David Gandy in Conversation with Hilary Alexander

David Gandy was interviewed by Hilary Alexander for The Industry London at Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design. It was quite an exciting event as there were many students from the college in attendance as it was one of their first networking opportunities with a supermodel. It was very charming at the end of the event - there was a huge queue of students and a few fashion professionals all wanting to have a picture with David Gandy - and who could blame them? After all not only is he handsome and charming but he was very honest and open during the interview.David has been the face of Light Blue for Dolce and Gabbana, the face of Marks & Spencer and is the official ambassador of London Collections: Men. He's been on over 20 covers and he revealed that, like many professionals in the industry, still does some work for free. He blogs regularly for VOGUE.CO.UK and reviews cars for GQ.com which gives him a platform and a voice to speak about the things he's passionate about. He's also interested in supporting and developing new talent, and not just in fashion: David treated us to Wheyhey - a high protein natural ice-cream! David wears Savile Row tailored suits as well as high street brands like Reiss - he's not interested in making the average man feel more isolated in the world of fashion - he wants to show them how they can shop and enjoy fashion.It was refreshing to hear someone speak so openly about working in the fashion industry. A while ago I styled a cover shoot with David - there was no entourage, not even a model agent with him. He was lovely, easy to work with and arrived on time - a true professional.  During the interview David spoke of brand loyalty - something that people don't think really exists in fashion, but this loyalty has paid off for him.  It was his management team that thought he would be right for Dolce and Gabbana and they arranged for him to be at the right place and the right time - a party in Milan where he would meet Dolce and Gabbana. David won the campaign but instead of trying to get lots of big jobs off the campaign he stayed loyal to the brand and in the end it paid off. David spoke about having the right people on your team and that it's important to listen to your booker!  He talked about Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss as role models - that you only have to say the name Kate - and we all know he means Kate Moss. David doesn't see himself as just a brand and hasn't trademarked his name (yet) but he thinks in terms of a three year plan so it's exciting to see what the next three years will bring and how he continues to influence and shape men's fashion.