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Is Agyness Deyn the next Kate Moss?
She’s only 1.73m tall, is already 25 years old and looks like a boy.
Yet, fashionistas have been hailing British babe Agyness Deyn (pronounced Agnes Dean) as:
and the plaudits just keep coming…
The striking combination of her androgynous look, peroxide blonde crop, punk attitude and quirky technicoloured dress sense has quickly earned her trendsetter status.
Deyn – who is tipped to earn up to ?10 million ($26.8 million) this year – knocked reigning queen Moss, 34, off the top spot of Tatler’s famous annual best-dressed list.
She was also named Model Of The Year at the British Fashion Awards last November, and has bagged lucrative contracts and campaigns with brands such as Reebok, Burberry, Hugo Boss and Giorgio Armani.
Since signing with a London modelling agency in 2005 and making her debut at New York’s Fashion Week in late 2006, Deyn has been in hot demand.
She has worked for the big fashion houses including Cacharel, John Galliano, Mulberry, Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Versace.
She has been featured on the covers of British, American and Italian Vogue, and the upcoming May issue of the uber-cool style bible i-D will have six different covers of Deyn by six different photographers.
It’s the first time in its 28-year history that the publication has devoted an entire issue to one person.
As it is, the rails of Topshop are flogging copies of her signature personal style and Zara has ordered mannequins based on her.HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
True to her humble beginnings and down-to-earth roots, the former chip shop server from Lancashire – whose real name is Laura Hollins – has never let success go to her head.
The Daily Mail reported that since she relocated from London to New York’s East Village in mid-2006, Deyn has preferred local dive bars to the hip Beatrice Inn, rock shows to glamorous dinner parties, riding her old black bicycle to taking a cab, and vintage clothing store Trash And Vaudeville to Barneys Co-op.
She lives in a modest rented railroad apartment – like a train carriage – on the second storey of a walk-up.
It is reportedly so tiny, there isn’t even room for a sink in the bathroom.
Deyn told The Daily Mail: ‘People always say when they meet me, ‘I didn’t know you were common!’
In a New York Post interview, she also said: ‘It’s funny, because I always think, like – I pretend to be a model. I know that sounds really weird.’
Deyn agrees that she is ‘not as beautiful as the girls before’, but believes her idiosyncratic personality and unconventional style make her ‘stand out’.
She also denied any similarity to hardcore party-girl predecessor Moss, saying: ‘I’m not like her at all. I’ll follow my own steps in both career and lifestyle on my own terms. I am not going to follow Kate in any way.’
However, she does have something in common with Moss, who’s now dating Jamie Hince, guitarist of indie rock duo The Kills.
Deyn’s boyfriend of four years is guitarist Josh Hubbard from English indie rock band The Paddingtons.
However, there aren’t many skeletons that the press has been able to unearth about Deyn, except that she indulges in heavy drinking sessions and late nights with celebrity chums such as singer Lily Allen, reality TV star Kelly Osbourne, actress Jaime Winstone and Moss’ rocker ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty.
But is she merely a flash-in-the-pan, flavour-of-the-month upstart who doesn’t deserve all the hype that has been lavished on her?
Or will she enjoy the kind of longevity associated with her popular British counterparts such as Moss, Naomi Campbell, Lily Cole and Erin O’Connor?
TOO EARLY TO TELL
Singapore Tatler managing director Gilbert Cheah said that it’s ‘too early to tell’ whether Deyn can attain a lasting impact.
He told The New Paper: ‘She’s got a very iconoclastic style, and what Tatler recognised is her great individuality without going overboard and looking like a mess.
‘And if you take away the punk hairstyle and funky clothing, she resembles Andie MacDowell, who’s a traditional beauty.
‘Agyness has a very symmetrical face and great skin. She is both interesting and beautiful.’
Mr Cheah added that her continued success in the industry depends on her ability to come across as ‘contemporary’.
He said: ‘There’s only so much you can do with this one same look. It’s recognisable, but also limiting. And then it becomes old quickly.
‘Agyness is making her mark in high fashion and she’s very editorial. That’s one niche she deserves to triumph in, and stylists and designers love her.
‘But whether she can go beyond that and appeal to the masses, where the big money is, remains to be seen.’
Ms Elisabeth Gwee, editor of Her World magazine, agreed.
She said: ‘I like her look – she’s pretty with an edge. But her look has to evolve in order for her to have staying power.’
