The Fashion Time Magazine

Is Gemma Cartwright the next Anna Wintour?

The Stylenista supreme with the long blond hair and green eyes, has been blogging and a presence on the Web since the age of 16, and holds a degree in Fashion Journalism from the London College of Fashion.

The 24-year-old Cartwright owns more than 100 shoes, cherishes Las Vegas and London, loves her hamster, relishes cooking paella, and oversees the Shiny Media empire as Fashion Editor-in-Chief.

Shiny Media attracts some 500,000 visitors a month with the fashion-conscious flocking to such sites as Shoewawa, Catwalk Queen, Trashionista, The Bag Lady, Kiss and Makeup, and Bridalwave.

We thank Gemma for taking time off from her busy schedule to participate in our interview.

Fashion Time: Tell us a little about yourself and your blog?

Gemma Cartwright: I’m 24, I live in London and I’ve been blogging since my mid teens. I studied fashion journalism at University, and during that time I turned my personal blog into an online fashion magazine; that was the first real Catwalk Queen. I started working for Shiny Media, and a year after I joined, we re-launched CQ as a joint venture…since then we’ve never looked back.

Fashion Time: How has your blog changed over time?

Gemma Cartwright: It’s evolved so much over time, but the biggest change is that it now has a full staff working on it. I’m more of a contributor and managing editor now, so I actually don’t do that much of the day-to-day writing. I have a team I trust completely and utterly, though. They’ve been the reason the site is such a success!

Fashion Time: What do you really like and dislike about fashion blogging?

Gemma Cartwright: What I love is that we can break stories so quickly, often before mainstream press. Bloggers have more freedom to say what they think, too. We don’t have advertisers breathing down our necks in the same way magazines do.

There’s nothing I dislike, really, or I’d be in the wrong job. I suppose the only problem I encounter is the competition! There are so many great fashion blogs out there that we have to deliver or people will just go somewhere else! I think my team do a great job of mixing accessible stuff with more quirky coverage, though. I’m not at all precious about being mainstream – it works for us.

Fashion Time: What fashion trend do you look at, and just shake your head and laugh?

Gemma Cartwright: There are loads, but that’s the joy of fashion! I think the terrible mistakes are just as important as the amazing, classic outfits. After all, you’re only young once! That said, right now harem pants are enjoying a revival, and I really can’t explain that. They’re so incredibly unflattering!

Fashion Time: What’s the Number One fashion advice you can give to anyone?

Gemma Cartwright: Trust your instincts. You’re the one who has to wear the outfit, so if you don’t feel comfortable, it’ll show. Always wear things you love. It’s more important to be stylish than it is to be ‘trendy’. I absolutely hate the word ‘trendy’.

Fashion Time: It seems like a lot of models are going topless in shoots these days. Is that a good trend?

Gemma Cartwright: I don’t have an issue with it provided the girls are old enough to be shot in this way. But I do wonder why the creative team are letting a girl go topless when she could be wearing an absolutely amazing blouse or top!

Fashion Time: Why do so many fashion models seem to end up in rehab?

Gemma Cartwright: Models are usually young, and often very naive and inexperienced at the start. They’re suddenly immersed into one of the bitchiest industries in the world, with people treating them like clothes hangers, discussing their bodies like they’re not in the room and expecting them to do all kinds of ridiculous things just to get a good photo. It’s no surprise a lot of them end up ‘damaged’.

Fashion Time: Are English women more or less fashionable than American women?

Gemma Cartwright: I wouldn’t like to generalise. I’ve only been to a couple of US cities and it’s such a huge country with so many diverse people. I think Brits tend to be more thrown together ; a bit more creative and artsy. You can get away with more in the UK, I think. The crazy fashions often come from us! American women, as a rule, are a bit more polished, a bit more classic. Obviously there are hundreds of quirky, creative American women but I’m thinking of the brands that sell well over there that we barely see - Coach, Tod’s, Ralph Lauren etc. The preppy look has never taken off here in the same way, but we fall over ourselves for boho – just look at the success of people like Sienna and Kate in ‘most stylish’ polls.

Fashion Time: What’s your favorite fashion book you’ve recently read?

Gemma Cartwright: My brother bought me ‘Young Fashion Designers’ (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Young-Fashion-Designers-Evergreen-Hidalgo/dp/3822844233/) which is a really amazing look at up-and-coming talent. I also just finished Michael Tonilo’s ‘Bringing Home The Birkin’ and it really surprised me. It was part fashion (well, Hermes) history, part memoir and part travel book…I thought a memoir by an eBay reseller was a preposterous idea, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Fashion Time: What is your attitude to celebs who are launching their own clothing lines?

Gemma Cartwright: I think it’s a shame that there’s so much undiscovered fashion talent out there still looking for their big break, yet celebs get an easy in. But I am guilty of buying into it. At the end of the day, most of the time the stars don’t really design the stuff, they just go to a few meetings and sign off the final creations. So if you don’t look at the label it’s the same as buying stuff from the shop’s mainline range.

Fashion Time: Have you ever bought an item from a celebrity’s clothing line?

Gemma Cartwright: Yes. After two girls from the CQ team queued for hours to experience the Kate Moss for Topshop mayhem first hand, I felt I had to keep something, so I kept a navy satin maxi dress with a waistcoat top. I also have a couple of dresses from Lily Allen’s line for New Look.

Fashion Time: Do you have a favorite local boutique?

Gemma Cartwright: There’s a jewellery shop near Carnaby Street called Anna Lou of London that stocks the most amazing modern jewellery with a retro twist. But I find I increasingly shop online because I’m looking at clothes all day. At the moment I’m obsessed with Etsy and the vintage section of eBay, and scouring the sales at Matches and My-Wardrobe.com.

Fashion Time: Who’s the hottest designer in England right now?

Gemma Cartwright: There is so much talent at London Fashion Week; Gareth Pugh, Louise Goldin, Ann-Sofie Back…but the one I’m most interested in at the moment is Jonathan Saunders. I think he’s going to eclipse Christopher Kane this year and scoop all the awards. It’s such a shame he’s off to New York to show, but it makes sense from a business point of view.

Fashion Time: Which famous person have you met in person?

Gemma Cartwright: I’ve been lucky enough to interview two of my fashion heroes - Diane Von Furstenberg and Matthew Williamson - and they were both as wonderful lovely as I expected them to be. I was also once on a speaking panel with Stuart Vevers, who was adorable, and I’ve been known to stalk Henry Holland around London (don’t tell him). Finally, I shared a bit of eye contact with John Galliano at a party once. My friend had the guts to speak to him, I didn’t. I still regret that!

Fashion Time: What are your favorite fashion blogs?

Gemma Cartwright: I literally read dozens a day, and every time I discover a new one I love. A bit predictably, I love Fashionista.com and I’ve always adored Style Bubble (I’ve met Susie a few times…does she count as a famous person too?) and Kingdom of Style. I have a few secret favourites too. Have a look at my pageflakes for my current favourites!

Fashion Time: Do you ever have moments when you’re tired of fashion, and say to yourself, “I can’t take it anymore”?

Gemma Cartwright: Day three of London Fashion Week, when my feet are killing me, my laptop’s almost out of battery and our server has gone down! But I get over it very quickly. I really do love my job!

Fashion Time: What power and influence do fashion blogs have?

Gemma Cartwright: More than some designers and PRs seem to realise! Fashion Magazines aren’t going to die out any time soon, but I think bloggers are definitely causing changes in the industry. I’ve seen the change in attitude first hand - a couple of years ago when I was asking for Fashion Week tickets people had no idea what a blog was. Now I get invitations to all manner of exciting events.

Fashion Time: In his recent interview in the Daily Telegraph, Roberto Cavalli said, “The English - oh my God, they are on a par with the Swiss stylistically.” Do you agree with this statement?

Gemma Cartwright: Absolutely not. Have you seen the Just Cavalli denim? No wonder he doesn’t like English style if that’s his idea of casual chic! And I thought I was ostentatious!