EMOTIONAL TIES

Supermodel on Miu Mius, making mud pies and modelling her wardrobe on Bet Lynch

with supermodel Erin O’Connor

My partner Steve [Gibson] and I moved into our new home in South London three years ago and it was the first time I’d had a garden. It’s a real luxury. I love to spend time here with Albert, our two-year-old son, watering plants and making mud pies. Having Albert gave me an excuse to stop and experience calm. Before that I was forever travelling in a world that was fantastical and sensationalised. I waited to have a baby until I knew I was ready for life to be all about him and not me. My favourite Miu Miu shoes are unapologetically sparkly. I loved them so much I walked straight off the catwalk in them after modelling in one of Miu Miu’s shows in the late 90s. They’re still intact – just. I have an irrational obsession with leopard print, inspired by my love for Corrie’s Bet Lynch. I have it on everything, from towels and chairs to wallpaper. This Dior coat is my favourite. It always makes me feel good – I’ll be wearing it until I’m an old lady. I’m a big fan of my dad Cahal [below, with newborn Albert] and my mum Veronica. They watched me get on a bus to London like a lunatic at 18, having just been signed to Models 1, and trusted me not to do anything stupid. Being awarded an honorary doctorate last year from Birmingham City University (near where I grew up in Brownhills, West Midlands) was extremely emotional and one of the most important days of my life. Steve, Albert and all my family were there to watch me. Here I am at 16 with my granny Mary. She was small in stature – only 4ft 11in – but big in character. She was determined that her 11 children would be the first generation in the family to get an education and go to university. This scrapbook, chronicling my school days and early modelling career, was a gift from my music teacher Miss Ferguson. She’s still a big part of my life and a mentor to me. She stopped me from being a shy little girl and made me stand up tall and straight, and be seen and heard. n

Erin O’Connor is the guest curator for Goldsmiths’ Fair 2016 at Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, from 27 September to 9 October (goldsmithsfair.co.uk)