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Life In Fashion

Photography: Dan Martensen
Styling: Clare Richardson

Reads|Life In Fashion
Step into the world of Veronika Heilbrunner, one of the most recognised faces in fashion, thanks to her unique and coveted style, as she talks us through her life in fashion and her edit of her favourite Reluxe pieces.
Content curator, editor, Instagram legend…whatever you want to call Veronika Heilbrunner, we can all agree that she is a much-admired style icon. Renowned for her quirky take on the feminine, and thanks to her insightful documentation of what it is like to be on the frontline of fashion, the formal model has gained nearly 250,000 dedicated followers. Based in her home country of Germany, where she lives with the equally stylish Justin O’Shea, and their equally cute son, Walter, Veronika is currently pregnant with her second child, which has momentarily transformed not only her body, but also her style. As she invites Reluxe into her countryside life, she talks us through her life in fashion from dressing up in her ugliest clothes, to now baring her beautiful belly.
My Personal Style Usually, my style is quite romantic. I love florals, and quite girly dresses that are either midi or full length, plus a little, not a lot, of ruffles. I like every look to have a sporty touch, that breaks the rules a bit – not that I am going crazy – but I like to wear things that don’t necessarily go together. Though not in pregnancy, as with a big belly the oversized ‘skater cool’ pieces that I like look hilarious.
Childhood Obsessions I was obsessed with fashion as a kid without even realising it. When I was about 7 years old, for Christmas I received this outfit that I really wanted by a brand called Oilily, which was huge in Germany. It was basically a bolero jacket and puffy trousers in a mustard yellow and fuchsia paisley print. It was quite out there, but I loved that brand and I wanted everything from them. It was colourful, bright and frilly, and even though I was never a girly girl ever, I was obsessed with anything that was quite loud. When I was a child and I was at home, I would try to find the ugliest pieces I had in my closet and put them on. I always chose the pieces that I hated the most. Oddly, from memory I spent a lot of time at home, so I had a lot of memories of me wearing my ugliest clothes. It is so odd, I don’t know why I did that. Though maybe that is why I started liking Prada for the ‘ugly chic’! It all had to start somewhere.
How I Shop I mainly shop vintage, and I always have. In my 20s I was so fashion obsessed, and there were so many collections that I remember, especially before style.com started. But then I didn’t have any money, so I couldn’t buy anything of course. So now my hobby is to try to find pieces from that time. I used to try to buy lots of old Prada, but now I am mainly looking for Chanel Metiers d’arts collections like Edinburgh, Salzburg and Texas which are my favourites. I have phases and currently I am in an extreme Chanel phase. I need to get Clare to source stuff for me! When it comes to shopping for pre-loved pieces, it is easier for people who work in fashion, as they know what they want, or at least an idea of it. You need to spend a lot of time searching, and when you find it, it is unlikely to be your size, so it can be quite a frustrating experience. For me it is more of a hobby than a necessity, as I don’t need any clothes, but I enjoy it, as it gives me such satisfaction when I have found something so special that will never be produced again. When it is in a good condition and fits me, that is very special, and I know that I will have the piece forever.
We all have too much stuff in our closets, and among that there are those pieces that you don’t wear. We are all guilty of that. Maybe you bought something in sale time, or you finally found something that you had wanted for years, but then a few months later you realise that actually you will never have the chance to wear it, it doesn’t fit you, or it just looks horrible on you, even though you love the idea of it. The tough part is letting it go and knowing that someone else could love it more than you do. You need to think that if you let it go, you will have space in your closet and cash, and you can invest in something new. I know it is very hard, and I still fight it sometimes, but it is worth it. Every time.

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