If you'd believe the countless plots of tired and trite girl-moves-to-big-city, girl's-boss-is-a-bitch, girl-learns-some-kind-of-lesson-and-bitchy-boss-gets-hers rom-coms or Page Six tell-alls, you'd kind of get the idea that the fashion industry is one of calculating, unabashed ambition. Sigh. We prefer to think that there's nothing wrong with a healthy helping of hustle here and there. And despite the fact that we've been contemplating getting the words of wisdom from our collective favorite #GIRLBOSS-es tattooed across our foreheads, there is something to be said for spontaneity, even among the most Type-A among us. Case in point? The duo behind Luxuryshoppers—a Turkish fashion consulting firm of sorts—Lian Kebudi and Ezgi Icel. From image consulting to personal shopping to wardrobe planning and styling, the duo quite literally do it all—and did it all without a plan.
Let us explain—after all, Kebudi and Icel were more than happy to concede that their latest venture came without a whole lot of foresight. "When it comes to planning we are both the worst two people on Earth!" Kebudi insisted, as Icel chimed in, "It all happened very spontaneously. We didn’t think about having a website like this at the beginning. We were doing styling, consulting and personal shopping at that time, but then the blog got bigger and we started to become more focused on the things we could do online. Now we're turning it into a fashion magazine, [too]."
Lets just say that with a job title that kind of runs the gamut of fashion gigs, your wardrobe needs to be up to snuff, too. Meaning? Kebudi and Icel's traveling footwear collection alone boasted pairs of seriously mean Prada creepers, embellished Sergio Rossi thigh-highs, delicate, feather-y Givenchy sandals and those pineapple Aquazzura pumps, too. And as for their formidable jewelry collection? We mean, it kind of comes with the territory when your 9-to-5 includes planning and consulting on events for the likes of Chopard. But despite having found their success, the Luxuryshoppers girls still keep things, well, spontaneous and even—gasp—enjoyable. As Icel told us, "I remember having a 6 A.M. flight for a meeting in Paris once and we had started the morning off with champagne." Oh, and her advice for conquering Paris Fashion Week is similarly, ahem, exuberant, "start sipping Kir Royal in the morning and always have time for a massage." Ditto for Kebudi, who, while donning a floor-length Emilio Pucci gown, named off her not-so-guilty (and rightfully so) pleasures: "Online shopping, salty popcorn for movie nights at home, lace lingerie and a glass of super cold white wine before dark."
Nothing quite takes the cake, though, like Icel's slightly unorthodox career advice. "There are many ambitious people in this industry and ambition doesn’t serve anyone well. Drop all you know and just follow your intuition. Your inner guidance knows better than anyone." Does that mean we can stop re-filling our Xanax prescription now?
