Fab femme
'I'm a stubborn person and I've never accepted things for the way they are,' says Lou Doillon, flipping her dark hair to one side. 'I need to tweak things. I need to make them mine. I'm comfortable with myself and I don't need to be a super bitch to get what I want.'
She's only 28 years old, but it seems that this actress, model, musician and mother has already lived several lives. What else would you expect from a woman with such a formidable family tree? She's the daughter of English film star Jane Birkin - who had the Hermes Birkin 'It' bag named after her - and French director Jacques Doillon. Her half-sister is actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of French filmmaker Serge Gainsbourg and Birkin.
Individualistic, modern women like Lou Doillon, Alexa Chung and Chloe Sevigny represent a new generation of global style icons who speak to our yearning for authenticity in a fast-paced industry. 'Fashion fascinates me because it's the most international language,' Doillon says. 'The first thing that you take in from someone is their sense of style, because this is a statement of how you want to be perceived.'
Sauntering into the suite at The Peninsula Hong Kong, her long legs stretch out from suede shorts as she drapes herself over a gold brocade armchair. Doillon is here as the spring-summer face of fashion label Club Monaco. She brings a touch of European sophistication to the label owned by Ralph Lauren.
The spring-summer campaign sets this atypical beauty alongside veteran actress Lauren Hutton, Donald Cumming from the band The Virgins, and Tali Lennox, the daughter of Annie Lennox. All have been photographed by award-winning American photographer Ryan McGinley for the campaign.
'The modern woman has to be able to run, be chic, be sexy, be a mother, and Club Monaco understands that,' Doillon says in her famously husky Anglo-French accent.
Later that evening at the Club Monaco party at the Helena May, Doillon, dressed in a white sequined tunic, entertains partygoers with her dance moves. She hugs a star-struck fan. In a happy contrast to the pinched, anaemic mien of most celebrities, she actually looks like she is having a good time, even if she does have a lot on her plate.