Jasmine Guinness
Female First caught up with the successful model to find out about how she juggles running London's most exclusive toyshop, designing her own range of clothes and being a full time mum.
You're most famous for being a model. Is modelling really as glamorous as it appears?
Not always no. There's a lot of trawling round late at night looking for tube stations and things, which is very un-glamorous. But then there are also moments that are very glamorous and when you think 'god actually this is quite glamorous'- but no a lot of it isn't really very glamorous at all.
What is the highlight of your career so far?
I suppose my favourite moments would probably usually be in a Philip Treacy fashion show. I always love doing his shows. They always have the nicest people doing hair and make up, the best models and of course the most amazing hats. That really is where art meets fashion.
She's an icon so she's always going to be popular whatever she does I think.
He was given an OBE earlier this week too.....
He was! It's so exciting. I saw him last night and he showed his OBE to me and it's so amazing. He's delighted and he should be he's worked such a long time for it. He is such a genius.
You have set up the charity Clothesline...what's that all about?
Well I set it up with two of my friends and we read about all the orphans in Africa due to the AIDs epidemic and we though well maybe there's something we can do about it. So me and my friend Jade Parfitt, who's another model, we though well we've done all these great fashion shows and things for other people so why don't we do one. So we did. We got the clothes off designers- luckily for free because they were all very generous- and we organised a fashion show with all our friends.
The evening actually started out with an exhibition of photos given by fashion photographers then we had the fashion show with all our model mates wearing all these free clothes and we flogged the lot. Every penny goes to a charity here in Dublin called AidLink. That's run by an amazing nurse called Ann Cleary and she very carefully monitors where every penny goes. So every penny we have made has gone directly to Africa.
We're planning to do one next year. It's a lot of work obviously but it's so worth it.
You also run a toy shop called Honeyjam and have designed a capsule collection for Oli...how do you manage to juggle all that with being a mum?
Mum always comes first and then I suppose I just have a very big diary so I can be very organised about what I'm doing each day. But generally if I'm not modelling or in design meetings then I'm in the toy shop. The shop is my biggest priority after the kids at the moment. Oli is great fun though. We've just shot spring/summer 08 and I'm just designing autumn/winter 08 which is going to be great.
What can we expect from your Oli designs?
Well spring/summer is really cool. It's lots of nice summer dresses all made of cotton so they age really well. And there's also a really good cowgirl shirt dress and pedal pushers. It's all quite rockabilly which is a look I've always loved.
You're so busy! How do you manage to get all your Christmas shopping done?
Well I do spend most evenings on the computer anyway because we're either looking for toys all over the world on the internet or answering queries for the business so I've been doing a lot of shopping online.
I realised last Christmas internet shopping went up by 40% so we're going to launch Honeyjam online at the end of November. That's going to be hard work but again it's great because I think that's the way to go. You've got to have a website these days.
What will you be wearing to the Christmas parties this year?
Sadly enough- I've designed a really nice beaded cardigan and I always feel comfortable in a cardigan no matter kind of dress I'm wearing- so I think I'll be wearing that quite a lot. And I've made a really warm overcoat which I've worn for every party since I got it- so I'll be wearing that a lot too. I'll be nice and warm.
Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk about the drugs in the modelling industry. Have you ever experienced this when you have been modelling?
No I think I've been really lucky and I've always managed to avoid that. I know it's out there but I think if you're lucky enough to make really good friends- and I made really good friends when I started so i avoided all of that.
And what do you think of the reports that Kate Moss has earned more money since she was caught up in the drugs scandal?
She's an icon so she's always going to be popular whatever she does I think.
Jasmine Guinness is working with BT Total Broadband to highlight how useful the internet can be to buy presents for friends and family this Christmas. For more information visit www.bt.com/totalbroadband
Caz Moss- Female First