Agyness Deyn
Agyness Deyn is a name on everyone's lips these days. You can't switch on the TV, read a magazine or flick through a newspaper without seeing her funky peroxide head. Female First look at just who she is and how she managed the grab the attention of the fashion world.
They're already hailing her as the new Kate Moss and she's living the supermodel dream walking the catwalk for big names such as Burberry and Armani but not so long ago Agyness Deyn (or Laura Hollins as she was back then) was waiting tables in her local chippy.
Northern lass Agyness was born in Littleborough in Manchester where she lived a pretty normal life going to school then college to study for her A Levels while also working part time in the Village Chippy to earn some extra cash.
"You always knew she had something," said Agyness's former boss, Irene Kershaw, to the Independent. "She was a lovely looking girl with short hair and beautiful long legs and I daresay all the boys round here fancied her.â
And it was during her time at the chippy that Agyness met one boy in particular- her best friend, wannabe designer and apparent chip lover Henry Holland.
Henry and Agyness were united in their love of fashion and desire to swap the simple life in Lancashire for the bright lights of the big city so when Henry went to study fashion in London Aggy was a regular visitor.
It was during one of her visits to London in 2001 that Agyness was spotted by a photographer for Models 1 model agency who were quick to sign her up.
Agyness' rise to fame had begun. Her first step towards supermodel stardom was to get a new name as the agency didn't feel Laura Hollins was quite cool enough. Agyness Deyn is a combination of her grandmother's name Agnes and an old family surname that were re-jigged by her numerology fanatic mother Lorraine to create the perfect combination of letters to bring good luck.
It wasn't long before the big fashion names started to notice Agyness and by 2006 she was being photographed for the cover of Italian Vogue and also hired to front a Giorgio Armani campaign.
"In January, a parcel arrived at the house and when I opened it, it was a poster of her first Armani campaigns,â recalls her proud mum in an interview with the Daily Mail.
"I sat in front of it and just felt so overwhelmed with pride and emotion because she looked so beautiful."
Over the last two years the offers have been flooding in and the fashion world have lapped up Agyness's fresh new edgy look.
She's walked the catwalk for Versace, Giles Deacon, Zac Posen, opened John Paul Gaultier's 30th anniversary show and starred in ad campaigns for Burberry, Armani and Hugo Boss- not to mention also being the face for Henry Holland's House of Holland label- for mates rates no doubt. In November last year Agyness was awarded the Model of the Year title at the BFC Awards and famously rang her mum whilst on stage making her acceptance speech.
Over the last few months it seems the whole world is catching Agyness fever as she pops up time after time in celebrity gossip columns after being spotted at all the coolest parties. She also won the heart of the nation when she came across as refreshingly modest and down to earth in a recent TV interview with Jonathan Ross.
So what is the future for Agyness? Comparisons to Kate Moss are being made left right and centre and it's even being predicted that she will take over the Moss supermodel Queen crown. But do we really need to judge all new supermodels against the career of another?
It wasn't so long ago that everyone thought Kate Moss was the hottest person around but we all stood by and watched her downfall and heard the stories about what really goes on behind the scenes. So surely it would be better to encourage Agyness to find her own way through the treacherous jungle that is the fashion industry without following the breadcrumbs left behind by those who went before her.
Good Luck Aggy- you'll need it!
Caz Moss- Female First
Tagged in Aki Nawaz