Imogen Edwards-Jones looked up the skirts of the fashion world in her revealing expose Fashion Babylon. Now she opens up on her fashion exepreince and her idea of style and beauty to ELLE Canada.
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This is a pretty revealing book about the fashion world... is there anything in particular that shocked you?
What shocked me was how dirty the models are. They are young girls living out of suitcases, travelling all over the world, they stay out late, get up early and when the arrive at a shoot everything is done for them, so they don't wash perhaps as much as they should or might otherwise. The worst story I found was how they pass on itches, scratches and lice onto each other when sharing couture dresses. The same dress goes from girl, to girl, to girl to be photographed, as do the lice.
Is there anything that didn't shock you... something you had a preconceived notion about and it was absolutely true?
The thing that shocked me the least was the cocaine. I always knew there were a lot of drugs in the fashion industry and it was true. It was the least interesting thing that I found.
Do you think there is any other business that is as cut-throat as the fashion industry?
I am sure the music industry is pretty similar, all the same factors are in place. Lots of people want to be a part of it -- there is a lot of money to be made at the top but very little on the way up.
You seem to be on a role with exposes, with your other book Hotel Babylon doing so well and you used anonymous sources in both. What's the appeal for you as a writer to do these kinds of books?
I enjoy being taken into a world that I think I know a bit about and having my prejudices shattered. It's also exciting to learn something new and be privy to some very good gossip.
Was the anonymous source willing to participate, or did you have coax them?
Fashion was difficult to research because it is such a large subject. There was more than one anonymous source and as a result it was very difficult to pin all the people down. I spent a lot of time backstage waiting for my moment. I propped up in a lot of bars and a lot of nightclubs and restaurants. In terms of coaxing, I always found a glass of champagne or vodka, lime and soda were very useful.
Read excerpts from Fashion Babylon here!
Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones Copyright (c) 2007 by Imogen Edwards-Jones.
