Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Could you win at being Anna Wintour?

Fashion Weeks come and go all over the world, and for the most part, the students who are interested, like myself, are glued to Instagram just to see a glimpse of the couture gowns flowing down the runway at ungodly prices. I bet some of those garments cost more than my own house in Englefield Green.

Fashion shows are on a higher level, and not one exactly known for being accessible. Seeing icons such as Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington parked on the front row with eagle eyes (or sunglasses in Anna’s case), it makes you wonder, could just anyone be Anna? Maybe by following her regime you could become the Ice Queen herself…

The iconic Editor in Chief of American Vogue starts her morning at a terrifying 5.45am where she finds herself arriving at New York’s Midtown Tennis Club for an hour of her favourite game. She then goes back home to make herself presentable before entering the One World Trade Centre: home of the fashion bible’s offices. A day of meetings lays ahead of her, and according to documentary The September Issue, a long meeting for this queen means anything lasting longer than seven minutes. For me, a 9am lecture is just a little bit too difficult so I wouldn’t last a day trying to play tennis before 6am. That’s still night time if you’re asking me! But apparently, to be the Jesus of a fashion bible, this get up is necessary.

So if you’re feeling like me: torn between an overwhelming need to be an ice queen with a superwoman career but also loving her sleep and having no money to attend fashion weeks around the world, what can we do to feel a little bit more like Anna Wintour? Here are some tips and ideas!

• Make a resolution to be up by 9am.
It may not be 5.45am, but it’s a damn sight better than sleeping in as late as possible. I find that I feel more productive, and the extra hours in the day I haven’t spent sleeping mean maybe I’ll actually get my reading done! You feel just a little bit more like superwoman Anna then.

• Drink 8 glasses of water per day.
I know what you’re thinking – blah, blah, blah nobody does this. But let’s be real, everyone knows the benefits to drinking water and recently Kendall Jenner coined this as an actual beauty tip. So maybe it’s not just our insides that will benefit from the clear elixir. It could be all a bit Harry Potter – Youth potion anyone? Anna’s skins looking pretty damn good considering she’s in her sixties…

• Attend London Fashion Weekend – A bit cheaper than Fashion Week!
This event takes place at the Saatchi Gallery a couple of times a year and is way cheaper than attending Fashion Week. So, baby steps! London Fashion Weekend includes designers and brands we all know and love, and the bronze package starts as cheap as £20! There is a bronze, silver and gold system to the packages depending on how keen you are and how much dollar you want to spend. There are even add ons like Toni and Guy Hair Tutorials and Maybelline Make Up talks!
Check out tickets here if you want to be ‘Anna on a budget’. Just get the front row and attend everything in a long coat and glasses: londonfashionweekend.co.uk

• Take up yoga.
I did this over a Summer and felt immediately a little bit pretentious. You feel like you should be doing soul cycle in LA and dressing in obnoxiously patterned yoga pants and you know what? It feels fantastic. As much as we hate to admit it, we’d all like to be a little bit California. While tennis might be Anna’s poison, yoga gives you the same rejuvenation and doesn’t require as much running around. And if you’re a bit irritable in the morning, it keeps you zen. Namaste.

• Organise your desk.
Like the ‘drink more water’ suggestion, I know I’m not your mum and I can’t tell you what to do. But just try it! Immediately you feel like a femme fatale businesswoman who is dedicated to organisation. I even keep a copy of Vogue on my desk as motivation, aesthetic, and because yes, I am that person who wants their own little desk at the Conde Nast offices (dreamy sigh).

• Wear huge sunglasses even when it isn’t sunny.
Fairly self-explanatory.

So, there you have it. Take my advice even just for a week and get that Anna Wintour feeling. Be the super efficient student I know you can be with some essence of the Ice Queen herself.