Interview: Ana Kinsella, Ripped Knees Fashion Blog
I love fashion. I love clothes. And I love shopping. Nothing beats a new fashion season and all the excitement and anticipation that it brings. So you can imagine I spend quite a bit of time online, scouring the web for not only fashion bargains but inspiration to help me decide what's in and what's out.
One particular thing I've noticed over the past couple of years is the rise in popularity of the 'fashion blogger'. Supposedly ordinary girls and boys who take to the keyboard and write about what they're wearing; what inspires them and the designers, brands and shops they love.
Some have become so famous, attracting hundreds of thousands of fans every day, that they've become celebrities in their own right. They get invited to all the major fashion shows and might even receive all sorts of free clothing and accessories from PR and marketing firms keen to get some free exposure on their blogs.
But with all the fashion bloggers out there on the web, by far my favourite is Ripped Knees. Written by a young Dublin student called Ana Kinsella, it's a real inspiration and I always enjoy seeing the latest outfits she's wearing. We managed to hunt Ana down and ask her a few questions for our humble magazine.
So tell us about yourself... who are you, where you from and what do you do? I'm a 21-year-old English Lit student from Dublin by way of London with an abnormal interest in fashion and culture. And food. I like food a lot.
Why did you decide to start your own fashion blog? I wanted to explore the ins and outs of fashion itself and to involve myself in the overall critique of the fashion industry and its trappings... then it just kind of got out-of-hand and now Ripped Knees is a receptacle for my thoughts and ramblings on everything from Kanye West to tights to fashion photography, as well obviously as a plethora of 'what I wore today' posts.
Who or what inspires you and influences the way you dress? I'm so bad at this question because I don't really like most proper celebrities. I get inspired by awesome girls who make music like Dum Dum Girls or Victoria Legrand from Beach House. Other than that I tend to get fixated on a certain colour or something and just repeat that over and over (right now it's black).
Who is/are your favourite fashion designer/s? At the moment I love Acne, Burberry Prorsum, Proenza Schouler and Preen. However, that's kind of irrelevant as I can't exactly afford any of them...
What are your fashion tips for autumn/winter? What will you be wearing? Probably black! I'll most likely repeat my usual 'winter silhouette' of skinny bottom, chunky top by wearing leggings paired with jumbo cardigans or jackets. I want one of the shearling aviator jackets shown at the Burberry Prorsum show but I've yet to win Euromillions.
What are you wearing right now? I'm just out of work so a dark red chiffon skirt over strapless navy bandeau dress and cream tights all from AA (guess where I work) plus a huge vintage cardigan-jacket.
What have been the highlights of becoming a famous fashion blogger? I'm still so surprised that people actually read my blog, so the term famous might be a stretch! but getting emails from people saying that the blog made them think, or changed their opinion on various things is always brilliant.
Any tips for people out there keen to get into fashion blogging? Stop blogging only about things you like and start commenting on all sorts of things! Anybody can do a post saying 'omg this collection is AMAZING', so try to offer something a little bit more exciting and unique.
