Greetings from planet Earth. And welcome back to Amanda Zips It Up.
I’ve temporarily had to go fortnightly, because under current circumstances there really isn’t much happening to report upon in the world of fashion. But I’m sure it won’t be much longer before we’re back on beat.
Am I the only person who’s going to crack open a bottle of Moet the day Zara re-opens its doors?
I know this has been a tough time for so many people, but we are past the peak and it looks like we will be reunited with our family and friends (and possibly even enjoy a very late Balearic holiday) relatively soon.
In the meantime, it’s a Bank Holiday weekend and the sun will be shining. The beaches are starting to fill up, BBQ smoke fills the air and we’re all keeping our sanity in-tact with the various live streamed DJ sets each weekend.
Maybe it’s time to start considering a late summer wardrobe and my favourite fashion boutique here in the UK, LEFT BANK SIX have a sale on all beautiful Balearic boho garms and accessories. Visit the Left Bank Six Facebook page or Nicole Ivison Hatch’s page to see what’s up for grabs.
In this issue, we check out the top 10 best-selling CELEBRITY underwear brands – and you’ll be pleased to see who is number one, tell you about the MISSGUIDED T-Shirt everyone needs to buy and bring you an interview with one of the UK’s longest standing and most successful female DJs – LISA LOUD.
From Rihanna to David Beckham, the sexier the celeb, the more money there is to be made from selling underwear.
Rihanna is on her way to becoming a billionaire – partly thanks to her knickers. She has made £120million from her lingerie line Savage X Fenty, taking her fortune to £468million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. But the 32-year-old Bajan babe is not the only famous name to make big money from selling smalls.
Here’s the knicker rich list.
10. Maura Higgins – £1million
LOVE Island 2019 star Maura has made her reality fortune in record time. The 29-year-old Irish babe has cashed in, thanks to bagging £500,000 from both clothing brand Boohoo and lingerie giant Ann Summers.
9. David Gandy – £13million
ESSEX-born David was catapulted to fame when his incredible physique bagged a contract with Dolce & Gabbana to be the face of their menswear. Following the success of the campaign David, 40, was snapped up in 2014 by Marks & Spencer for its smalls, sleepwear and swimwear.
8. Dita Von Teese – £16million
QUEEN of burlesque Dita, 42, fell in love with lingerie at just 15 years old after landing a job in an underwear store. In 2012 the American model launched her own lingerie line called Von Follies, featuring a range of corsets and 1920s-inspired pieces with loads of lace and ribbons.
7. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – £30million
THE supermodel was signed up by Marks & Spencer’s bosses in 2012 to give their Ladies underwear a sexy makeover. Rosie, 33, can proudly claim her delicate smalls are one of the High Street chain’s biggest sellers. An estimated one in 50 women in the UK owns a Rosie bra, with the brand selling 24million a year.
6. Liam Payne – £46million
One Direction may have split in 2015, but that hasn’t stopped Liam bringing in the money, though not for his solo music. He’s not my fave, but he does have a buff bod.
The 26-year-old teamed up with Hugo Boss for his first collection in 2019, with promo shots of Liam lying in bed with a naked Stella Maxwell. The steamy shots earned him a clip round the ear from his mum.
5. Elle Macpherson – £95million
“THE Body” is famous for her endless legs but her business nous saw her launch the first model underwear collection, Intimates in 1989.
The 56-year-old has also created stylish lingerie for athletic women who want to feel supported and still look sexy.
4. Heidi Klum – £120million
Heidi’s career spans 28 years thanks to her impressive lingerie modelling skills.
After more than a decade strutting the catwalk as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, the American-German supermodel moved on to promoting her own undies collection, Heidi Klum Intimates.
3. David Beckham – £339million
He’s always been a personal fave and Becks has more talents than just playing football.
The 45-year-old may have retired from soccer but still makes cash from underwear ranges with H&M, Calvin Klein and M&S. Kicking off his first collection of boxers in 2012 with H&M, his chiselled looks and the designer-inspired undies made them a hit.
2. Kim Kardashian – £350million
THE 39-year-old reality star has made millions from selling perfume, clothing and make-up.
Kim’s shapewear brand came out last June but its Japanese name Kimono was slammed for cultural appropriation. The line was relaunched three months later as Skims.
It made nearly £2million in the first few minutes it went live. To put that into context, rival Spanx made £3.2million in its first year.
1. Rihanna – £468million
SHE is known globally for her hits – but Rihanna is also hitting the top spot with her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty, which has made more than £120million since it was launched in May 2018.
Modelling the range herself, she represents the curvy girl with thighs and a little bit of booty and hips.
It goes to show that girls’ preference is for a ‘normal’ body shape, compared to the unachievable ‘Victoria’s Secrets Angels’ ultra skinny look.
As we’re all bunkered-up and locked into live DJ sets streamed online every weekend, I thought it would be an interesting angle to interview one of the UK’s top female DJs, LISA LOUD, about her love of music, fashion and Ibiza.
Lisa – How do you feel about flying the flag for women in a fairly male dominated industry?
Interestingly, when I started dj’ing it was amongst the most-free living fun loving movement, Acid house. So I hadn’t really realised that there was a male and female demographic as such. It was all about the music and the feeling of being part of something. Ibiza in the mid 80s showed me a sense of freedom and hedonism that had no boundaries. I wanted that life, I guess.
Given the explosion of acid house and its infection nation-wide, it became more apparent that there were fewer female DJs. In the early 90s I was travelling up and down the motorway to legendary clubs like Back to basics, the Hacienda and Venus in Nottingham, having a ball. Eventually, I created brands that promoted female DJ talent. Ciao Bella at Back to basics, Hello Gorgeous in London, Simply Darling in Dubai. I am a great supporter of female talent, but the music, the track selection and the ability to craft a DJ set is paramount.
Looking at the headliners now, I feel inspired that girls do what they love and have a voice through their musical talent. I love the female DJ touch and let’s face it, a girl delivering serious beats and telling a story through a set is rather appealing!
As a mother, how do you combine listening to promos etc and being a Mum to Tait?
Fortunately, my little boy has been around music since birth – before, in fact. I was at DC10 5 months pregnant and felt Tait move to Ricardo Villalobos and Clive henry – I was eating ginger biscuits to avoid the sickness, it was boiling in there.
Tait loves music. We have different tastes (what with YouTube and TickTock) but he knows what a house track is and actually really likes MY music. I do my best to make music and my work a part of the “fun” side of his life – we can often be found dancing around the kitchen and garden together.
I know you love fashion and Ibiza – how important are both in your life?
Well, Ibiza influenced my life as a DJ and music business professional, and fashion is my second love after music.
As a young girl from the Walworth road in South East London, I always wanted the best togs. I loved designer labels and made sure I earned my own money to be able to buy what I wanted. It never leaves you. If you have a style or an image, it’s with you forever. I still feel excited and seek out pieces that have my style. You can’t beat dressing up and feeling good, can you!
Ibiza was my playground from the mid 80s. I was working in the finance industry and travelled every weekend to Ibiza to see my mates and party… One year I just didn’t come back 🙂
I met the most amazing colourful people in Ibiza. I was a teenager, witnessing people from all over the UK who travelled to Europe to see DJs and party in locations that influenced their whole lives. It was the same for me, I was hooked and simply wanted to be that person – dancing in Ibiza, getting to Amnesia in a sports car, wearing all the fab clothes and listening to the most eclectic sounds from DJs that had never played in all the soul and rare groove clubs that we use to go to.
It was simply the epicentre of my life, and still influences everything I do.
I know you’ve been ill with Covid-19 – how has the virus affected life so far?
To have had the virus actually put a different perspective on everything for me. Tait and I had played by the rules and socially distanced, so I could barely understand how it had happened. I genuinely don’t think I have ever felt so unwell. I am a single mum and was negotiating the unknown, trying to be the best influence and show strength to my little boy, yet struggling to complete everyday tasks, cooking, the dishwasher opening the door to the postie… I was so weak, which was really frightening and was a huge mental and physical challenge. In the end Tait became a career, as such. I’m so proud of him and don’t know what I’d have done without him!
On a business level, my life this year was set up really well, I was very excited! A full diary containing so many fabulous gigs from March through to November. My business consultancy was also busy with ground-breaking projects. And in a puff of smoke everything was gone. On a business and financial level I am no different to so many, and feel for everyone out there in the hospitality industry. We will be the last to recover, but might we perhaps learn a lot from being stripped right back to basics? Everyone is equal at present. Let’s just hope there is humility and respect born out of this. Wouldn’t that be cool 🙂
To thank the key workers who are working tirelessly during the ongoing pandemic, the Misguided has launched a limited-edition ‘Heroes’ t-shirt, which is available now.
The unisex Tee features applauding hands, inspired by the UK’s unified clapping for the NHS every Thursday at 8pm.
It comes in three sizes, from small to large, and the striking design is also accented with the NHS’s signature blue colour. It is priced at £15 and be purchased online at missguided.co.uk
All profits from the sales of the t-shirt will be donated to NHS charities in aid of the battle against Covid-19.
But this isn’t the only way Missguided is showing support. The popular online fashion retailer is also giving an exclusive 25% discount on top of its current “70% off” sale to the NHS, emergency services, carers and teachers.
If you want to get your hands on an NHS Heroes charity t-shirt and show your support for key workers, order one now before they sell out.
Okay, I know, it may as well be March or April – what’s the difference? But we’re officially entering Summer 2020 and although we’re sick to death of lockdown, perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel.
During my usual research this week, I came across a feature about drinking Sperm Smoothies to ward off the Coronavirus.
It’s may sound hard to swallow, but a particular mum of two blends spinach (good), broccoli (good) and then some of her boyfriend’s sperm (very very bad) which she stores in the fridge (even worse). A quick whizz in the nutribullet and voila! A sperm smoothie.
She’s also a personal trainer – so, in theory ,knows her stuff. She drinks her daily smoothie plus uses the left-over sperm on her face as a moisturising facial treatment. She claims the sperm not only keeps her looking young but keeps her immunity in tip top condition, therefore (apparently) leaving here with zero chance of her picking up any virus.
According to my research, sperm contains 200 different vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C, Zinc, Potassium and B12.
The question is – which guy genuinely has time to produce this much sperm for these daily smoothies? Maybe that’s a silly question.
I’ll leave you to ponder on that. In this week’s instalment we have another weight-loss recipe from Chanelle, we meet new up and coming female DJ Ashby and dicover Le Beanock – the most comfortable hammock for summer.
Shannon Ashby, AKA DJ ASHBY, is a young, fresh and fashionable new female DJ talent, emerging bang in the middle of the ‘Great Pandemic of 2020’. Straight out of the prestigious POINTBLANK music university based in London, Ibiza and Los Angeles, I grabbed five minutes with this new millennial superstar in the making, who is literally going to be on all our radars in the years to come.
As a DJ – who have you grown up listening to, as inspiration? Growing up I was always surrounded by music, my mum and dad would actually leave me by the speaker in my pram to fall asleep. I grew up listening to all of the old school house tunes, ones I still listen to to this day: Hard Drive – Deep Inside, Robin S. – Show Me Love, and a favourite that was actually my mum and dad’s first dance at their wedding, CeCe Peniston – “Finally”. My love for dance music definitely started from a young age.
What is your personal musical genre? This is such a hard question – I really enjoy so many different genres and love to bring them all in to my sets when I can. Old school house (80s, 90s), Garage, Techno, Tech House, Deep House (basically all things house), Disco, Minimal, the list could go on.
How important are festivals, Ibiza and the club-circuit to you? Very important. From the second I turned 18 I started promoting for nightclubs, festivals and events. In 2014, I did a season in Aiya Napa. Realising that the music scene there wasn’t for me, in 2015 I went and worked in Ibiza for the Summer 2 years running. I worked for the very well-known Sankey’s, ticket selling and promoting. It was on my return that I decided to take up DJ’ing. I’m proud to say that over the last 3-4 years I’ve played on line-ups next to DJs like Sidney Charles, Josh Butler, Artwork and Franky Rizardo.
Will you use fashion as a major part of your image and what are your plans for the future? Alongside music, fashion and beauty is a big thing for me, also for my group of friends. We always like to stand out from the crowd and express ourselves through bright colours and unique styles of clothing. I always love having bright coloured hair and I’m blessed to know some incredible makeup artists who always make me look UNREAL when playing sets.
Are you venturing into Radio and where would you like to take this? Since these very unusual times; livestreams and Radio have taken over by a storm. I have been very grateful to have been asked to hold my very own Show called ‘Go Get It’ every Friday afternoon at 13:00 (BST) / 14:00(CEST) on Ibiza Lockdown Radio, currently streaming on all social platforms and undergoing licensing to eventually go live on the airwaves. I have also been asked to play for Sun of a Beach who I previously DJ’d for which will be streaming through radionovalujon.com.
My current plans for the future are to focus on my production and get as many mixes out on to music platforms as possible. I will do everything that is thrown my way and gradually work my way up to the top. My time is coming, I know it.
Our regular contributing Ed Chanelle Clark has another weight-loss recipe for us this week and it’s a beautiful Insalata di Arance.
I adore this traditional salad, and fortuitously for me, it is on the menu at most Sicilian restaurants. At only 66 Calories a portion, packing a huge nutritional punch, it is a shrewd choice. I add Beetroot to it as there are so many health benefits to this standard and oft overlooked, root vegetable.
Ingredients
½ Beetroot
2 Carrots
1 Large Orange
½ an Onion
1 Tbsp grated Ginger
Generous glug of either Balsamic Vinegar or Red wine vinegar, as you prefer.
Preparation
1) Firstly chop the Onion, Slice Carrots and Beetroot Julienne Style.
2) Grate the rind of the Orange and the Ginger on a side plate.
3) Peel the Orange and cut into segments, add any excess juice to the side plate too, in order to add to the dressing.
4) Toss it all together, adding the chosen dressing.
Easy Peasy!
Vegan Potato Salad
I truly don’t know anyone that doesn’t like Potato Salad so I have made one with a healthy spin. I have swapped the Mayonnaise for Fat Free Vegan Yogurt. Ideally I would have used Sweet Potatoes too but alas there were none available.
Personally I adhere to the Liz Hurley rule of thumb (or rule of fist in this case) and never have a portion of carbs larger than your fist size. Now we all know how amazing she looks in a bikini at 54; so if it’s good enough for Liz…..
Ingredients
750 kg of New Potatoes/ Sweet Potatoes
3 stalks and the bulbs of Spring Onions
1 stalk of Celery
250ml of Fat Free Yogurt
Few sprigs of Chives
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Cooking
1) Thoroughly wash the potatoes and half or quarter depending on the size, put these on to cook medium heat for 20-30 mins. You can tell they are ready when you can pierce skin easily and they slide off fork. DON’T OVERCOOK – That is a sure fire way of ruining your salad, it will be too watery.
2) Whilst they are cooking chop the onions, celery and chives.
3) When potatoes are ready, drain then mix it all together; a fait accompli. N.B. Tastes even better the day after.
Hummus
To balance it out and give my body some protein I make hummus, which is literally the easiest thing ever to make. It astounds me that anyone would buy prepared hummus. This way you know exactly what is going in it and can tailor to your tastes. I add my ubiquitous chillies of course!
Ingredients
1 tin of Chick Peas 400g – (Everyone has these in their cupboards I am quite sure).
2 cloves of Garlic
Half a lemon squeezed
Pinch of Salt & Pepper
½ Green Chilli
Put this all in a blender or use a handheld blender, whizz it up and job done.
On an unrelated yet very relevant note, my dear friend, Laura is running a Rainbow Reboot in order to support the NHS. She has waived her normal fee and is asking for voluntary contributions to help these heroes. Laura is a qualified Nutritionist & Trainer; having completed a number of her reboots I can testify as to how great you will feel and look afterwards.
Please join her and spread the word! Let’s raise as much money as we can for the NHS heroes and key workers.
Laura has put together a collection of the very best meals taken from the 5 years of reboots she has ran. As always it’s a 9-day healthy eating plan designed to regain the balance and reset.
Expect however a more relaxed plan with a focus on us coming together, enjoying good food, having fun and feeling a little lighter and brighter in lockdown. If you can’t make the group dates then there’s always the option to follow the plan independently through the month of May.
It’s fair to say that there has definitely been a silver lining to this cloud – the beautiful weather.
We have turned our gardens and balconies into mini holiday resorts.
We all dream of lazing on a hammock next to the sea underneath two palm trees.
We might not be able to recreate the sea and palms, but we can sort the hammock.
LE BEANOCK is a fab and groovy mix of the classic beanbag and the hammock. It’s a serendipity creation of designer Tracie Herrtage.
From fashion model to expert sail maker to qualified welder, Tracie’s career in design has embraced style, fun and functionality.
A lifelong interest in interior design and furniture has given birth to many innovative ideas culminating in her unique achievement – LE BEANOCK
In 2005 LE BEANOCK was one of the stylish stars of the BBC business show pilot series, Dragons’ Den.
The programme offers entrepreneurs like Tracie Herrtage the chance to bid for investment cash.
After a gruelling audition, Tracie was picked from 1000’s of company heads to pitch her idea to 5 of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs including Rachel Elnaugh of Red Letter Days, Peter Jones and Simon Woodroffe, founder of the Yo! Sushi restaurants, when no one knew who the Dragons were and how the programme worked.
Tracie was backed by Rachel Elnaugh of Red Letter Days.
In Tracie’s own words, “The beauty of LE BEANOCK is its simplicity. It’s a real WOW FACTOR piece of kit. It’s cool and extremely comfortable.
LE BEANOCK is ideal for all the family and is of particular comfort for those with SPECIAL NEEDS.
LE BEANOCK is almost womb-like as it is soft, secure and safe and has no hard edges.
LE BEANOCK is wonderful for well-being and stress relief., the worries of the world melt away as you are cradled in its ease and comfort.
It’s week ‘whatever’ during Lockdown 2020. Sometime in April.
I’m not wholly complaining though, because the weather has surely been the most glorious that we have ever experienced in the UK at this time of the year. Perhaps it’s the lack of pollution, the almost-daily clear blue skies, trees and flowers in full bloom, butterflies everywhere and continuous sunshine that makes this whole experience just that little bit more tolerable. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m almost ‘enjoying’ this time. If that makes any sense?
Whilst I’m probably eating too much, I’m also sleeping too much, exercising and not spending any money, so it’s all positive in our household.
My other half has been streaming his live DJ sets from our lounge every Saturday night. We’re now a month in, with hundreds of thousands of viewers every weekend. He has raised a large amount of money for the NHS too, which is basically what this is all about.
Tune in this Saturday from 9pm on my Facebook page, the official JUDGE JULES page and YouTube. We’ll see you all on our virtual dancefloor – from our house to yours.
So far, I have realised that the moral of this whole life-changing experience is that we don’t need as much consumerism as we had pre-lockdown. Plus of course, the importance of human connection.
Onto this week’s Amanda Zips It Up, we have another amazing soup recipe from Chanelle Clarke, which are proving to be very popular during lockdown, the new ‘Spring Collection’ from NEWCHIC.COM and Is This The End Of The FROW?
This a staple of mine, which I often make. Unusually, we all like it, saving the effort of making two different meals, as is often the case! It is a comforting classic with a Thai twist, which takes me back to my time living, as well as subsequently holidaying, in the Land of Smiles.
The Coconut Milk adds a velvety, richness to the soup, and being a “healthy fat” it aids weight loss. Crucially at the moment, it also strengthens your immune system. It is Vegan and only about 190 Kcal per serving too, so let me introduce you to an all-round winner.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Onion
2 cloves of Garlic
1 kg Pumpkin
1 tablespoon of fresh grated Ginger
500ml Veg Stock
400ml can of Coconut Milk
1 teaspoon of Paprika
1 teaspoon of powdered Coriander (alas I can’t get fresh Coriander but use that if you can)
Half a red chilli (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
To Cook
I always like to do my prep first, in lieu of having a Sous-Chef I like to get this out of the way so I can really enjoy the experience of cooking. So let’s chop our onion and chilli, press the garlic and grate the ginger to start.
Now to the more laborious task of cutting the pumpkin. I buy fresh in a large slice but cubed frozen would be fine too and is of course easier. Remove the stringy pulp, put the seeds aside( * I will expand on this later) and cut as much pumpkin out as you can from the rind.
We are now good to go; heat a large pot on a medium heat adding the oil, onions and garlic. Keep stirring and when they start to yellow( 3 – 5 mins), add the Pumpkin, Ginger and Chillies (if you intend to include them).
Stir the Pumpkin into the ingredients in the pot for 5 minutes.
Next let’s add the Veg Stock and the Coconut Milk and cook for twenty minutes until the Pumpkin is soft.
At this point remove from heat, use a hand blender to blend until smooth.
Put it back on the heat, turning it up a little for another ten minutes.
Your delicious Thai Pumpkin Soup is ready to be enjoyed. I like to garnish with a little left over Coconut Milk ( I leave a dribble in the can) and I add my Chillies. Ideally I would add them at stage 3 but no one else in house likes spicy foods so no can do. Lemongrass & Coriander leaves work well too.
* The seeds stabilise blood sugar levels so are ideal as a snack for those aiming to slim down. Roast them and then you can flavour if you wish with curry powder, chilli powder and the likes, once roasted. Firstly they need to be cleaned and rid of any excess pulp.
Toss a couple of cups of them with two teaspoons Olive Oil, pinch of Salt and bake for about 30 mins at 150 degrees C, stirring occasionally. They are ready when Golden brown. Season to taste or leave plain.
