn’t say she likes something if she doesn’t. While her eye travels fast, it always lands exactly where it should.
Biz Sherbert: Hi Ch’lita. Where are you?
Ch’lita Collins: I’m in New York, and there’s about to be a thunderstorm.
Biz: How do you know?
Ch’lita: I can smell it in the air, and I’m looking out the window as I talk to you.
Biz: What are you doing in New York?
Ch’lita: I had some free time, and I wanted to see friends and get a haircut.
Biz: What are you wearing?
Ch’lita: I rolled out of bed, threw on some Margiela denim hot pants, a ripped yellow T-shirt from the Rose Bowl, and some Havaianas to walk the dog I’m sitting.
Biz: Do you feel glamorous walking this dog?
Ch’lita: It makes me feel like Emrata.
Biz: Do men approach you?
Ch’lita: Yes, they go, “What type of dog is that?” Followed by, “Are you single?”
Biz: Why are people so obsessed with you?
Ch’lita: I don’t know if they are.
Biz: Where did you grow up?
Ch’lita: Wellington, New Zealand. Then when I was 8, I moved to Khon Kaen, Thailand. I moved back to New Zealand at 12 for high school, then to Auckland at 17 for university. When I was 22, I moved to London.
Biz: What was your life like in Thailand?
Ch’lita: I was very divalicious from a young age. I think my parents just decided I’d be into fashion; my dad gave me all these books and magazines. We had a family computer, so I spent the days scrolling through magazine covers,printing them out and sticking them to my bedroom walls. I was obsessed with i-D—especially the Gemma Ward cover by Nick Knight where her head’s covered in roses. I was also obsessed with movie trailers, which is how I discovered music, like The Smiths from the 500 Days of Summer trailer, and The Strokes from their demo in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere.
Biz: What was the first piece you saved up for?
Ch’lita: A pair of white Tabi boots from Galliano’s Margiela collection. I was a teen model, and I cashed a check that was mailed to my house. I’d just stare at them and think, Once I have these, I’ll become the woman I want to be. They were the costume for my future self.
Biz: When do you feel most like yourself?
Ch’lita: When I’m alone in my bedroom, obsessing over something, listening to music.
Biz: Let’s talk about the moment styling Alexa Chung.
Ch’lita: If it wasn’t for her, my life would look really different.
Biz: Did you eat today?
Ch’lita: No, because last night I had dinner at the Chelsea Hotel. Beef tartare—my favorite meal in the city— and a glass of Chablis. It was decadent, and I ate way too fast, so I’m still full.
Biz: Does she inspire you more than Jane Birkin?
Ch’lita: Both. But Alexa is inspired by Jane, so it’s a trickle-down. I really envied her life, I would think, I want to walk around New York and London and have a rocker boyfriend. Why can’t I? I loved her outfits growing up. Still do.And when I styled her for Vespertine London, I was shaking. I could barely speak. But Oliver Hadlee Pearch, who brought me on, treated me like a peer. He asked for my opinion for every look, every pose, and it was the first time I felt like maybe I actually belonged in the room.
Biz: Right, because being a stylist isn’t just about having good taste or looking good online. It’s a real job.
Ch’lita: Exactly, and it’s hard. But I’ve been lucky with mentors. Being taken under Katy England’s wing, and working with her and Kate Moss regularly for almost two years, changed my life.
Biz: What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from that circle?
Ch’lita: “Never get in a plane with someone more famous than you because if it crashes, you won’t be in the headline,” and “Don’t hate, just wait your turn.”
Biz: Do you actually live by those?
Ch’lita: One hundred percent. And one I love is from Alexander McQueen to Katy: “You’re never too good to make a cup of tea.”
Biz: That’s such good British. Styling is a very humbling career because you are literally putting the person’s socks on.
Ch’lita: I like that about it, lugging suitcases around—it’s extremely unglamorous, actually.
“Lugging suitcases around—it’s extremely unglamorous, actually.” — CH’LITA
Biz: What’s the coolest thing ever to you?
Ch’lita: Rock ’n’ roll.
Biz: Where will you be in 20 years?
Ch’lita: My house.
Biz: How are you everywhere all the time?
Ch’lita: Getting from New Zealand to anywhere takes forever, so I’m good on a plane. I can sleep anywhere.
Biz: What is something that you can’t live without?
Ch’lita: A passport. A good haircut. A bit of attitude.
Biz: What does your feed look like?
Ch’lita: It’s photos of Lou Reed and Jane Birkin, yawn.
Biz: Four words to ruin a first date?
Ch’lita: I have a boyfriend.