Vogue Club member Susana Solari flew from the US for our exclusive breakfast and private viewing of the Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Here’s her account of the morning…
1. Where are you from?
I’m from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and currently live in Madison, Mississippi.
2. What do you do?
I’m a personal stylist, style influencer, and style editor. I curate looks for my followers and clients, create fashion content, promote collection drops through editing staples and trends, and market fashion-related affiliate links.
3. You are a founding Vogue Club member and a Community Champion on our Discord Server—tell us about that!
First, I’d just like to say thank you—for creating this wonderful platform and community for all of us! The community on the Discord channel means so much to me—I love to participate in conversations and to engage with all the creatives and artists in the industry looking to connect, and I try to answer questions, offer topics of conversation, and just generally be present. I particularly enjoy letting people know how happy we are to have them join the Discord server and welcome them to the fun!
4. You attended the recent Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto event. Tell us about your morning—how did it feel to experience the museum before opening hours?
It was an experience like no other! I flew to London just for this event—even my morning getting ready to go to the museum was already filled with excitement. And then when I arrived, I saw so many Vogue Club members stylishly dressing to the theme of the exhibition—everyone was so happy, and we were all excited to take pictures with each other. I loved how we had the museum all to ourselves! It was the perfect environment to take it all in—to really appreciate the full display and revel in each other’s company.
5. What was your favorite part of the exhibition?
Every room of the exhibition filled me with joy! I don’t think I can choose one particular moment or thing—it was all that wonderful! But I really loved photographing everyone—I felt like I was helping members create memories.
6. The dress code was Dress Coco—what did you wear to the event?
I created a mood board to inspire me prior to the event: Everything from Vintage Chanel pieces I found on eBay and FarFetch, Chanel’s latest runway trends, a handful of dresses from Chanel’s 2017 runway. In the end, the houndstooth dress and tweed bag I wore were from Karl Lagerfeld; the tweed jacket and white lace tights are from Anthropologie, and the ankle pearl booties are by Sam Edelman. Oh—and my pearl accessories were straight from my closet!
7. Did you meet any of the Vogue team?
I met Francesca! She was so sweet and mentioned she worked in London as part of the Vogue Club team. It was such a pleasure meeting her and chit-chatting about the event!