Chameleon Soul x Project B

This weekend I met up with Charlotte Bata of Project B. She's the great granddaughter of the founder of Bata shoes and her blog serves as a platform to showcase shoes from Bata as well as her own creative work. Since she was born into a fashion family, she's basically the real life equivalent of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl but, unlike Queen B, Charlotte's incredibly sweet and down-to-earth. After shooting these snaps around Soho, I sat down with Charlotte and asked her some questions about her experience in the fashion industry, her life affinities, and (of course) Bata shoes. Read on to get a glimpse into the life of a London fashion maven. 

Do you have any cool stories from growing up with Bata shoes?

Every summer, the Bata clan (there are 24 of us) go to a cottage in Canada on the Great Lakes for one weekend and we have something called the Bata Olympics, which consists of competitions in canoeing, water polo, and even building forts. Sometimes we have guest speakers that talk about family bonding and team building. It's really silly and a lot of fun!

What was it like growing up in fashion?

Growing up, my dad would always talk about fashion and right now my brother works for the company. I don't work for the company, but I've been able to go to a lot of fashion events with Bata. My favorite is the Milan shoe show, which is a big exhibition with different brands of shoes. You get to meet people, make contacts with suppliers, and also see what is up-and-coming for next season's shoes.

Since you currently don't work for the company, what has been your fashion experience?

I've had a lot of varied experience. I worked for Selfridges as a buyer and worked for Diane von Furstenberg as a showroom assistant. One time Diane von Furstenberg came in and she was really bubbly. It was super cool to meet someone high up in the industry and see her be so friendly. The whole theory that people in fashion are bitchy is not true from my experience. (Yes, mine too!)  

You were born in Canada, but grew up in Switzerland and now you've been living in London for 5 years so you seem to be quite the traveler! What is your favorite travel story?

I went on a whole Asia tour with my dad one summer. We went to Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Bangkok. I got to see all the Bata factories in China, which was really cool. It was good to see where the shoes were coming from and meet the people that were making them. 

On top of traveling, what are your favorite things to do?

I enjoy skiing in Switzerland, sailing in Canada, and shopping (at Le Mairas) + eating (at Che Leon, a mussel and fries restaurant) in Paris. 

You also live in Chelsea (Fulham) and since I am an avid fan of Made in Chelsea, I just have to ask, what's it like? 

I absolutely love it. All my friends live in Chelsea and there are a bunch of great restaurants and bars and it's really easy to commute to Central London. I see people from Made in Chelsea from time to time and I'd say they are like their characters on the show. 

That's so rad! Before we wrap up, do you have any last comments?

I'm really excited about Project B. I've gotten over 2,000 views in the last two days and I can't wait to keep creating outfits + blogging posts. I want every post to be a different theme: work theme, edgy theme, etc. I like to call them Brogues in the City or Autumn Boots. Oh and every shoe is from Bata! 

Annnnnddd in case you are curious, which I'M SURE YOU ARE! I also collabed with Project B! Modeled some Bata shoes around Soho. Had to pose in some dark alleyways, swing around a pole, and climb some black box thing (not sure what it was but it was plopped randomly in front of a bar on Greek Street). Whilst on top of the box, one of the bartenders tried to lure us in with the promise of free drinks but we were like no we have to go meet our boyfriends and then scurried away post-photosnapping. He was quite persistent but also helpful cuz he took a group photo for us that I'm probably not gonna post on social media since I look derpy. Anyways, this is my favorite photo from the bunch. I think I mastered the fake laugh look quite well. Don't remember what I was thinking bout though. Maybe Shia LaBeouf (Shia if you're reading this, we should create art exhibits across the globe together and buy bulk bags of SunChips from Costco):

To lurk the rest of the photos (shot by Fen Sandelson), click here. 

Music

World Spins Madly On by The Weepies

Fireside by Brett Bixby

I Do by Susie Suh 

xx