Style Dynamo Susie Wall Talks Red Carpet Interviews, Vancouver’s Scene and High-Low Looks

Although Canadian fashion and media maven Susie Wall has trod many red carpets, she maintains a no-fuss perspective on cultivating style. To celebrate our upcoming store opening in Vancouver, B.C. (the shopping starts September 18!), we spoke with Wall about her favorite celebrity interviews and her take on her town’s fashion sensibility.

What would you do with 24 hours in Vancouver?

I’d want to take in as many neighborhoods as possible. I’d check into the Hotel Georgia, hit a food truck in Railtown, beach cruise the seawall, browse design and fashion emporiums in Gastown and book dinner at Sai Woo in Chinatown. Bonus if I got to the Vancouver Art Gallery and Earnest Ice Cream on Fraser Street for two scoops of Salted Caramel.

Anything you wear that’s distinctly Vancouver?

Distinctly Vancouver is such a tough thing to nail. My style perspective has always been done-undone. So if I’m wearing faded denim and trainers, I’ll make sure I have a manicure and top it with something like a chic blazer from Smythe. Conversely, if I’m wearing something formal for a “fancy night,” as my daughters call them, I’ll make sure my hair is loose and unfussy. Contrast has always been my best wardrobe weapon.

What are your go-to pieces for the current season?

I’ve been living in super shiny gold brogues these days because they look fresh with everything from ripped denim to a Rick Owens dress. And because I’m really a dressed-up tomboy at heart, I love my ivory cotton slouch-skinny trousers by Vancouver designer Mandula. I also never leave home without a stack of chunky rings, a giant men’s watch and aviators.

Any beauty favorites?

Rosy Rim lip liner by MAC, nail polish in a milky white that I wear all year and right now I’m all about Oribe’s dry texturing hair spray. To rip between running errands and a photo shoot or a last minute audition, that little can is money in the bank.

Who in Vancouver has a personal style that you admire?

I really admire (model-turned-agent) Liz Bell. I saw her recently, and she was wearing a beat-up motorcycle jacket bought years ago in Paris and not a stitch of makeup. Amid all this pomp and pageantry, she was the most beautiful woman in the room by a mile. She’s confident and cool without the pretense. I dig that.

Any local designers you love?

Hajnalka Mandula, Dace and Obakki. And our accessories designers are sensational: Lloyd & Wolf, Leah Alexandra, Shereen de Rousseau, Mona Sultan, Melanie Auld. They’re all friends— and I adore each of them way past their work. Whether it’s a quick interview in L.A. or ten days of red carpets at TIFF, I always pack a little Vancouver with me for luck.

You’ve interviewed a lot of celebs. Is there anyone that you haven’t met yet that you’d like to meet?

You know, I used to have a list just like that but so often the persona is so far from the actual person. I like the stars who are who you hoped they’d be: Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore. Those are my favorite moments: When you realize the A-lister actually is an A-lister.

Who do you think does red carpet dressing the best? 

I love checking out what women like Nicole Richie, Gwen Stefani and Kate Bosworth will do on the carpet. Of course I’m obsessed with Amal Clooney and her whole quirky-elegant thing. But I am equally in awe of the current generation of power stylists: Leslie Fremar, Petra Flannery, Kemal Harris—for me they’re the real modern day hit makers.

 

As excited as we are for our new Vancouver store? Catch up on our other city-centric coverage.

via The Thread Fashion Blog http://ift.tt/1PwiK2C