Alexa Chung

[DiamondSea]

Alexa Chung: 'The rule is that no good bars or restaurants are on the beaten track'


New York Doll

I've been given my own office in the MTV building in Times Square. It has made me realise this is all very real now, very real and very serious. Back in England when I worked on Popworld, Alex Zane and I used to pen our links in the dusty corner of a tape storage room before progressing to the more dignified surroundings of the local Irish pub. I liked it like that, I was used to it. From 23 floors up, if I crane my neck I can see all the flashing neon signs on 42nd Street from my window, it's ridiculous, I feel like I'm about to be found out.

Now that I've settled in a little (I have two sofas, a lamp and tomato ketchup in my fridge) I've started to enjoy the vibrant nightlife New York has to offer. I've also fallen into the trap of visiting the same bar pretty much every single night. It's underneath an innocent looking pizza place that is impossible to find unless you know it exists, once there you can spot most of the "Briteratti" (I did not coin this phrase, sadly) and at least one representative from every cool band huddled up in dim corners and redundant fireplaces guzzling down Jack 'n' Coke.

It seems to be the general rule in this city that no good bars or restaurants are ever obvious or on the beaten track, you always have to ring a buzzer or push a wall to get in. In the case of my favourite Mexican, La Esquina, you have to walk through a bustling kitchen and down a narrow corridor before being seated in a huge open cellar featuring every kind of tequila known to man.

On Friday Night I went to a bar called Home Sweet Home which weirdly contained the same stuffed stoats and tatty-looking sofas as, erm, I've got at home. A DJ played Sixties' girl group records about broken hearts and pining after somebody, and some bright spark instigated an impromptu limbo competition, using only his tie as the bar. I definitely haven't thought about the limbo since the Nineties.

That night I took on the role of limbo mascot and made it my job to encourage others to join in and get bending. I also began cheering on strangers in my booming voice. But I regretted it the next morning, when my sore throat rapidly developed into a full-blown cold, which makes it even harder for people to understand my accent.

I've taken to sporadically adopting an American accent at the tiniest hint of a problem, just to make sure things run smoothly. Hopefully this won't become a permanent habit.

In keeping with the ongoing saga of too many cooks (dogs) spoiling the broth (apartment building), yesterday I saw another grumpy looking canine fall down a flight of stairs. I didn't know dogs ever fell down things. I felt so sorry for him and it made me rethink my resentment of living in a building overrun with man's best friend. Maybe I'm just jealous because I don't have one; a dog, not a best friend. Although once my mate Tennessee leaves next week, best friends will be a bit thin on the ground. Oh God, time to get a TV...

The Independent

 

[AnalogBubblebath]

I like it that her column is the story based version of her twitter updates.

 

[dcrd]

I agree, like the way she has started writing her coulmns about her week!

 

[DiamondSea]

There's a feature about Alexa on Women's Wear Daily. I'm not a subscriber though.

Britain’s Got Talent: Alexa Chung's Time to Shine

Britain’s Got Talent: Alexa Chung's Time to Shine
by Amanda FitzSimons
Posted Wednesday May 13, 2009
From WWD Issue 05/13/2009

Since her Stateside exposure has been limited to the occasional party photo in a fashion magazine, Americans would be forgiven if they think Alexa Chung’s sole achievement is her ability to pull...

 

[nita-karoliina]

i like the photo!

 

[laisla]

Britain’s Got Talent: Alexa Chung's Time to Shine
by Amanda FitzSimons

Since her Stateside exposure has been limited to the occasional party photo in a fashion magazine, Americans would be forgiven if they think Alexa Chung’s sole achievement is her ability to pull off short shorts and teetering heels. But Chung, a 25-year-old former model who’s already made it big in her native England as a TV host, is ready to show this side of the Atlantic what else she has to offer.

“It’s about time Americans hear this s--t,” she says.

On June 15, Chung will make her U.S. debut as host of her own yet-to-be-titled daytime show on MTV. The hour-long live program will feature a mix of celebrity interviews and music performances, all taking place on a set designed to look like a cozy living room. “[The premise] is I’ve just moved here and I’m trying to meet people, so I’m inviting guests to the show,” explains the host, who relocated from London to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., with rocker boyfriend Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys earlier this month.

And while Chung is inheriting the time slot once occupied by ratings-juggernaut “Total Request Live,” she insists the program is all her own. “I told them I’d have opinions about things,” she says of her initial meeting with MTV producers.

Certainly, Chung has earned the right to have her say. “It’s weird; I’m new to New York, but I’m old hat at [TV],” she says. Chung, whose mother is British and father is Chinese, was discovered by a modeling scout at 16. “I did loads of bad s--t,” says Chung, who appeared in ads for Tampax. In 2006, she landed a job as a co-host of “Popworld,” a music television show known for its snarky tone. “There’s always people watching you on a photo shoot with modeling, so hosting wasn’t a vast step away from that,” she says. As a sort of personality-for-hire, Chung has also served as everything from a panelist on a quirky quiz show called “8 Out of 10 Cats” to a correspondent who interviewed the likes of Roberto Cavalli and Karl Lagerfeld for a fashion trend show called “Gok’s Fashion Fix.”

Still, Chung remains level-headed about her success. “Presenting isn’t hard. You’re basically reading cards. I mean, how f---ing difficult is that?” she says. “The hard bit is getting over knowing that lots of people are watching you, and you, your personality, not your looks, not your talent for math or something, [is what] they’re judging.” But that’s fine with her. “I’d rather someone go ‘Ah, she’s really funny’ than ‘Ah, she’s really foxy.’”

And, with her latest venture, Chung will know exactly what her audience is thinking because of an online component that encourages viewers to comment via Facebook and Twitter. “You can contact the show and tell us directly we are s--t,” she notes.

Presumably, execs at MTV are counting on more glowing feedback than that. The network’s ratings for the first three months of 2009 dipped 18 percent, and Lauren Conrad, the much-idolized star of the network’s current front-runner, “The Hills,” is jumping ship after this season. In short, there’s a lot riding on Chung.

“We auditioned many, many, many people for this show, and that’s five or six manys,” explains MTV executive vice president of news and production Dave Sirulnick. He says he and his colleagues had been searching for someone to fill Chung’s role for almost three years until a British production company tipped them off about Chung. “We immediately fell in love with her,” he says. “It feels to me that she’s very much in touch with the way our viewers live and think.”

That might be a bit of a stretch. Even though she favors what she calls an “I don’t give a s--t” style, Chung racks up a serious clothing bill. “It’s ironic, because I get to wear nicer clothes and shoot for better magazines now than I did when I was a model,” says Chung, who stockpiles labels including House of Holland, Alexander Wang and Luella Bartley for both on- and off-camera appearances.

But Chung, who doesn’t work with a stylist for events and is still working out the details of her wardrobe situation at MTV, considers such purchases necessary. “I don’t do a normal job. So I have to have more clothes than most people,” she says with a shrug. Nor is she about to dial down her outfits so her teen audience can relate; in fact, she expects to wear many of her own clothes on the show, noting, “I will wear what I always wear from day-to-day.”

And Chung believes being herself will translate into ratings. “I think the mistake a lot of TV channels make is that they assume kids are dumb when they’re not,” she says. “Middle-aged fat men [shouldn’t] tell young people [what] to watch when they have no idea.”

But Chung’s keep-it-real attitude has its limits. “I would never do [reality TV]. It’s 24-7 [of] making things up, making you refilm it,” she says. “[With my show] it’s one hour of me, in control the whole time.”


source: wwd

 

[laisla]

outfit 1: Members Only’s cotton denim jacket; Rebecca Minkoff’s silk blouse. Rachel Leigh necklaces and ring; Loeffler Randall boots.
outfit 2: Mara Hoffman’s silk and spandex dress.
outfit 3: Adam’s wool and alpaca sweater dress. Adia Kibur necklace and Loeffler Randall boots.
outfit 4: Les Halles’ cotton T-shirt and Cynthia Steffe’s polyester mesh skirt with paillettes. Rachel Leigh necklace.

Photos by Talaya Centeno

 

[XxpinktinksxX]

She looks good in the photos. Some cute stuff.

 

[Melly5525]

Love the outfit with the teeshirt and sequin mini she makes it work, I didnt know she was getting a show on Mtv, sounds interesting Ill def watch!

 

[Sosik_ona]

She looks absolutely gorgeous in that first outfit

 

[laisla]

source: wwd

 

[ShiveredRainbows]

She is an incredible model, I really think so. Loving the blond bits washed into her hair.

Eek though, that interview was shocking. The profusive swearing did her no favours and she came across as totally arrogant and cocky - without the usual humour or understatedness or self-awareness. Still, given the number of parentheses the interviewer probably didn't "get" her. We'll see!! And yes, she is very foxy!!

 

[luckynines]

I cant believe this thread has been viewed over 3million times!

 

[natalea52]

cute pics, rolls eyes at word s**t appearing too many times, trying to sound too cool

 

[kbella]

I cant believe this thread has been viewed over 3million times!

I know! It's also interesting to read back, and see how her style, and our perception of her changes. She's gone from a random t4 presenter, to having an international career. I gave up after page 13 though!

I also didn't really like the swearing in that article, it's like she was trying too hard.

 

[DiamondSea]

Eek though, that interview was shocking.

I know, she came across so badly The interviewer obviously didn't click with her but Alexa needs to know her audience when giving interviews. The pictures are lovely, at least! Thanks for the one from the Christian Lacroix show, I love that white dress

The print version's cover

wwd

 

[alicia753]

Gorgeous

 

[saturdaysgirl]

That article has served it's purpose....it's gotten me excited about the show even though I won't be able to watch it.
I was wondering if MTV would style her for the show but seeing as that's one of the biggest part of her appeal then I'm sure she'll have the most imput.
I really liked her column......she left out her twitter update about buying Acne silk shorts!
I love the photos. I love that silk and spandex dress. It's fantastic.
Thanx so much for the article laisla
I guess she was just in a swearing mood when she did the interview...I didn't think it was that big a deal.

 

[modela]

That was a bad interview....trying too hard,but looking good in the pictures.

 

[indian_rose]

That tee and sequin mini combo, looks fab on her!