Everyone used to say my Aunt Matilda, who was one of my dad’s 10 sisters and died before I was born, looked like Audrey Hepburn. I’ve seen photos and she did – with the distinctive almond-shaped eyes and elfin features. It always made me feel like Audrey Hepburn was part of the family.
When I was around 20 I started to wear fake eyelashes and once did a photo shoot with Rankin when I’d recently had a wee fringe cut – I was chuffed when he told me I looked like Audrey. There are definite elements of channelling her in my own style. Perhaps not every day, but certainly if I’m dressing up with handbags and little gloves.
I was at a party recently wearing a dress I thought was very Joan Holloway from Mad Men. I played Moon River on the guitar and had a wee black cat, so everyone ended up complimenting me on my Audrey Hepburn look. I did read somewhere she owned a deer, but I don’t think I could get away with keeping one in my flat.
I love that she grew old gracefully. I remember seeing her later in life, when she was working for Unicef, and thinking how amazing she looked.
A Band Called Quinn plays Threads of Sound at Stereo, Glasgow, on April 4
Find out how to get the look of Greta Garbo
KATE MOSS
Amanda Hendrick, model
I love the whole boho, rock-esque look, so Kate Moss is a big icon of mine. Her style looks effortless, but is so well put together. Anything grungy is my kind of thing. I have a pair of All Saints boots I like because they are worn in – I hate it when shoes look new. I wanted to buy white Converse trainers but I didn’t want them to be bright. I even looked on eBay to see if I could find any used ones. There was a pair that were done-in, the way I like them, they looked as if the previous owner had worn them every day for the past five years.
I love the summer because I can wear head bands, big maxi-skirts, crop tops and long-hanging bags. I’m seriously addicted to parkas – they go with anything.
Amanda Hendrick is a model with Colours Agency: www.coloursagency.com and 0141 422 2288
RIHANNA
Kate Bracken, actress
Rihanna is a complete chameleon – edgy one moment, elegant the next – she can literally wear anything. When I wanted to cut off my hair, I looked to Rihanna and it gave me the confidence to do that knowing it can still look girly and nice.
There’s a music video she did for the song What’s My Name? where she is dressed casually in a striped blazer and shorts. That’s probably the most similar to my own style. Rihanna is a bit more out there and willing to take risks than I am, but that’s what I admire about her. She can get away with it and has become an icon in her own right for that reason.
TEDDY BOYS
Pam Hogg, designer
I never really had a style icon, but I loved how guys in bands looked when I was really young, like Jimmy Page and Keith Richards and Teddy Boys. I saw Teds with colour drapes on the street corners of Glasgow when I was very, very young and I’d see bands on the television. They were completely different to everyone else. Teds also had great hair, with greased-back quiffs.
It was the way they wore the clothes and the attitude. You felt they were breaking all the rules, but they in turn would have been looking at guys like Elvis. Then came Bowie and topped the lot of them.
What influence did the Teds have on me? I would make my own clothes, mainly trousers and shirts, quite masculine stuff really as I wasn’t so much into dresses. I even have my own fabulous dusky blue original blue drape. Bit on the large side, but one of my treasured possessions.
DEBORAH HARRY
Hayley Scanlan, Young Scottish Designer of the Year 2012
Deborah Harry is edgy, glam, fierce, cool and the ultimate rock chick. My earliest memories of her were seeing her photo on television. Over the years I started to get a bit more obsessed, especially by the time I was in my early teens.
She was my mum’s icon first, so I grew up listening to her records and fell in love with Deborah Harry. My mum gave me her Parallel Lines album which I got framed in my bedroom. I remember making T-shirts of Blondie too.
I would say my own style is quite similar. When I get glammed up I like to give it a bit of an edge with leather and dark colours, things that echo her look.
Since I was 15 I have dyed my hair blonde (I am naturally a dark brunette) because I love Blondie. One time my best friend Barry tried to bleach it so white that a lot of it got quite badly damaged – I heartbrokenly had to dye it back to brown for about a year afterwards, which wasn’t much fun.
My latest collection, The Queen of Hearts, has been hugely inspired by Deborah Harry. I wish I’d been around in her era.
When my mum was my age now, Deborah Harry was everywhere. I would have loved that.
Hayley Scanlan will be showing her A/W 2013 collection, The Queen of Hearts, at From Scotland With Love in New York on April 8
GRACE KELLY
Louise Wedderburn, stylist
Grace Kelly is everything a girl aspires to be: a style icon, a movie starlet, a mother, the Hermes Kelly bag, a role model and best of all, a princess.
I have always loved Princess Grace and not only was her style impeccable, she was beautiful too.
I remember visiting the Pink Palace, the official residence of the Prince of Monaco.
I was wide-eyed and I stood envisioning her stepping out in one of her beautiful gowns going away to some ball.
If I could choose any era it would have to be the late 1950s-60s. It was a time when women made the effort of doing their hair, wearing make-up and getting beautifully dressed. I would have loved to have lived then. Grace’s wardrobe would transport you into the Narnia of the fashion world. Filled with vintage designer, couture gown, handbags and shoes. Oh wait, I almost forgot the jewels and tiaras – I would be a magpie twirling around dying to try everything on.
The late 1950s-60s have influenced my style greatly, I love wearing full pettiskirts and twirling around. Likewise my hair and make up: I’ve worn red lips and winged eye liner for as long as I can remember.
Princess Grace will always be a style icon to me, she rarely got it wrong and we all could learn a thing or two from her.
Visit www.thebakingfashionista.blogspot.co.uk
ANNIE LENNOX
Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister
I remember the sense of awe
I felt when Annie Lennox appeared on stage at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for Aids awareness in April 1992.
Her face was painted white with a black mask around the eyes, and she wore a long mesh tutu skirt with a vibrant shiny synthetic top. As she sang and danced with David Bowie in front of an audience of thousands at Wembley Stadium, she epitomised all that was cool at that time – even Bowie was wowed.
I was in my early 20s then, and with the vibrant 1980s era still very fresh in my mind, Annie encapsulated everything that style should be – bold, unique and daring.
The fact that she was Scottish definitely played a part. I admired her Scottish attitude and how she didn’t allow fame to get to her head. I must confess I’ve never dressed in a way that turns heads like Annie. That said though, she continues to inspire me and countless others style-wise even now.
A style icon is someone who can wear anything they like, as long as they do it confidently and are comfortable in their own skin. Yes, over the years Annie might have cropped her hair into a bright orange buzz cut, donned men’s trouser suits and pushed the boundaries, but she’s always done it in a self-assured way.
She’s my icon because she’s got a strong sense of who she is. We can all take something from that. I can hardly believe it has been more than 20 years since I watched that concert on television. It’s important to remember who you are and to let your style represent you – you have to wear the clothes, rather than let them wear you.
