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natasha oakley

Date with Kate, Fashion

Date with Kate: Natasha Oakley

15th February, 2015
Having lunch with Natasha Oakley on Hayman Island. Photo: Caroline McCredie

Having lunch with Natasha Oakley on Hayman Island. Photo: Caroline McCredie 

Swimwear model and entrepreneur Natasha Oakley co-founded the popular blog A Bikini A Day with her best friend, Devin Brugman, and it has notched up more than 445,000 Instagram followers. Oakley, 24, has since launched her own blog and it’s become an internet sensation, attracting over 864,000 Instagram followers. I caught up with the Australian-born, Los Angeles-based swimwear designer and Sunglass Hut ambassador to chat about her life on the move, the work that goes on behind the scenes and what makes a perfect bikini.

You seem to have such a glamorous life through your blog and social-media channels. Is it really that glamorous? 

It’s definitely a mix of both because I do travel so much so there is a lot time on flights and long car trips, which is not so glamorous. It gets pretty busy and we have to keep up with creating a lot of content and keeping all of our followers and clients happy. So it’s a lot of work.

Do people realise the hard work that goes into it behind the scenes? 

No… people see those photos of me at the beach and think that’s all I’m doing. But I have a swimwear label, I have two blogs and I also work with a lot of brands all over the world. So it is all of that mixed in together. Devin and I wear many hats, are basically like accountants, photographers, videographers, make-up artists, stylists … We do it all! I think people think that we have a big team behind us that’s helping us to produce everything, but we don’t.

You’ve got such a huge international following – how did it all start for you?

It all really did start so organically because I have always grown up on beaches. I had my own photo-and-video production company and I lived in LA and I started working with a few swimwear brands over there and my best friend, Devin, started assisting me on the photo shoots. I was also shooting all the swimwear look-books and behind-the-scenes videos for brands in LA. So I just built a relationship with the swimwear world. We thought: we clearly have an obsession with bikinis and I think we should start something and do something more with it. And just one night on our couch in LA we started A Bikini A Day. The reaction was so huge that I started my own personal blog so that my followers could know more about my travels, lifestyle, fashion and beauty routine.

You have your own swimwear line. How did that begin? 

[Devin and I] just launched Monday Swimwear at the beginning of last year and our collection sold out within the first two months. We just wanted to create our own collection that’s pretty much perfect in our eyes. For me, I’m in a bikini 365 days of the year; I just want comfortable bikinis.

In your eyes, what is a perfect bikini? 

For me, it’s comfortable, it’s flattering on your skin tone and I think a classic triangle bikini is just great because it’s adjustable on the top and bottom so it works for all shapes. You can’t really go wrong with it.

You’re photographed in a bikini every day. Do you follow a strict fitness regime?

I always have just lived a healthy lifestyle and I think that goes back to my parents. My dad, as he is a surf champion, and my mum was Miss Universe and they both just always worked out and led healthy lifestyles. But I think the Australian lifestyle is all about being fit and healthy.

Having a mum as a former Miss Universe, did she give you modelling tips when you first started out? 

No, actually –  at the start my mum wasn’t very supportive. My mum always said that we have to wait until at least 18 years of age to get into the industry. And now I totally see where she is coming from because it’s easy when you’re young to just get caught up in what agencies say about you and go to castings and be rejected. But I’m lucky that I’ve sort of created my own destiny rather than going to castings and relying on other people’s opinions of me. I would have been too short to be a model but I’ve just said, “OK, I’m going to make this company and I’m going to model bikinis all around the world.”

What was it like to be asked to be join the likes of Georgia May Jagger and be an ambassador for Sunglass Hut?

It was really exciting because I’ve always shopped at Sunglass Hut – ever since I was little – and I’m always in sunglasses, so it is the perfect fit. To be a part of Sunglass Hut’s 94 Shades of Summer campaign and to be alongside global ambassadors Georgia May Jagger and the Richards sisters was so exciting.

You were recently named a Woman of Influence by ModelCo . What was that like? 

That was an honour as well. I think the best part was getting to know Shelley Barrett [ModelCo CEO and founder] and other Women of Influence.

 

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO Aquazure at One&Only, Hayman Island.

WE ATE Spanish charcuterie and Spanish cheese, seafood paella and slow-cooked Cape Grim brisket

WE DRANK One&Only Colada

NATASHA WORE A Zimmermann jumpsuit and Manning Cartell heels.

I WORE a Dion Lee top and pants.

 

Fashion

Fashion profile: Natasha Oakley

25th November, 2014

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Natasha Oakley is summer personified. What else would you expect from the founder of the blog A Bikini a Day? Natasha has made us all green with envy with her snaps from exotic tropical locations around the world wearing you guessed it – a bikini a day. Natasha’s now sharing her summer loves in the new video for Sunglass Hut’s 94 Shades of Summer campaign (a video she also acted as creative director on). With summer almost upon us, Natasha’s getting us in the mood to welcome in the sunny weather and long, lazy days at the beach….

Starting A Bikini a Day…

A Bikini A Day started out as a passion project, due to a mutual love of bikinis that my best friend (and now business parter) Devin Brugman and I share, and it grew organically from there. It only began as a fun project and has definitely soared beyond my expectations. The biggest success in our eyes, though, is how inspiring it is to so many women all over the world.

Being creative director on the 94 Shades of Summer campaign…

I was really excited when Sunglass Hut approached me to work with them – they have such a great range of sunglasses that I love to wear, so it felt like the perfect fit. I have almost as many pairs of sunglasses as I do!

Although I am used to being the creative director for all things related to my blog and really believe in keeping projects as true to my personal style as possible, I really appreciated that a brand as big as Sunglass Hut would allow me to have so much involvement. It was great to work with such a fun and creative team on this project and I loved that I was able to come back to my hometown of Sydney to work on it, and shoot at all my favourite Sydney summer spots!

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Starting a new blog…

I gained a large personal following through the success of A Bikini A Day and my followers wanted to see more than what was on my Instagram and what I was wearing on the beach, so my blog (natashaoakley.com) has become somewhat of a travel and fashion diary to share with my followers – I am having so much fun shooting both swimwear and fashion now.

In the future…

Although I am very strategic with the short term, I like to leave the future open to all sorts of possibilities. I really enjoy running my own companies and am also very passionate about photography and videography and presenting also, so I will see where my passions take me.

My fave summer trends…

Clothing-wise, I’m loving one pieces, boyfriend jeans and espadrilles. For sunglasses, it’s all about pastels, round and embellished frames, which you can find in many designer collections such as those from Prada, Miu Miu and Dolce & Gabbana this summer. As part of my work with Sunglass Hut I’ve also curated my own capsule collection that shows these trends as well as my general all-time favourite styles (who can look past a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators?!) which you can check out at the flagship store in Sydney (or check out the gallery below!).

 

My summer essentials…

A pair of sunglasses, a bikini, a maxi dress and a great pair of sandals.

The key to bikini confidence…

The key to confidence in a bikini is really simple – every girl just needs to understand that there is no definition of beauty, but that every girl is beautiful on their own and they should rock what they’ve got! Don’t compare yourselves to others, as there is nothing sexier than a girl who is confident in her bikini.

My summer beauty prep…

I exfoliate once every two weeks in summer and gently exfoliate my face once a week. I moisturise A LOT and ALWAYS wear SPF on my face even if I am just popping out for a coffee.

My beauty routine…

My daily beauty routine is quite simple actually – cleanse and moisturise, wear a lightweight tinted SPF moisturiser, mascara and an SPF lip balm.

Shopping for a bikini…

Don’t be afraid to size up or down, as bikinis are rarely made to size. Find a cut (i.e. triangle bikini, bandeau top, Brazilian cut) that suits your body type the most and run with it! My favorite style for my body type is the classic triangle and I stick with it most of the time.

The secret to a flattering bikini photo…

Be aware of your body and what angles it looks the best from, point your toes, keep your arm away from you body so it doesn’t squish against it and look twice the size (don’t you hate that!) and try to avoid really harsh sunlight as it doesn’t do anyone favours.

My fave beach in the world…

That changes regularly but at the moment I would have to say Pig Island in The Bahamas!

 

What are your summer essentials?

 

Photography: Sunglass Hut