In 2012, we held a focus group at Donna Ida HQ where we found out that customers really wanted to see how real women styled our clothes. We loved the idea and started to snap fans of the brand using our in-house team. What started off as an experiment flourished into monthly photo shoots where I was lucky enough to interview influential and stylish women, and also see inside their home and their world. My partner in crime on these shoots was creative director Kate Gorbunova, who you can find here.

Donna Air

“People my age might remember… but my daughter wouldn’t have a clue what I was talking about.” Donna Air is talking about Byker Grove, the show that launched her early acting career at the age of ten alongside presenting duo, and fellow Geordies, Ant & Dec. It’s over 20 years since Byker Grove and Donna is set return to our TV screens, albeit in sequins, for Torvill and Dean’s Dancing On Ice show in the New Year. It’s not surprising Donna has her skates on, she’s drawn to tasks which challenge her and loves packing her day full of action which she balances with a cool head for business. Smart, clever and very funny, we met up with the London based star to chat about the charms of the Belgravia area, working with start-ups, life on the ice rink and being the ‘other Donna’. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Lisa Snowdon

Roald Dahl once wrote; “if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” It seems as though he was writing about Lisa Snowdon, who arrives at our photo shoot at The Hari with a fresh blow dry from Salon Sloane, exuding happiness toting a bag full of glam heels and pieces from her gorgeous jewellery line. Lisa is a real girl’s girl, she’s vibrant, friendly funny, down to earth and loves a bit of glamour so she suits our opulent yet understated location perfectly. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Marissa Montgomery

Marissa Montgomery has answered all of our fashion prayers by launching her brand, Rotten Roach, which delivers cool and edgy simple slogan tees to the fashion set which go perfectly with jeans. The London based designer has flourished with everyone from Cara Delevingne to Rosie Fortescue and Kate Moss wearing her art influenced creations. We headed to her Chelsea home to find out more about her business, fashion and her secret passion for acting. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Kelly Eastwood – The London Chatter

Kelly Eastwood, aka blogger and influencer The London Chatter, is the embodiment of London style with an eclectic mix of vibrant colours, relaxed pieces, feminine touches and standout accessories. As a self-confessed jeans lover, she’s often found in classic skinnies, although her experimental fashion nature means she is also comfortable with pushing denim boundaries, wearing dungarees or even a boiler suit. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Radcliffe Sciamma

For SS17, International Jet Set defines the DONNA IDA and IDA edit where Donna Ida Thornton has designed a collection to take the modern woman anywhere in life with key pieces that work in any occasion. Angela Radcliffe and Caroline Sciamma of newly formed stylist due Radcliffe & Sciamma embody this mantra as stylists that are forever travelling from one corner of the globe to another. They live and work by mixing luxury basics with statement pieces and beautiful accessories, changing up a look with the addition of a silk bow, or finishing it off with a printed scarf.

The duo have a wealth of experience, both starting their careers as fashion models, gracing the pages of premium magazines including Vogue and Elle as well as walking the catwalks for Yves Saint Laurent and Hermes. Since then, both women have gone on to forge independent careers in styling before joining together to create Radcliffe & Sciamma.

They have brought together a roster of celebrity and A-list clients who appreciate their vast experience, originality and style. When we arrive for our shoot in Notting Hill, Angela and Caroline’s workspace is a hive of glamorous activity. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Lisa Haynes

For SS17, Donna Ida Thornton’s collection is International Denim Jet Set and editor Lisa Haynes epitomises this lifestyle. Lisa lives and breathes fashion with her finger on the pulse working in the heart of London; she’s trend savvy, cool and stylish. She’s also a modern women who has a passport and is not afraid to use it (just check out her Instagram for Jet Set envy!) as she is frequently travelling the world to glamorous destinations. Take a look at her top tips and pieces to covet for 2017. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Tess Montgomery

Tess Montgomery is a breath of fresh air; she’s bright, bubbly and exudes the kind of confidence that confirms she is in control of her world. Hailing from beautiful Sweden, she’s a model working in London with a fashion blog that has just reached the magic ten year mark. Her attitude is hardworking with a slice of fun and that shows in her style posts which are revered by her army of followers. We delved into the stylish world of Tess Montgomery. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Eimear Varian Barry

Eimear Varian Barry is a very modern woman; she’s a mum of two, a social media influencer, lifestyle blogger and model all rolled into one. After growing up in Ireland, her effervescent and bubbly personality led her to pack her suitcase and travel the world visiting and working in American and Australia before settling in the UK with her boyfriend. When she was pregnant with her first child, she started to document her life on Instagram and has never looked back. She now keeps her 64k followers entertained with her daily antics on Instagram stories and SnapChat plus she’s launched her own blog The EVB Edit with behind the scenes on her photo shoots and fashion finds. We visited Eimear in her Surrey home on a beautiful Autumn day to shoot our new AW16 pieces and catch up on Eimer’s style secrets. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Lara Mead

Lara Mead is a lycra-clad force to be reckoned with; even Forbes marvelled earlier this month at the ‘extraordinary growth’ of Varley, the luxury active wear brand she started in 2014 with her husband Ben. The English born entrepreneur splits her time between London and LA spearheading the company which makes luxury designer athleisure wear for the fashion conscious using premium, hardwearing fabrics and using innovative techniques. Lara epitomises the modern girl, she’s cool, smart and a great multi-tasker so as the new collection lands for AW16, we asked her about her busy life and style secrets. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Rosie Nixon

As Editor in Chief at HELLO! magazine, Rosie Nixon has seen her fair share of celebrity ‘at-home’ shoots, so she knows exactly what to expect when we turned the camera onto her for our latest Style Insider. Rosie Nixon has one of those jobs that bubbles up endless questions, mainly George Clooney related of course, but she is not the one to betray secrets apart from to enthuse about the new generation of Royals and the newsstand winner that is Prince George. So with a day job where she is literally documenting history with iconic covers that last for generations to come, it is surprising she managed to find time to write her debut novel, The Stylist. The book, described by Joan Collins as ‘absolutely riveting, and so true!’ is a slice of Devil Wears Prada fashion world meets Bridget Jones’ witty British humour as we follow a wannabe stylist, Amber Green, through the ups and downs of the red carpet. If you work in fashion, you’ll find it oh-so familiar, and if you don’t, prepare for a sneak peek into what it is really like. Rosie will be joining us in the Chelsea boutique on Draycott Avenue on 17th August Passionfruit Bellini with a black raspberry liqueur supplied by Eclipse to celebrate the launch of her new paperback book; details at the end of this blog post. Aside from her hedonistic star filled work life, Rosie is down to earth, totally lovely and a breath of fresh air. Welcome to the world of Rosie Nixon. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Belle & Bunty

Alice and Hannah are the best of friends and it is this ‘girl squad’ spirit which shines through everything they do from their bridal & made-to-order brand Belle & Bunty to their inspirational social media channels. Alice and Hannah are first and foremost fashion designers and after both getting married and designing their wedding dresses together their fashion label morphed into Belle & Bunty bridal and a desire to help women find their perfect, non-traditional fashion conscious wedding dress. Fast forward a few years and the advent of social media has given them a whole new outlet for their love of fashion with their popular blog turning them into London influencers who know exactly where to find a pink door for a photo shoot. If you think girls just wanna have fun, make sure you stop by their Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, but before that, we caught up with the girls wearing white jeans and chatting all things business, fashion and wedding dresses. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Daisy Emerson

Daisy Emerson is the super cool artist, illustrator and sign writer who we enlisted to hand paint names and initials on IDA Sadie the Boiler Suit at our recent launch at Rolls-Royce. Living and working from her East London flat, she’s creative and passionate, surrounded by art within her modern space. After studying at Central Saint Martin’s, she’s worked with brands including Facebook, John Lewis, Virgin Media and Scotch & Soda plus has exhibited at Somerset House’s Pick Me Up show in London. We caught up with the talented typographer wearing her favourite classic denim pieces. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Rosie Fortescue

Rosie Fortescue is a born multi-tasker, which is a handy skill given her busy schedule which means she effortlessly switches from filming Made in Chelsea to attending fashion shows, writing her own blog and running her jewellery business. Rosie is part of the original cast of the BAFTA award winning TV show Made in Chelsea, which incidentally is hitting the screens of E4 on Monday 11th April at 9pm with their 11th series (it is a serious guilty pleasure at DONNA IDA so we have been counting down the hours). She would be forgiven for resting on her laurels given her popularity on the show, but Rosie’s entrepreneurial nature and refined style led her to start up her own blog AtFashionForte where she updates her army of followers on her street style looks. Style is evidently Rosie’s passion and she’s a tastemaker for emerging designer brands and fashion forward trends which have amassed her over 480k Instagram followers and in excess of 320k on Twitter. Last year Rosie expanded her brand by launching Rosie Fortescue Jewellery which offers beautiful luxury pieces that are designed to finish your outfit off with. We catch up with Rosie in her London home and find out how she styles her denim wardrobe. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Edith Bowman

Do you feel like you already know Edith Bowman? I bet you do. Edith is the kind of person who makes you feel instantly at ease with her friendly, relaxed personality, the kind of person who you’d love to go for a drink with on a Friday night. She arrives on set with us at The House of Wolf in Inslington with an armful of bags containing shoes for her shoot but immediately spots our selection from Bionda Castana and declares; “Wow, they’re better than mine”. Edith is the Scottish radio DJ who is equally at home on a TV screen, hosting a music fesival or interviewing mega stars on the red carpet. One look at her career history and you’ll see that she’s worked hard to make it to the top breaking into the industry by sending a showreel to MTV, which she ended up co-presenting with Cat Deeley, and from there she has presented Top of the Pops, had her own show on BBC Radio 1 and was the winner of the celebrity version of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy (yes really!). CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Marissa Hermer

Marissa Hermer is an all-American California girl who now is a lady of London living and working in the exclusive borough of Kensington and Chelsea. As a Director of Special Projects for the Ignite Group, Marissa is the queen of the social scene whether you are in her beautiful kitsch, quirky and uber healthy Bumpkin restaurant, trying the delicious (and famous) cocktails in Eclipse bar or dancing the night away surrounded by famous faces in Boujis, you’ll more than likely bump into her somewhere along the way! She’s recently become a fully fledged member of the elite appearing in Bravo TV’s series Ladies of London which followed Marissa and her friends including Caroline Stanbury and Caprice Bourret in their adventures in London. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Georgina Cohen

Georgina Cohen is smiling when she welcomes us to Gagosian Gallery for her Style Insider photo shoot and she has good reason to. The stylish art dealer and Porter contributor is just a week away from a beautiful wedding in Florence. Georgina gave us a special preview of the amazing Alexander Calder Gouaches exhibition in their Mayfair gallery on Davies Street and then we popped by some of her favourite hot spots in the area; George Club and Scott’s Restaurant on Mount Street. Here she talks to us from her honeymoon destination, gives us a sneak preview of her wedding pictures (below) and shares her style secrets. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider WeAreTwinset

Sarah Tankel Ellis and Philippa Bloom have their fingers firmly on the fashion pulse as not only do they work in fashion every single day, they have also started their own blog designed to show you how to wear the same item in two different ways. The blog, aptly named WeAreTwinset because of their strikingly similar looks, is going from strength to strength and each day they share their fashion diaries with their growing fanbase. The girls are bloggers by night and fashionistas by day, Sarah is a Fashion Stylist on national television show LK Today and Philippa works in the fashion team at The Mail On Sunday’s super popular YOU magazine. We caught up with them to find out how they got started, what we should be wearing for AW14 and how to pick the perfect wardrobe essentials. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Carmen Haid

Carmen Haid is the queen of luxury vintage fashion. She grew up surrounded by haute couture and worked with top designers before starting up Atelier Mayer, a haven for high-end vintage pieces. Carmen’s beautiful house in Maida Vale, London is a decadent world full of eccletic curiosities and antique pieces. Having just sold her Atelier Mayer business, we met a Carmen towards the end of Summer as she was planning and packing for her birthday trip to Morocco. We asked our latest Style Insider about her career history, her special pieces and what’s the next step on her fashion journey. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Martha Ward

We have a style crush on Martha Ward, she’s a shopaholic who lives and breathes fashion. Having worked at Tatler and completed projects for Vogue, she’s picked up a wardrobe to die for including beautiful stand-out accessories. Martha shares her fashion finds on her website MarthaMagpie.com and is currently a freelance stylist spliting her time between exciting fashion projects and dressing actors for the red carpet. Martha invited us into her South-West London flat to share her wardrobe with us, so we had a few questions to ask her. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Mariella Tandy

As you would expect, Mariella Tandy the Executive Retail Editor of Tatler, is stylish. Her look brings together eclectic yet luxe pieces to create a look of effortless elegance. We’ve photographed Mariella before for our Style Insider feature in her Belgravia home but today it feels like a completely different place as she welcomes us to her revamped townhouse. Things have changed for Mariella, the new interior of the house which she shares with her partner and new baby boy is now modern with opulent touches, a decadent chandelier, a brightly coloured wall and a vibrant print to match her personal style. As she takes her first steps into retail by launching her own jewellery line Alemdara we take time out with Mariella to discuss fashion, beauty and interior design. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Jo Glynn Smith

Jo Glynn-Smith is capable of answering all of our prayers with her knowledge of fashion, access to luxury brands and understanding that how we dress can impact how we feel. As the Commercial Director of Harper’s Bazaar, she is one heeled step ahead of the trends, so it is not surprising she is often found inspiring and educating women on how to edit their wardrobe to achieve a modern look. Whether she is presenting style videos for Harper’s Bazaar or talking to a group of business women about style, Jo is always chic, polished and exuding confidence. Here we get the inside scoop from Jo on the importance jeans in your armoury and why magazines are a must-buy each month. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Nini Khatiblou

Nini Khatiblou is the kind of girl you want to hang out with; she’s cool, stylish and she’s a girl’s girl. Her gorgeous flat in Primrose Hill is a Fashion Editor’s paradise; all white walls, vintage knick knacks in every room, and importantly a wine rack filled with the promise of a fun night in. On the day we visited, Nini was preparing for a shoot with Zara Martin for Phoenix Magazine so we could see racks of clothes, stacks of shoes in her office, as well as the customary five suitcases for ferrying clothes around London. When she’s not prepping or shooting, she’s out and about in North London, keeping an eye out for celebrities and looking for more vintage finds. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Jodie Comer

There are two things that you notice when you meet actress Jodie Comer; first that she is exceedingly pretty with delicate doll-like features and second that she is from Liverpool with a soft accent and down-to-earth nature. Jodie is best known for her role as Chloe in My Mad Fat Diary before she starred as the mistress in BBC’s Doctor Foster, a juggernaut of a drama series, which was so well received that 8 million people tuned into the final climactic episode. Now Jodie’s the lead in a brand new BBC3 series called Thirteen which debuted online on Sunday and went straight to the top of the download list. Jodie plays Ivy Moxam, who after 13 years held captive by her kidnapper, returns home and so begins a complex plot of reintegrating with her family and searching for her kidnapper. Our shoot takes place in a cool underground bar in central London, a million miles away from the intensity of Thirteen. Cahoots in Soho is in Kingly Court sitting between the dazzling shopping zone of Regent Street and quirky boutique streets of Carnaby Street with a sign saying ‘To The Trains’ pointing you to the entrance. Inside you’ll find a London underground theme including signs for the Bakerloo line, scarily accurate carriages and cosy booths but the difference is they have a gigantic cocktail menu which you definitely don’t find on the tube. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Francesca The Method

Francesca The Method or Francesca Giacomini to her friends is the modern powerhouse in a perfectly formed package. Francesca’s ‘The Method’, quite simply encompasses work out plans designed to tone you, and her diet advice will cleanse you into the ultimate Goddess. She’s answered the prayers of the London elite with her fitness and diet plans and here she shares all her secrets to success. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Ella Gregory

Ella Gregory is perhaps better known as Coco’s Tea Party, the lifestyle blog she founded in September 2006 where she inspires fashion savvy young professionals. Ella’s been on our denim radar for a while since we chatted to her on the business of blogging and love of classic skinnies, and so we couldn’t wait to shoot her for our latest Style Insider. What do we love about Ella? Her understated natural beauty, her calm demeanour plus the fact that she is at home in front of the camera and can rock this season’s 70s vibe with minimal effort. So where is the perfect setting for a retro photo shoot? How about Belgraves Thompson Hotel which is around the corner from DONNA IDA in Belgravia. The space is an eclectic mix of cool and wonderful pieces with ever-changing paintings making it a very chic living art gallery. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Fanny Moizant

Fanny Moizant is a co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, one of the most exciting and rapidly expanding fashion businesses in the modern day. If you’ve not heard of it, then where have you been hiding? The idea is very simple, a website that sells pre-loved designer clothing. We all know the one that got away; that beautiful handbag you lusted after in that exquisite colour but missed your change to buy, or that pair of shoes that sold out in your size the second they hit the shelves. Well Vestiaire can make your fashion dreams come true with their edit of the best luxury pieces. Fanny Moizant is the perfect face of the brand, exuding the cool, chic. effortless style that French women are renowned for mixed with a soft, approachable manner. We visited Fanny’s London home to see how she styled pieces for the new SS16 season with her timeless and classic accessories. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Diane Kordas

Jewellery from Diane Kordas is all a girl really wants for Christmas. The designer’s creations are simply stunning, with innovative and exquisite pieces in the finest diamonds and sapphires. We were delighted when Diane invited us into her beautiful home which was perfectly decorated for Christmas to show us how she styles her off-duty look. Meet the very elegant Diane Kordas. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider Mademoiselle Robot

Laetitia Wajnapel is a Parisian jounalist, photographer and founder of the fashion and lifestyle blog Mademoiselle Robot. Now living in London we take a look around her cool Notting Hill pad and find out how she dresses her denim. Laetitia is the perfect Donna Ida girl, she’s cool, relevant and a true denim lover…and it turns out that the feeling was mutual as she explained on her Mademoiselle Robot blog last week. CLICK HERE TO READ

Style Insider LornaLuxe

Last month DONNA IDA teamed up with London based fashion blogger LornaLuxe to introduce our latest collection of denim inspired looks. We caught up with the busy fashionista, and her camera, to find out about her fashion week highlights, her style inspiration, but most importantly how she takes such great photos. CLICK HERE TO READ