When you hear the name
Hannah St James chances are you already know who I am talking about. The persona that follows such a creative kitten is highly intriguing and a little intimidating. Fashion lover, Stylist, Model, Designer and
Canberra Fashion Festival founder just to name a few.
Hannah is just as beautiful a person inside as she is on her flawlessly styled fashionable exterior. I've had many a "I feel you" D&M with her, and knew we'd probz be besties since before first met and worked together. There's some wonderful people in this world that exist to just "get" you. Luckily for me, creatively, this is Miss St James.
Walking into Hannah's trendy Kingston apartment that she shares with her beau, I wasn't prepared for the gorgeous colourful racks of clothing she had specially itemised as options for the shoot. It looked everything you might assume a Stylist's apartment might look. The design aesthetic was that of a retail space but with boxes of jewellery and hidden treasures. Hints of personal touches that beamed with her quirky personality every time you noticed a gleaming colour pop of different textiles.
One of my absolute favourite makeup artists to work with,
Jolina O'Hair, well known local artist whose work regularly features in online campaigns and print; was doing Hannah's dramatic makeup. The lovely thing about Jolina is her work ethic, she is always on time and comes with 100 percent commitment to achieving beautiful end results. Her passion is literally visually evident. Every time we work together, I am incredibly grateful because it's the teams you build that produce consistent high fashion that in turn you ultimately want to book over and again. Let's just say, after this shoot.... I found myself with some serious hot pink lipstick envy and I knew there would be only one way to overcome that =
buy new fuchsia lipstick, obvi!
We shot at the
National Gallery of Australia. Marrying the two greatest loves of my life. Yes. You guessed correctly, Fashion and Art. Never has there been a better love story. And can I just say, nothing has ever looked better? Especially with the James Turrell Skyspace light/architectural installation and entrance infinity pool... from looking at some shots, you almost feel transported into another time. Something more futuristic in nature, perhaps. Props to NGA for the exterior makeover. The space looks so very inspired and dream like. ME GUSTA MUCHO!
Unfortunately it wasn't the most amazing weather that afternoon. Sporadic showers of rain getting darker and darker by the minute. As a result some of these shots were taken while light was quickly leaving the sky. Hannah was a champ for putting up with the cold and soldiering on till got the shots needed.
One of the things I love about shooting Hannah is her uncanny ability to quickly perceive, adjust and perfect posing required. She creates these beautiful effortless geometric shapes with such ease.
Which outfit was your favourite look? Don't forget to comment at the end of this post if you likey! We'd love to hear from you :):):)
Allura xo
Question 1: Tell me about yourself - what do you do, passions, brings happiness? Tell about work, journey as a stylist/model, how long in the industry?
Hannah: "I run my own business as a freelance Stylist, Event Manager and Model/MC. Although I do lots of different things under that umbrella, including writing, designing, PR, and I’m about to launch an exciting new project that I can’t really talk about right now (I know that sounds so lame) but it will be taking up a lot of my time. My passion is fashion right now, but I love music and writing and film (watching and participating in) and without these non-fashion outlets I couldn’t do as much fashion work as I do, for me I need to dilute it with other things. That said, I never get sick of looking at beautiful clothes and dreaming about what I could do with them, that brings me SO much happiness. I have a really reclusive, quiet side and I love the madness and frenetic energy of being on set, but I absolutely adore quite times relaxing at home with my fiancé. I need to re charge my batteries and I love being at home with my man and my collection, working and dreaming away, or (on the rare opportunity we can) just doing nothing, bliss. "
Question 2: Tell about work, journey as a stylist/model, how long in the industry?
Hannah: "I’ve always been interested in fashion, and from a young age I designed all kinds of clothes and gowns. In high school I would customise my clothes or wear them backwards and that was really the start of my interest in ‘Styling’. When I worked in the Public Service a few years ago I collected a number of private clients and practiced styling them from my ridiculously massive, ever expanding wardrobe. When I began modeling (2009) I loved being in front of the camera and getting the images back, but I wanted more creative control, and I knew I could put some good outfits together, so I volunteered myself as a fashion stylist and started getting experience that way. Eventually that lead to me working as a freelance Stylist for photoshoots and events, and also as the Wardrobe Supervisor on indie feature film Theatre of The Dead, working as the PR Intern for Fashion Palette 2012, Founding and Producing Canberra’s first Fashion Festival – Avant Garden 2012, and being published locally and internationally (as a Stylist and Fashion Writer). I have a few amazing clients that I adore and I get to do a fair bit of travel for work with my finace, which is a real luxury, I’m very lucky. Recently I appeared as a guest Judge for a panel for Wayne Cooper’s next intern, I had to keep pinching myself. "
Question 3: Describe your style in 3 words?
Hannah: "Chic, Timeless, Fun."
Question 4: Who inspires you, what style icons do you look to for inspo?
Hannah: "My ultimate style icon is Audrey Hepburn. Her elegance is timeless, her taste is impeccable, and I think she personifies the essence feminine style. I have a few classic Audrey prints in my apartment, and she is my ultimate style icon. My mother passed on her classic taste and in-depth knowledge of sewing and fashion, and her inherited wisdom is one of the reasons I was able to skip enrolling in Styling school, thanks Mum! So while I don’t look to her for inspiration, I can see that her tastes have heavily shaped mine. My favorite streetstyle icon, and I hate to give this one away because it’s so damn good, is Maffashion aka Juliet K, a Polish Model and Blogger, who honestly has some of the best street style in the world. Yeah. The world. My inspiration also comes from real people, from people I pass in the street, from random shiz on the internet, from weird ideas I hear or have, from everywhere. I’m very visual and my eyes are always open, drinking it all in."
Question 5: Who is fav designer?
Hannah: "My achilles heel is Chanel. At a very young age, my grandmother, Elizabeth, introduced me to Chanel and the world of high fashion, and it was the beginning of the end for my bank account. On top of this sentimental connection, I adore Chanel’s classic yet modern designs, amazing accessories and shows, and it’s easy to see why this fashion house has become a powerhouse. The other Maestro is of course McQueen, but there isn’t enough time in the day to talk about love for McQueen. However, there’s a tonne of amazing Australian designers rising through the fashion ranks that I absolutely love, Paolo Sebastian, Anaessia, Begitta, Dion Lee, Bec & Bridge, Romance Was Born, Blackmilk Clothing, and I simply love all of these labels. Question 6: What are fav fashion/ accessory items of the mo? Hannah: "I’m rocking a much more clean, edgy look these days, I tend to wear my big gold man style watch with my gold Pamela Love Talon Cuff. I’m about to get my Estelle Deve Jurassic necklace which I’ve been waiting to buy for a looooooong time and I cannot wait. For summer I’m going to be glued to my Karen Walker Number One sunnies, they may be last season but a classic is a classic! I’m also loving stacked gold rings, but I’ve worn that heaps so now I have to pace myself. Last but not least my new Converse high tops, they are multicolored and cray cray and I love them. "
Question 7: What are you dying to wear this Summer?
Hannah: "As usual, the warmer weather for me means it’s time to break out my silk tank tops and denim cut offs, yaaaaay! I love rocking heels with cute acid wash destroyed denim shorts, I especially love ‘The Kate Moss’ i.e. wearing all grey and light pieces, with a rock and roll shoe, so hot. I have these great little blue/turquoise points from Portmans that will look amaze with so many things. I’m also going to get on the cropped top trend and wear some ¾ black skinny jeans with a few black cropped tops I’ve picked up (Ritchie Rich Wilde At Heart Bralette highly recommended). I’m also going to be really daring and rock white on white. I’m actually a bit spazzy and can’t normally be trusted with food and white clothing, but I’ve tried a few times lately and surprisingly, succeeded in not covering my white clothes in food, so I’m going to keep wearing it. I will also be wearing my usual summer look which takes me from day to night, work to drinks, party to party; ‘The Lilly Allen’ ie a cute summer dress with sneakers/high tops, and some great accessories."
Question 8: What do you predict will be trending this summer?
Hannah: "Monochromatic pieces and digital prints will be everywhere! So invest in some black and white or some crazy colour prints and have fun with it. Neon and pastel will be around for a few more months so I’m going to take full advantage and Harijuku it up I love neon. White on white is back and bigger than ever, and Emerald Green will be huge, also orange which I detest, so if they’re good colours for you, enjoy. Ankle straps are in, but they can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so choose carefully. "
Question 9: What is your favourite colour?
Hannah: "Fuchsia. Easy. I have a wardrobe full of fuscia clothes. I think at least 30% of my clothes must be a shade of fuchsia. It transcends season, always looks clean and chic, and goes with so many other colours and styles. I’ve had fuscia hair a few times and will again, I’m sure."
Question 10: Choose a song that describes you.
Hannah: "This is one of the hardest questions I’ve ever been asked! Probably ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ by The Killers but the David Grey cover. At the time it was released, it was a favourite song of mine, and incidentally it has played during several big moments in my life. Ontop of that, I feel like the lyrics resonate with me. I’ve always been way too honest and it’s caused me trouble a few times, so I guess I feel like the message of being true to yourself is especially relevant. As an artist, I think being true to yourself is more important than ever."
So this is how I spent the first day of Summer. Soaking up some rays at my fav beach, St Kilda.
Followed by my favourite healthy indulgence, fresh strawberries. Can you say #hashtag: clean eating. Am I doing it right?!
