Katya Braithwaite is taking over!

The philosophy student and model is all Gucci.

Age: 21

Location: London

Profession: BA Philosophy and French Student

Oldest thing in your closet?

Probably a completely unwearable 200-year-old raw silk Nepalese jacket my friend Sofia convinced me to buy at a vintage fair in London. It’s beautiful but I’m slightly afraid of it. I fear that if I actually wore it outside, a strong gust of wind would cause it to disintegrate into dust.

Where do you source most of your stuff?

Mostly Vinted. It makes for an excellent doomscrolling alternative to AI slop reels on Instagram. Also, my mother’s wardrobe. I owe everything to her wardrobe.

How do you describe your style?

The best description of my style is probably a willingness to wear objectively abhorrent clothing, combined with an equal willingness to try to make it look good.

How did you start modelling?

It’s quite a funny story. I’m half Serbian and go back fairly often to visit my grandparents. I have this hairdresser I’ve been going to since I was a kid, who cuts the hair of my entire extended Serbian family. My grandmother, being the Serbian matriarch that she is, was showing photos of me to everyone in the salon, including a photographer who happened to be there. He said he had a job coming up and wanted to shoot me for it. What I didn’t realise was that the job was for a Serbian shopping mall campaign in which I was a skater girl with crazy lashes and intense contour…I have never ridden a skateboard in my life.

Tell me about Gucci!

Gucci was legendary.

I had followed Demna’s work at Balenciaga and always thought that even if you don’t personally like the clothes, you can’t deny he’s bloody clever. Much of his work operates through a sociological lens which is often neglected in fashion. What people wear says a lot about how they see themselves and how they want to be seen by others. Recognizing that clothes don’t exist in a vacuum is what makes them more than pieces of expensive fabric. Without that awareness, they’re simply clothes. Beautiful perhaps, but still just clothes.

I was initially contacted to do styling for VIP attendees. Usually brands dress guests in full looks from previous collections. They obviously look good, but they rarely reflect how someone might actually wear those pieces in real life. So they wanted someone to create cross styled looks that shows how someone might actually wear Gucci.

After one of the fittings Demna came in to review everything. He looked through the looks, asked a few questions, and later asked if I would walk the show.

Working with him at Gucci and then being asked to walk was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget. Fashion is often (unfortunately) a very hierarchical and sometimes dehumanising industry. People rarely enter it that way, but over time they become accustomed to the culture and begin to internalise it.

That’s why I have a lot of respect for people like Demna who seem to consciously resist that, and remain very human in how they work, how they treat people and what they create. In fashion, that’s rarer than it should be.

What are your dreams about the future?

Ah, that’s a tough one! I’m honestly still trying to figure that out. I do have bucket lists and goals, but as the saying goes, if you want God to laugh, tell him your plans.

I think the phrase ‘Dreams about the future’, rather than plans or goals, actually captures how I think about it. Whatever I end up doing in life, I hope I remain a bit like a child. Not in an immature sense, but in the sense that children are endlessly curious: They know nothing and are willing to learn everything.

And most importantly, children have fun! I suppose that’s reflected in how I dress as well. Not taking everything too seriously, but having fun.