STEPHANIE RAD: the interview

Ph. Aitken Jolly for Telegraph magazine

STEPHANIE RAD – the rad – the Interview

Stephanie Rad is with Storm Model Management London

Polaroids, models.com

PONY RYDER: What a great last name! Do you think it defines you in a way? We wonder if there is someone whose name is Red Rad…
STEPHANIE RAD: Yeh, I guess, it’s catchy though I’ve always been Steph Rad. I suppose when you say the word “rad” you think of kinda quirky and stuff and that’s how I like to see myself.

TOPSHOP.com

PONY RYDER: Are Fido and Boxer still among the living?
STEPHANIE RAD: Oh err actually they died…after 2 years, I kept them in a fruit bowl, the day I got a fish bowl my sister over fed Boxer and he died. Fido lived on until about 2 weeks ago, I bought new fish…he ate them and died :S

TOPSHOP.com

PONY RYDER: What a tragedy!!! Happy topics now. So, you were scouted in French Connection. Do you still shop there?
STEPHANIE RAD: To be honest, not really…that was kind of a coincidence.

PONY RYDER: Ha, we tought FC is your destination! Never mind, please tell us more about your Polish origin!
STEPHANIE RAD: It’s not too interesting…half English, half Polish…but I was born in London, I speak both languages which is nice.

Ph. Mario Testino for D & G

PONY RYDER: Dolce and Gabbana campaign, Prada show, Givenchy exclusive! You must be rad Rad, after all!
STEPHANIE RAD: It’s all a bit crazy as I’m full time in school and I need to focus on that, especially now during the exams, so it’s when I have time, it’s all so amazing.

Prada F/W 09.10 Milan via TFS Bianca

PONY RYDER: How long did it take for you to iron those strange fluffy curls from the Prada show?

STEPHANIE RAD: For about a week I used olive oil and God knows what else..I came off the plane and went straight to school, I don’t think my friends have ever made fun of me so much, I was a human lion.

PONY RYDER: Awesome! And do you use any special products for your hair?

STEPHANIE RAD: I just use Pantene Pro-V and occasionally a hair mask.. My hair is so knotty – conditioner and a brush are a must!

TOPSHOP.com

PONY RYDER: Did you get anything from Christopher’s Kane collection for TOPSHOP?

STEPHANIE RAD: I bought a blue dress the day it came out…I loved the whole collection, I felt like running off the shoot in the clothes.. I couldn’t decide what to get. Mostly I shop in places like Topshop as it’s reasonably priced and they make LONG jeans!

Amanda Wakeley F/W 10.11 London via TFS fedecolours

PONY RYDER: Your favorite gypsy bohemian dress. Where did you get it?
STEPHANIE RAD: Best buy ever… a market somewhere on holidays…and surprisingly not very expensive

Fashion model directory

PONY RYDER: We guess you had some (shoe) problems during the Antonio Berardi show last season… What happened?

STEPHANIE RAD: Ahhhh so embarrassing! Haha, on the whole there was a shoe problem – they had to tape the shoes to some of the girls’ feet to keep them on…my tape came off….

PONY RYDER: You are a shoe fan! Well, who isn’t! Where do you buy your shoes?

STEPHANIE RAD: Even though I’m tall I have a love for heels…I recently bought some Kurt Geiger heels, I adore them. I buy shoes from wherever I see a pair that my eyes are attracted too!

streetstylelondon.blogspot.com via TFS

PONY RYDER: When you walk around the city such as London, you can’t walk in high heels 24/7.

STEPHANIE RAD: I pretty much live in my boots from Steve Madden, I got them in America on my Christmas holidays with my family.

PONY RYDER: Did you have time to explore Milan or Paris shopping places? Or do you stick to London?

STEPHANIE RAD: Unfortunately…not really, as I’ve only been for a few days as I cant miss too much time off school.

GAP Fall 2009 Presentation

PONY RYDER: When it comes to styling, which one of your friends inspires you the most?

STEPHANIE RAD: I’d say most of my close friends have their own kind of a style, whatever works for them, so I end up stealing bits and bobs of them. All my friends have a good fashion sense. I just go with what works for me.

Ph. David Bailey for Vogue UK

PONY RYDER: Ministry of food by Jamie Oliver! What do you think of the food revolution he is trying to integrate into schools? Are you happy with your school meals?

STEPHANIE RAD: To be very honest, my school meals are really good, especially for school lunches, I know a lot have rubbish food so I think what Jamie Oliver is doing is good because my primary school was disgusting and I couldn’t really call it real food…but I look forward to lunch…I generally look forward to food though.

Ph. Ben Rayner for Wonderland magazine

PONY RYDER: Do you value the importance of breakfast?

STEPHANIE RAD: Every meal is just as important…and I can’t concentrate without proper meals. Breakfast is usually fruit and cereal or fruit and yogurt..as long as I get a lot of fruit I’m happy 😀

PONY RYDER: What is your favorite home cooked meal?

STEPHANIE RAD: There are too many to list…my mum’s an excellent cook, I used to want to be a chef when I was younger.

Ph. Ben Rayner for Wonderland magazine

PONY RYDER: Do you like to eat healthy or you indulge in some fast food place… like Kentucky Fried Chicken? We never had one, you know! We are more of McDonalds fans. Happy meal all the way!

STEPHANIE RAD: I eat healthily because I like it, I feel better, although I’m not like a crazy green person…I eat what I want at the moment, I don’t stray from the food that I like…and I have a little crush on Milka bars

Ph. Aitken Jolly for Telegraph magazine

PONY RYDER: How do you stay in shape? It just can’t be that it’s all in the genes…
STEPHANIE RAD: I’m quite lucky I guess, but also I’m very sporty, I love sport and I’m full of energy so I’m always doing something. I do a lot with my school as it’s quite good at sports…but I also go to the gym and swim otherwise I’m bouncing off the walls, especially in the holidays when school isn’t around to tire me out. I play sports because I like it, not because I have to.

TOPSHOP.com

PONY RYDER: What brand of moisturizer do you use for your body?

STEPHANIE RAD: ‘Simple’ all the way. It’s great because it has no artificial ingredients or fragrance or anything, so it really is a good moisturizer…and I use Clinique with SPF 25 for my face.. gotta be aware of the big sun!

Ph. John Akehurst for Vogue Russia

PONY RYDER: What skin type do you have?
STEPHANIE RAD: My skin type, I have no idea, except for that I tan easily so I have to make sure I use moisturizers with an SPF, other than that I just drink a lot of water with lemon, it’s so good in the morning, wakes me up!

PONY RYDER: So which sun block do you usually use?
STEPHANIE RAD: Whatever’s closest in my cupboard, that will actually stop me from going bright orange.

Ph. John Akehurst for Vogue Russia

PONY RYDER: Beauty advice you can share with others?

STEPHANIE RAD: I’d say whatever puts a smile on your face. If you’re happy with yourself then there’s no need for caked on make up or hair that’s so sprayed it may just run away. I love having nice skin, so I use a day moisturizer and a night one too.

TOPSHOP.com

PONY RYDER: You must know how to apply make up. Even though less is more, you must have a make up bag. So tell us what is in it!

STEPHANIE RAD: My make up bag is one big mess! The essentials consist of :

• Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
• Tester sized Bobbi Brown concealer just in case!
• I like brown shades, I feel they suit me best so I have a few Clinique eyeshadows which have different shades
• Mascara, usually whatever takes my fancy…I like to experiment, at the moment I’m using a Benefit one. The rest of my make up bag needs to be sorted out!

Fashion model directory

PONY RYDER: Robert Pattinson. Do you hope to meet him one day…What would you say?

STEPHANIE RAD: I’ve thought about this many times…I hope to meet him, I would just have to prepare a speech so that I knew what to say so that I don’t just stand and stare at him like a nutcase.

Backstage at Givenchy F/W 10 Paris via TFS fedecolors

Interview with model Stephanie Rad is original work by Pony Ryder.