040: ISABELLA ROSE DAVEY
lives in vintage and emerging brands.
Hello, readers! Welcome to another edition of Habiter. I am writing to you from New York City on a gloomy Wednesday afternoon. This rain has been a bit of a drag, hasn’t it? I’ll be decamping for Paris at the end of this week, where I imagine I'll encounter similar conditions.
Habiter reader, Rachel (also my best friend), requested that I use my very large media platform (this newsletter) to address rain-appropriate footwear - not a bad topic given the time of year. What do you all think? For me, Blundstones, as I’ve mentioned before, seem to be the sleekest and least offensive option when it comes to heavy rain or snow. But I wouldn’t be too scared to bring out a thicker-soled leather boot either, unless it’s a torrential downpour or they’re extremely precious (light colored, very soft leather). Dr. Martens do the trick too, if you really need to slog.
I don’t consider myself a total authority on inclement weather, but I learned a bit about what does and doesn’t work on my recent trip to Copenhagen (remember the one I told you about a few weeks ago?). Copenhagen weather can be intense and yet, Copenhagen residents seem quite unbothered by it. Isabella is one such resident - a stylish, new friend who breezily biked to meet me for a glass of wine on a snowy, 18 degree evening back in January. She is also the subject of this week’s newsletter.
Isabella Rose Davey is the Director of Comms & Digital for Copenhagen Fashion Week. If you’ve noticed an influx of Scandi fashion into the mainstream over the past few years, you likely have Isabella to thank. She first cut her teeth in London, working with emerging brands and eventually overseeing NEWGEN, the British Fashion Council’s incubator for new talent. Isabella clearly has a passion for forward-thinking design and creativity - it’s guided her career and positively impacted her wardrobe, which is supremely cool. I asked Isabella to tell me about what she’s been living in lately.
Describe your personal style. What are you living in right now and why?
ISABELLA: My personal style revolves around a core fascination with emerging brands and people with something to say. I’ve spent the last 12 years working on fashion weeks and specializing in this field, from working in Claire Barrow’s studio way back in her Fashion East days, to leading across emerging designers and overseeing NEWGEN at London Fashion Week, to my current role as the Director of Comms & Digital at Copenhagen Fashion Week. I have amassed a wardrobe of pieces that I love, as they signal a particular creative juncture or a visual postcard of a moment in my life. I love fashion because it carries a perspective that can touch so many people from around the world - looking at you Martine Rose! - and it touches so many of the creative industries - art, architecture, design, photography. The future is collaboration and I think the potential for fashion to enter into these different fields is just the beginning of what could be an incredible next chapter for the creative spirit.
When I was a teenager I worked in vintage stores, and I still have some pieces from that time - an amazing Jaeger magenta suit, a mini dress beaded with astronomical signs. These pieces capture a time of my life - back when I would dress in head-to-toe vintage, cutting a seam here, pinning a hem there. All a bit shabby-ish, but I guess that was the mood I was going for. We change as humans all the time, and our creative expression normally mirrors that too. I still roll out my strange, old Fish Worship tee, as I still find it a bizarre and funny slogan. 15 years on I still love it!
Right now I live in Sunflower jeans and Anderson Anderson jumpers (it’s chilly in the Nordics!). My Nike Cortez are looking a bit battered at this stage, but still going strong. I am wearing my A.Roege Hove x Georg Jensen jewelry, and my Liam Hodges beanie when cycling.
I borrowed my friend Olya Kuryschuck’s Paolina Russo skirt for fashion week which was like wearing the most beautiful blanket! I am also wearing Our Legacy chocolate brown boots a helluva lot with trousers or jeans from Eytys and some old tee I find around. You can’t go wrong with Aries, or an old Ashley Williams one. Winters are pretty bleak here in Copenhagen (pretty at times but snowy and windy at others) so I wear my Doc Martens when I need to trek to work, and I have been keeping very warm in my Won Hundred shearling coat. All my bags are forever Venczel, my wonderful friend’s brand who is utterly talented and supremely cool!
How often do you shop?
ISABELLA: I shop erratically and impulsively. I buy brands that I like and I mainly shop if I’m searching for a specific thing.
I buy a lot of books, records, and clothes and currently live in an apartment with barely any furniture but piles of all three all around. Without sounding like a total wanker, books, clothes, and records are my favorite things and I am very happy living in my little cave of all three.
Where do you shop the most?
ISABELLA: From independent brands directly or Vestiaire Collective! I do love the curation at Matches Fashion too. Their buying team is impossibly chic with brilliant taste.
ISABELLA’S MOST WORN
The best fit and they go with everything!
I am a PJ type of woman and these you can get away with going to the shops in. Hell, people have worn them to fashion week before. When my mum’s oldest sister died, I sent her a pair of flannel Tekla pajamas when she was feeling like her heart would never mend. It felt like I was sending her a hug when I was far away.
VINTAGE PRADA KITTEN HEELS
Found in a second hand store near my apartment - proud of this treasure.
LE KILT EVERYTHING
But particularly this cardigan I am wearing a lot!
I wore these shoes to death. I used to walk into Somerset House from east London every morning and they would last the slog in and out.
Under everything! The founder, Sofia, is the coolest and kindest woman in London. A leader in the streetwear scene, I love everything she does.
A brilliant Aussie jeweler. The rings are super fun.
The perfect puffer coat designed by those who know best about extreme weather! Simple, straightforward, WARM! I have been wearing this recycled down jacket all winter.
The original biker boot! Looks great with everything. Good for festivals, muddy walks, cycling, or paired with little skirts.
I get so many compliments on them!
Because it’s the album One Nation Under A Groove, which is a fantastic album, and because Sacai is the work of a brilliant designer! Plus it’s easy and goes with everything. I hope I am buried in this tee shirt.
Best buy of 2023?
A Pleats Please black tunic dress! Its simplicity is what makes it perfect. Plus, you can roll it up and chuck into your hand luggage when traveling.
What are you currently searching for?
ISABELLA: I would love to find the knee high version of my Acne ankle boots. Love the brown color and the outrageous point - they are perfect under Levi’s 501s.
Go-to bodega/coffee/grocery-run outfit?
ISABELLA: It has to be my Sunflower brown tracksuit pants, Asics x Cecilie Bahnsen trainers, Birrot coat, a Studio Nicholson jumper, and my Viagra Boys cap from last time I saw them play in Copenhagen.
Does your style change when you go to work?
ISABELLA: Yes and no! I am sure my team might say something different (ha!). I will dress up if there are big meetings and events that evening - swapping out my denim for Acne trousers with Jil Sander heels. I always feel impeccable in my beautiful Nicklas Skovgaard skirt, which I like to wear with vintage Miu Miu boots.
Go-to out for a night out?
ISABELLA: In the summertime I love an Acne mini dress or my Marni top that references a 1950’s bathing suit! I always feel great in A.Roege Hove and I have some old vintage pieces from my teenage years I still pull out.
What do you always travel with?
ISABELLA: Underwear from CDLP, ha! They are the comfiest and chicest. I love a simple black brief (boring or classic?) so this is my constant when I pack.
Do you change your accessories daily or wear the same ones?
ISABELLA: I have a vintage Claddagh ring, my Seb Brown rings, and I wear and a little Seb Brown pearl. Recently I have been wearing some Tom Wood silver Huggies. My godmother’s father was a silversmith, so I have a beautiful bracelet and necklace he made for me. The necklace has a silver ball on the chain that is meant to be a cherry, for my favorite Aussie chocolate bar, Cherry Ripe. Still to this day, it is the first thing I buy straight off the plane when I land in Sydney. A funny reference but one that means a lot to me.
She is fab