Erin O'Connor

Erin O'Connor

From Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud by Bella Freud

March 4, 2026 · 1h 17m

About this episode

Erin O'Connor discusses her career as a supermodel and her advocacy for model well-being and mental health.

Erin O’Connor is a British supermodel, writer, and advocate. She grew up in the West Midlands and was scouted as a teenager at the iconic 90’s cult show The Clothes Show live. Erin O’Connor’s modelling debut was in i-D magazine in 1996, shot by Juergen Teller. She soon rose to prominence, walking the runway for esteemed designers including Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Versace, John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier. More recently, Erin has walked for Tom Ford and Willy Chavarria. Karl Lagerfeld once described O’Connor as “one of the best models in the world” and Erin has been photographed by industry giants including Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, Mario Testino, David Bailey, Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Lindbergh and Tim Walker. Erin featured in the Channel 4 documentary This Model Life in 2003, and has since written and presented two documentaries about fashion for BBC Radio 4, as well as contributing articles to British Vogue, The Times, i-D, and GQ. Alongside her modelling, Erin is an advocate for model well-being and mental health. Through her position as Vice Chair of the British Fashion Council Erin founded Model Sanctuary, a…

People in this episode

Host: Bella Freud

Guest: Erin O'Connor

Topics covered

  • modeling
  • fashion advocacy
  • mental health
  • supermodels
  • documentary
  • British fashion

Keywords

  • Erin O'Connor
  • supermodel
  • fashion
  • mental health
  • British Fashion Council
  • model advocacy
  • documentary

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: British Fashion Council, Save the Children, Borne

Books & works: This Model Life, British Vogue, The Times, i-D, GQ

Places: West Midlands

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