Alexa Chung

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alexa Chung
Chung in 2013
Born (1983-11-05) 5 November 1983 (age 40)
Winchester, England[1]
EducationPeter Symonds College
Occupations
  • Model
  • television presenter
  • fashion designer
  • writer
Years active1999–present
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]

Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British

fashion designer. She wrote the book It (2013).[3] Her fashion label Alexa Chung, stylized ALEXACHUNG,[4] launched in May 2017[5][6][7] and closed in 2022.[8]

Early life

Chung was born in Winchester, Hampshire, England,[1] the daughter of Gillian and Phillip Chung. Her father is of three-quarters Chinese[9][10][11] descent, while her mother is of English descent.[11][12] Growing up she had horse riding and ballet lessons.[12]

Chung attended secondary state school at the local

Reading Festival before attending.[12]

Career

Modelling

Chung presenting an award at the 2015 British Fashion Awards

Chung was scouted after being seen in the comedy tent at the

foundation or fashion journalism course, having become disillusioned. She had developed a "distorted body image" and "low self-esteem" through modelling.[15]

After she became a TV personality, Chung made a return to occasional modelling. In 2008, she was the face of

NEXT Model Management and became the face of DKNY Jeans.[16] Chung was the face of South Korean brand MOGG's Spring/Summer 2010 campaign. In January 2010, she became the main model of the Spring/Summer 2010 Pepe Jeans London campaign and reprised her role for the Fall/Winter 2010 campaign.[17] She was announced as the first celebrity face of Lacoste in June 2010, appearing in both the TV and print advertising campaigns for their "Joy of Pink" fragrance.[18] In January 2011, Chung was announced as the face of Italian sneaker brand Superga, in a campaign to mark their 100th anniversary.[19] In February 2012, she took part in the London Fashion Week show for designer Stella McCartney, where she acted as a guest assistant to magician Hans Klok in a number of illusions including being levitated and sawed in half.[20][21]

Chung worked with

Tommy Hilfiger as a guest editor for their Fall 2014 collection, and modeled their clothes.[22] Chung became the face of Longchamp in 2013 and by 2015 she had appeared in her fourth campaign for the fashion brand.[23][24]

Style

Chung has been cited as a muse to many fashion designers because of her distinctive personal style.[25] She frequently appears on best-dressed lists, is a regular model for Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar and is often seen in the front row at fashion shows.

In January 2010, the designer handbag company Mulberry debuted the "Alexa", a popular bag named after and inspired by her. According to The Guardian, 380 "Alexa" bags were sold in one week alone in November 2010, and the company cited the bag's popularity for increased sales at its UK and international stores that year.[26]

In February 2010, Chung collaborated with J.Crew's Madewell on a womenswear line which was unveiled during New York Fashion Week.[27] She collaborated with Madewell for a second collection, released in September 2011.[28]

In December 2010, Bryan Ferry, on behalf of the British Fashion Council, presented Chung with the British Style Award which "recognises an individual who embodies the spirit of British fashion and is an international ambassador for the UK as a leading creative hub for fashion" at a ceremony at the Savoy Theatre in London.[29] At the British Fashion Awards of 2011, 2012 and 2013, Chung won the British Style Award, for which the public voted.[30] In 2015, Chung collaborated with AG Jeans on two collections.[31][32]

Alexachung

Chung launched her own fashion label, Alexachung, in May 2017.[33][34]

In March 2022 Chung announced the closure of the Alexachung brand, stating that "the last couple of years have been challenging for small independent businesses and ours is no exception."[35][36]

TV presenting

In April 2006, the then-model Chung was offered the job of co‑host on

8 out of 10 Cats. She hosted a number of T4 Movie Specials, 4Music Specials, T4 Holiday Mornings along with T4's coverage of many music festivals
.

In January 2008, Chung became one of the four anchor

Frock Me, with fashion designer Henry Holland.[40] She hosted the Diesel U Music Awards and the Elle Style Awards.[12] In 2009, Chung was awarded both the Elle Style award for Best TV Presenter and Glamour
's award for Best TV Presenter.

Chung left Channel 4 and the United Kingdom in April 2009 to pursue a career in the US. She presented

iTunes Festival in July 2011.[44] Chung has since worked on 24 Hour Catwalk, acting as the host and a judge. In 2012, Chung soon became the founding co-host for the nightly music show Fuse News. In December 2013, it was announced that Chung would be leaving Fuse News to focus on other endeavours.[45] In September 2015, Chung hosted an online documentary series for Vogue UK.[46]

She launched her own YouTube channel in May 2019; in a statement, she said: "It's an incredibly exciting prospect as I can't wait to share unfiltered original content through a host of videos spanning fashion, art, travel and other random things."[47]

Chung joined

Next In Fashion, which debuted on 29 January 2020.[48] In June 2020, Netflix announced it was cancelling the show after one season.[49]

Writing and other ventures

Chung wrote a monthly column for British women's magazine

Company from October 2007 to June 2008. She then wrote a weekly newspaper column for Britain's The Independent from November 2008 to June 2009, titled "Girl About Town" and later "New York Doll". In June 2009, she was made a contributing editor of British Vogue. She has interviewed designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Christopher Kane for the publication, and wrote a cover story about Kate Upton.[31]
Chung's first book, It, was released on 5 September 2013.

From 2009 to 2010 Chung was a member of the indie band The Stray with her close friend, model Misty Fox. She was credited as playing keyboards.[50][51]

Publications

  • It. .

Personal life

Chung lived with fashion photographer

Alex Turner from July 2007[53][54] until July 2011;[55] they lived together in London and later in New York where Chung purchased an apartment in the East Village.[56] In a 2013 interview, Chung stated that Turner remained her "best friend".[57] The former couple were seen together on a number of occasions in 2014.[58] She dated actor Alexander Skarsgård from 2015 to early 2017.[59] In 2016, she returned to London to launch a clothing label.[60]

In an Instagram post on 28 July 2020, Chung revealed her endometriosis diagnosis and urged more awareness on the disorder.[61]

References

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  61. ^ "Alexa Chung Opens Up About Her Endometriosis Diagnosis: 'It Can Be Excruciating'". People. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

External links