As a top fashion model launches The Be Well Collective, a health event to help fashion week models learn how to stay well, we find out the top 10 tips that everyone could benefit from
The wellbeing of models has long been a topic of debate, from the size zero controversy to the party-girl lifestyle that the likes of Kate Moss have been known for - but it’s only now that an initiative has launched in order to educate the models themselves on how to stay well. The Be Well Collective is the first ever event, created by Burberry model Sarah Ann Macklin, designed to help models understand and learn how to stay healthy.
With partners including Select Models, Farmstead, a sustainable restaurant who are providing nutritious meals for the event, as well as London Meditation Centre’s Jillian Lavender and organic skincare brand VOYA, the event will take a ‘360 approach’ to achieving a healthy lifestyle.
Taking place today at Select Model’s London Office, the workshop will set the precedent for a far healthier Fashion Week. So what will the capital’s leading models be advised on in order to live well? We asked Sarah Ann Macklin to share the top tips that will be shared before they hit the catwalks this Friday…
1. Be prepared
This is vital. Once fashion week starts, you won’t have any time, as girl’s schedules are back to back. So, the week before, make sure you have stocked up on healthy nourishing food, cook batches of dinner to freeze that you can pull out and defrost at any time. Have your bags packed with all your essentials, and make sure your room is a sanctuary for sleep. Try to make your life as easy as possible - even prepare your casting outfits.
2. Eat Well
This is one of my most important tips. If you’re not nourishing your body with food, you will lack energy, become very fatigued, your mood will drop, you will look tired and your skin will be dull. You want to be glowing from the inside out during your show castings, and keep your mood high. Many girls feel as if they need to starve themselves, and compete on being the thinnest, but this simply is not healthy and won’t work, and you will end up crashing.
My advice? Make sure you start the day with a healthy, high protein breakfast such as eggs, spinach and avocado, with a good handful of berries to increase your antioxidants, keeping your immune system strong. I would eat a lot of oily fish such as salmon and mackerel, which are loaded with essential fatty acids, omega 3. This helps to reduce inflammation, which can help improve your skin, and can also help fight low moods.
3. Rest when you can
So many people underestimate how important sleep is. Sleep deprivation increases our cortisol levels, which if elevated for a long period can affect our health. During fashion week, it’s very likely you won’t be able to get much sleep, with castings, shows and fittings.
I would always head to my parents’ who live in Portsmouth a week before fashion week to make sure I was properly rested and not going into fashion week exhausted. Try to also make your bedroom a place solely for sleep. And rest when you can! Invest in a good book and Pukka Love tea. https://www.pukkaherbs.com/teas-supplements/pukka-organic-teas/love/
4. Stay hydrated
Energy levels can severely drop over fashion week. Staying hydrated can help with fatigue - many people do not realise being slightly dehydrated can affect our energy levels. When dehydrated, the fluid loss causes a drop in blood volume, which makes the heart work harder to push oxygen and nutrients through the bloodstream to the brain, skin, and muscles. Make sure you’re drinking at least 1L a day.
5. Maintain a good skin care routine
Models’ skin can really deteriorate over fashion week, from the constant makeup changes to flying and lack of sleep. Making sure you have a good skin care routine, taking your own soothing products to use in between shows can be so helpful.
I try to use certified organic products as they're packed with amazing plant based ingredients and oils to feed and nourish the skin. I'm a big fan of VOYA Skincare - they're an Irish organic seaweed spa brand who hand harvest all of their seaweed that goes into gorgeous products and amazing spa treatments. Their clean beauty products don't irritate your skin and work really well after a long day of gruelling shows! I love their facial serum - My Little Hero - which is full of antioxidants to help boost your skin’s radiance. Just what girls need before a flight or in between shows.
6. Meditate
Learning how to meditate over LFW can help you escape and bring a sense of calm to your day. It can also help with self esteem, anxiety and confidence, which many girls may struggle with, due to the high rejection. Jillian from London Meditation Centre is my go-to.
7. Stock up on Snacks
These are essential! You may not always have time to eat (even if you’ve packed lunch) because you are constantly on the go. Packing healthy snacks can be a life saver, when you’re stuck in a fitting at 10pm at night in the middle of nowhere. I would advise to stock up on walnuts (high in vitamin E and great for skin) and Brazil nuts (2 Brazil nuts a day helps maintain a healthy metabolism). Apples are also great to pack, alongside oat cakes and a tub of hummus.
8. Try a face spritz
These help tired, dried skin which many models suffer with over fashion week. I’d recommend using this in between shows when your skin is sore from the constant changes in makeup, or when you feel tired heading into a casting. They're great pre and post flight too.
9. Use remedies and Supplements
Adding in a few supplements can give that added boost during stressful periods, the ones I would recommend are;
- Neal’s Yard Remedies SOS – my go to! Helps promote feelings of calm in stressful times. Perfect for LFW, to pack in your bag.
- Pukka Ashwagandha – a natural, plant based, adaptogenic herb, it helps to relax the nervous system, which can help our body’s response to stress.
- Magnesium bath salts; magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in our body! It’s very important, especially for our nervous system and heart. However, stress can easily deplete our magnesium levels. Making sure we keep our magnesium levels in check can help with stress and relax our muscles. Great after an intense casting day.
10. Have a herbal tea
A cup of tea for me is like a hug in a mug. And let’s be honest, we all need one of them after a long a stressful day. Herbal tea helps keep up our hydration levels, alongside many holistic and calming benefits they bring. After a meal, I opt for Pukka Three Mint tea to help my digestion. And before bed I have a Pukka Love tea or Night Time Tea to help me relax. I find these help!
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