Our deputy style director Zoe struts her stuff in some of the hit show’s most iconic outfits
ZOE CRIPPS
Let me start with a disclaimer – I’m 31 so I’m above the age cap for a Love Island contestant. Considering Laura Anderson was brutally labelled “Old Laura” when she joined the cast at the youthful age of 29, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ve left it too late to strut into the villa as the show’s hottest new bombshell.
Age aside, I also don’t look like a Love Islander. Yes, ITV has welcomed more inclusive and more “relatable” cast members in recent series, but I think that either you’ve got it or you haven’t got it. It being a look made for 9pm prime-time TV, it being a flawless contour, and it being the confidence to wear micro booty shorts while an audience of 1.3 million scrutinises your every pore and flaw in HD.
Me? I’m made for bed at 9pm, and the last time I attempted to wear short shorts was when I was on an Ibiza holiday in 2012. One look at the trip photos afterwards was enough to make me permanently retire those hot pants.
That being said, when an invite dropped into my inbox from eBay – Love Island’s official second-hand fashion partner – with the subject line “Personal styling ahead of All Stars”, I was intrigued to open it. Did I want to come to a swanky London hotel to try on some of the most memorable outfits from the Love Island archives? Furthermore, did I want to be styled into said pieces by the show’s official stylist, Amy Bannerman?
Looking down at my men’s size XL H&M varsity jumper and thermal leggings, I decided I could do with a style reboot. Who knows, perhaps some new wardrobe essentials worn by those who had found love in the villa could be a good omen for my own, pretty much nonexistent dating life.
THE EBAY SUITE
Rocking up to the private top-floor suite at the Nobu Hotel, kitted out in a look I’d describe as “fashion editor” fashionable – an oversized
shirt, high-waist, long-line trousers and New Balance trainers – I started to regret my decision to come. More specifically, as soon as I caught a glimpse of the clothing rails where the pieces were hanging, I started to regret my decision not to fake tan the night before.
Amy welcomed me into the styling suite looking incredibly chic herself in an oversized blazer and slouchy jeans. If she had any doubts about me fitting into some of the pieces, she politely kept them to herself. As she started pulling out items an
