Fashion

Rosie Huntington-Whitely: The Businesswoman

The professional line for those in the fashion industry has always been blurred, and well, flaky if truth be told. Models become designers become artists become actors. And back again. And why not? Why not achieve all your dreams, instead of just one? It must be said, some are less encouraged to, shall we say, multi-task? A pretty face does not always make for a heavenly voice, and a talented artist does not always paint the image of a Hollywood actor, but if you’ve got the very elusive and sought-after “it”, then why not? Enter, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, model come actress come lingerie designer for Marks & Spencer Autograph collection.

So in black and white, what is her day job? She sees herself as a businesswoman, she told vogue.com in a recent interview. She works like everyone else, albeit in a more glamorous field, and the fact that she has found unchallenged enjoyment within that, makes her feel “really lucky”.

Rosie Huntington Whitely

When any celebrity puts their name to something or comes out with a new venture, the inevitable question arises as to whether they have had any creative input at all. Critics come out of their comas miraculously to question their talent and integrity. But for most, as is true for Rosie, associating your name with something should not be considered lightly as the product is undoubtedly a reflection of you. But the self-confessed businesswoman has confirmed that she was heavily involved in the design process and it was not a case of ‘Oh yeah, just stick my name on it and I’ll turn up to the launch. It’s my business, and I wanted to make sure that I was putting out a product that I would wear and that I would like, and that I believe in” she said of her new collection.

And perhaps designing this lingerie for Marks & Spencer will come to the forefront of Rosie’s CV, admitting that she only entered modelling to eventually become a designer but got “swept away” in the addictive, beautiful world in the meantime. Yet without naivety, Ms Huntington-Whitely treats modelling with a healthy cynicism – “From very early on in my modelling career it became apparent to me that it wasn’t going to be forever, you have a shelf life. I wanted to make sure I had some form of security that didn’t just depend on my appearance. I wanted to use my brain, explore it in different ways and try new things”. Clever girl.

Rosie represents a woman, aware of her beauty and career, but with her sights set on the bigger picture. So what will her new venture be? We always knew brains and beauty were a lethal combination.

– Serina Sandhu

– Image: Marks and Spencer

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