Olympian Imani-Lara Lansiquot on how she found confidence in fashion
Intense doesn’t quite cut the description for how Imani-Lara Lansiquot’s year has been. At just 26 years old, she competed in the Paris Olympics over the summer, taking part in the women’s 100m and winning a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m quartet alongside teammates Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita and Amy Hunt.
Following the celebrations, she headed straight back to training before sustaining a recent injury which cut her schedule short. This did, as she joked on our call, allow for her to extend her fashion week schedule – a space that has helped to forge her own style and find an appreciation for fashion.
"I'd only ever done London due to the fact that I was always training during fashion week and it's really hard for me to schedule anything else in," she tells us. "This season just gone, I was able to go to Milan and it was just like another world. It was completely incredible, it blew me away."
You'll likely spot Lansiquot in attendance at the shows, turning out in an array of curated outfits which she collaborates on with her stylist Shaquille Ross-Williams. "The chaos of it really reminds me in a way of what it's like for me on the circuit, when I'm racing and when I'm travelling across the world," she says.
"It's that addiction to how chaotic it is. Everything has to be super quick, and then you have to create something beautiful in the chaos of everything. I think I thrive in those kinds of environments, I'm not sure what that says about me as a person."
Lansiquot’s calm disposition belies the fact that she often finds herself competing in the most cut-throat athletic events in the world. She’s laid-back, poised, and effortlessly put-together, which perhaps explains, in part, her continued success in the sporting world, though there’s no doubt of her sharp, competitive mindset.
We talked to Lansiquot ahead of her attending Fendi's Holiday Christmas Launch in London this week to find out how she prepares ahead of a night out, what led her to finding confidence in her style, and how she enjoys unpredictability.
Please talk us through your look for the awards tonight – what drew you to this particular outfit?
"As soon as I walked into the fitting room, I knew immediately that this was the outfit I wanted to wear. The look tonight is a festive, glittery purple and black backless number with a gorgeous gold necklace detailing on the back. It's super fitted and A-line, it's really gorgeous and sophisticated for the evening. That's the vibe – sexy and sophisticated. I like to experiment a lot with the kind of colours and vibes and textures that I wear, but I definitely can't say no to a backless number. That's my go to. If you want to be a little bit sexy, show your back off is my advice."
How do you decide which brands you want to work with?
"We've been really meticulous in cherry-picking the brands that I want to work with because I don't like when I'm wearing brands that I feel I'm not confident in. I hate that feeling of 'I'm not wearing it, the brand's wearing me.' It's about finding that synergy and that fit with brands like Fendi, where I feel it makes sense with my personal style and I can really rock the clothes and do them justice. It has to fit my personality, and so we've just been really thoughtful and intentional."
What makes Fendi such a great fit for you and your personal style?
"I think it's the blend between being such a classic brand, but also one that is at the forefront of being modern and trendy. Especially at this time of year, Fendi becomes one of those classic brands, but it always has that trending piece each autumn/winter that everyone's going to pick up, and I think it matches me as a person. It's a staple, it's something you're always going to have in your wardrobe, but it's also in no way boring, it's so exciting. I might have a sequin Fendi Baguette in this room. It's gorgeous and such a classic piece, but to do that twist on it, it just makes it pop and it makes it special."
How involved do you tend to be with the styling process?
"Massively actually, I've been working with the same stylist for the last three years, Shaquille Williams, and I feel like over the last two years we've really evolved together. We've grown together and gotten to a point where I know what my personal style is, so I can go into a fitting room and pick out something that I know is going to work for me. We don't like to be predictable, I think that's probably the signature line for my fashion sense. I know I'm a sports woman, I know that I'm in this box, but when I go into the fashion space, I want to be exciting. I want to show people that I'm not just one thing, and I think that definitely translates into my fashion sense too."
How would you say your style has evolved over the years?
"My confidence has probably been a big part of [my style] evolving over the last few years and understanding that I don't always just have to stick to what's trendy. I can do things that really embody who I am and my personality, but also tie that into what's cool now. It kind of suits what would be my dream wardrobe at 26 years old, and I get to have loads of fun playing with that. Me and Shaq are really good at incorporating a classic-ness to the way that I style myself, but also something that's fun, exciting, and unpredictable."
What kind of fashion makes you feel the most confident?
"I would say something that means something. I know that's a weird way to describe it, but my introduction into fashion weeks over the last few years has given me such a new appreciation for the art, craftsmanship and storytelling that goes into certain pieces, and brands like Fendi are definitely part of that. I have an appreciation for the hard work that goes into it and being a part of that storytelling. That's why it's so important that it fits my narrative. When it comes to my style, it's not just about throwing the clothes on and looking pretty, but it's about making sure that I'm able to depict that story and continue that vision that the brand has too."
What has been your most memorable fashion moment in recent years, and why?
"I went to an event a few months ago so it's a fresh memory. We were trying on so many dresses, and we were just like, 'Oh, it's not right, that's not right' and the cab was outside. Then Shaq, my stylist, was like, 'Oh, there's just this dress in the bag' and I said 'Sorry?'. It was a Self-Portrait look and as soon as I put it on, honestly, I've never felt so special. I felt like it was made for me in that moment. It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I've never felt so confident. I was fresh from the Olympics so it was like, no, this is my body, and I'm really proud of what my body's just gone and achieved. [The dress] was glittery like a medal, so it was like there was an unplanned vision with it."
Whose style have you always admired?
"I love Zendaya's style, I love Rihanna's style, and I love Hailey Bieber's style. I like something that's fresh, that's young, that's fun, anything that aligns with those kinds of vibes is definitely me."
What is your ideal getting-ready set-up?
"I've packed my speaker because I wasn't sure there was going to be a speaker in the room. There has to be good vibes. Usually I always have a candle as well, and I'll bring slippers from home. I just want to feel like I'm having a good night out. I need to feel super relaxed, because otherwise I feel like you won't fully rock the look the way you want to. Fendi is putting on a beautiful event so I want to have a good night. Having a really good team of people that I like working with, having good music, good vibes, and good smells, that's what we need."
When do you feel most beautiful?
"I feel beautiful in lots of different ways, it's not necessarily when I've just got my hair and make-up freshly done, even though my team is amazing. I feel beautiful when I feel confident, whether that's on the start line or doing fashion week or going to all these incredible events. As long as I'm showcasing who I am, I feel so beautiful when I do that, and that's what I hope my audience is able to see when I post pictures and when I talk about this kind of stuff in interviews. I want people to know that being your truest self is the most beautiful thing you can possibly be."
Fashion has a bit of a reputation for being frivolous, but why does what we wear matters?
"I think it's so easy to have that perspective on it, but when you appreciate the amount of work and the amount of art that is actually involved, it's not that at all. Getting that behind the scenes perspective of what's happening has completely changed my perspective on fashion. I'm definitely an art gallery girly, I love art, I love history, and fashion is one of the pillars in that space, and so being able to explore myself in that way is all my nerdy, fashion-y dreams coming true at once."
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