Blogger Babble: Liberty London Girl

By Leah Chernikoff
February 18, 2011

Liberty London Girl

Fashion blogger Sasha Wilkins (aka Liberty London Girl). Photos by Matthew Eades, Jackie Dixon.

These days, fashion blogger Sasha Wilkins is most widely known by her nom-de-blog, Liberty London Girl. Subtitled "the thoughts of an English fashion editor in Manhattan on life, love, fashion, design and food," Sasha Wilkins' fashion blog is known as much for its fashion industry exclusives as for its classically British, wry sense of humor.

Sasha Wilkins has the inside scoop because she’s a fashion industry vet. In addition to her style blog, which she started anonymously in 2006 (only to make the grand unveil in British gossip glossy Grazia in 2010), Sasha Wilkins has worked as a senior fashion editor on both sides of the pond for magazines and newspapers alike. She’ll be covering her 28th (yes, that’s two-eight) at the 2011 London Fashion Week this week, and is the official twitterer and blogger for Mercedez Benz at London Fashion Week. So if anyone has the dish on what we’ll be seeing on the fashion runway and in the front row in London, it’s Liberty London Girl.

The Inside Source: What’s the difference between New York and London Fashion Weeks?

Liberty London Girl: The essential difference between New York and London is that people are dressed much more relaxed in London. You'll see an Editor-in-Chief wearing jeans to a show in London, which you don't see in New York. You'll see a lot more flat shoes. Everyone is more laid back about London Fashion Week because people always treat it as work first and foremost. But obviously the internet and street style has changed that. Now you’ll see street style bloggers waiting in a gaggle outside shows, so now I feel the need to brush my hair because everywhere you go there’s a camera, which didn’t use to be the case.

The Inside Source: What will the 2011 London Fashion Week attendees be wearing?

Liberty London Girl: Leather leggings will be big this season. London girls like that tough look and we like to be comfortable. It's going to be cold and wet and miserable, so leather leggings are perfect—it's all about practicality. I'm hoping we might see people wearing color, since there's a big color blocking trend coming through—that doesn't happen normally, but I live in hope.

The Inside Source: Fashion editors are the celebrities of fashion—what will the British editors be wearing?

Liberty London Girl: English editors love French labels, funnily enough. They love Maje, and Sandro, and Isabel Marant. But the high street stores—Top Shop and Zara—will always be the cornerstones of people’s wardrobes.

The Inside Source: Who are the street style stars during the 2011 London Fashion Week?

Liberty London Girl: [Shoe designer] Charlotte Olympia—she looks amazing and she always wears her own shoes. Julia Restoin Roitfeld [daughter of Carine Roitfeld, outgoing editor of French Vogue] was around last season, so she’s one to watch. But one of the things I like about London is that it doesn't attract A-list names. We get cross with celebrities because they make everything late. The overall vibe of the London shows is much more relaxed—there’s no massive pressure to be perfectly turned out. In London it's about what's on the runways and not what everyone's wearing to them. You’re much more likely to see Laura Bailey [a British socialite] with her hair pulled back in a bun than in undulating waves. There are so many extraordinary designers this season and the priority is getting to see them.

The Inside Source: So who are you looking forward to seeing this season?

Liberty London Girl: Everyone will be watching Roksanda Ilincic because she just dressed Michelle Obama. The big ticket names, of course, are Erdem, Richard Nicoll, Marios Schwab, and Christopher Kane. Osman Yousefzada has an eye for dressing different types of women—he dresses the Prime Minister’s wife and intelligent women—so I’m always interested to see where his mind is taking him.

The Inside Source: Who are the up-and-coming fashion designers to watch?

Liberty London Girl: Corrie Nielson, as she won the Fashion Fringe award last season, and John Galliano was a judge. Peter Pilotto—those two guys [Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos]—their prints and design make an amazing combination. And Fashion East is a fashion incubator here. They show three designers and anyone who is good always starts there.

The Inside Source: And finally, what will you be wearing to the 2011 London Fashion Week runway shows?

Liberty London Girl: Clearly I'll be wearing a pair of leather leggings. Clearly. I normally wear whatever I can reach within 30 seconds of rolling out of bed. I generally go for comfort and speed. I always think if you have a great coat, Linda Faro sunglasses and great shoes it hides a multitude of sins. I always wear sunglasses to hide the bags under my eyes from malnutrition and tiredness—also because I’m too lazy to put on any makeup.

The Inside Source: A bit more about those all-important great shoes and coat—do you ever troll eBay online auctions to find them?

Liberty London Girl: I’m always looking for vintage Alaïa, Rick Owens leather pieces, and Pierre Hardy shoes. I love eBay. I just furnished my whole flat in London from eBay. My favorite piece that I ever scored is the walnut veneer mid-century desk that now serves as mission control for Liberty London Girl.