Olivia Buckingham On Her Next Chapter

After hitting rock bottom with a series of health complications, Hong Kong-born celebrity stylist Olivia Buckingham is set to have her best decade yet.

In a world of constant change, it’s safe to say we’re accustomed to surprises. But the revelation that the socialite, all-round glamazon and British royalty’s go-to stylist Olivia Buckingham lives in tracksuits is likely to flummox even the most shock-averse. “Oh, I’m notorious for being head-to-toe in Adidas,” she tells me via Zoom from her flat in London’s Notting Hill, “but no one sees that part. Give me a tracksuit, a spanking new white sneaker and a vest top any day.”

It wasn’t, however, her penchant for joggers that earned her a spot at number six on UK Tatler’s coveted best-dressed list this year. The upper-class bible dubbed Buckingham “society’s secret weapon” and praised her sartorial nous alongside that of Akshata Murty (wife of British premier Rishi Sunak), the debonaire Bill Nighy and the Countess Mountbatten of Burma. “Look, I don’t dress to get recognition like that,” she says bashfully. “But it was very sweet of them.”

On her Instagram feed, you’re likely to see her in sharp Ralph Lauren black-tie ensembles, exuberant tulle gowns, resplendent Taller Marmo ostrich feather dresses and Valentino pink double-breasted suits – all with a healthy sprinkle of diamonds, naturellement. “I’m very happy in my athleisure wear during the day,” she explains, “but equally I love the jump from one extreme to the other. Like tonight, I’m about to be in a full-on fantastic Christopher John Rogers strapless taffeta jumpsuit. That’s just me; that’s the way I roll.”

She’s talking about the opening party for V&A’s much- anticipated Chanel exhibition, to which she was invited by Yana Peel, the brand’s head of global arts and culture. “I know her from my Hong Kong days, so that will be fabulous.”

Despite the English accent and platinum blonde hair, Buckingham is a fourth-generation Hong Konger. Her maternal great-grandfather was the businessman and philanthropist Noel Croucher, who co-founded the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and later established the Croucher Foundation, which still operates today. Although she moved to the UK for school – at Garden House and Heathfield – it wasn’t until she was back here, at the age of 24, that she began to consider a career in fashion. “At English boarding school, styling, writing and journalism weren’t really a thing. You were either going to be a doctor or going to university for more traditional subjects,” she says.

Her introduction to the industry came when she joined Hong Kong Tatler as an assistant to the fashion editor. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this whole world exists!’” But after six months of calling in samples and making tea, she took a risk and went freelance. “I was just doing it as I was going along, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes and meeting amazing people.” Jobs styling individual clients and editorial shoots followed, and she soon became prominent on the Hong Kong scene.

“I was always the token blonde going to all the fashion events,” she says. Admitting that socially she gravitated more towards the locals than expats, her friends included Jonathan Cheung and Ed Tang, as well as society darlings Feiping Chang, Elly Lam and Victoria Tang – “They were my girls,” she says.

“Hong Kong was all about friends and food – and obviously Gilbert Yeung and Dragon-i. I had some wild nights in Dragon-i, but I wouldn’t swap them for anything. It’s what Hong Kong is. You’ve got to do it all, and because it’s so small you just kind of fall into it. But I think after 10 years, I was ready to hang up my party clothes.”

Moving back to London in 2019, Buckingham transitioned into a new role as a contributor for Vogue Hong Kong, while setting up a styling company with a friend before they amicably parted ways. Fortunately her connections, which span from British aristocracy to Asian high society, and her knowledge of the fashion industry meant she could go it alone.

“It was another kind of huge risk. I thought, ‘Oh my God, do I know what I’m doing?’ This is so much bigger doing it in London, because I’m not just the token blonde stylist as I was in Hong Kong. But it’s just gone from strength to strength, which has been amazing.”

Although she’s tight-lipped about her clients (demand for her services “has been very much by word of mouth”), it seems celebrities are less secretive. She’s currently working with long-time friend Poppy Delevingne, who ended up on a best-dressed list after Buckingham styled her for the British Fashion Awards in an Ashi Studio embellished couture two- piece. There’s also the UK-based American rapper Eve, whom Buckingham styled for her first live show after a decade-long hiatus. Performing with Gwen Stefani in Hyde Park, Eve rocked a custom purple matching diamanté set from Self Portrait.

“I like to push my clients’ boundaries but also stick to each of their authentic codes,” Buckingham says about her working process. “I don’t want it to be one-sided; what I enjoy is also giving them creative freedom, then we meet in the middle and come up with a magical look.”

Another client whom she describes as “very collaborative” is her friend “Bea” – Princess Beatrice to the rest of us. The Duke of York’s daughter has faced intense media scrutiny, which hasn’t always gone well: the Philip Treacy hat she wore to the wedding of the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was cruelly mocked by the press for resembling a pretzel.

Since Buckingham came on the scene, however, it’s the princess’s style evolution and flawless fashion choices that have been making headlines, such as the regal floor-length Reem Acra gown she wore to the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and a lace Monique Lhuillier dress at Royal Ascot.

“Of course, to read the headlines is amazing,” Buckingham says. “But more than anything, as women we go through so much and have such insecurities. If clothes can make a woman feel empowered and confident, then that’s what clothes should be used for.”

Buckingham isn’t complacent about her new-found reputation as a blue-blood sartorial saviour. “It’s weird to think that I am where I am now, because I really didn’t ever believe I would be. But now I think, ‘Oh my God, it’s happening. It’s happening. I’m in it right now.’”

In fact, if there were ever a lesson to be learned about rebounding after a setback, it’s from Buckingham. Although she’s now reached a pinnacle in her career, the past few years have been tough. In 2019, she suffered a full-blown case of sciatica. The pain, she says, left her feeling a shadow of her normal self, unable to do anything. But it was when her appendix ruptured, just as Covid had reached its height, that she truly hit “rock bottom”.

“That’s when I looked inward and I thought, ‘OK, something’s got to change,’” she recalls. “I’m obviously doing something that isn’t working for my body. Perhaps there were emotions I’d been holding on to that were screaming to come out.”

Admitting she loathes the term “spiritual journey”, she sought therapy, turned to self-hypnosis, listened to podcasts by Dr Joe Dispenza and underwent a full reset of her priorities.

Whereas Buckingham’s “hefty social life” in Hong Kong might have involved her attending six different parties a night, these days, you’re far more likely to find her up at 5am practicing breath work, meditating or doing Pilates. She’s selective about the events she attends. “I’m not just going to the opening of an envelope,” she insists. “That’s all changed.”

Despite her outwardly glamorous persona, Buckingham is refreshingly candid about her experiences on social media. “We sometimes run around with these masks on and it was just so freeing to say, ‘By the way, life is not perfect; life will never be perfect; no one is perfect; perfection doesn’t exist.’ I just wanted to prove that life goes on, but it’s not all events and diamonds and champagne. And actually, the response from people was amazing.”

That turning point coincided with a landmark birthday, with Buckingham holding a big belated celebration for her 40th in April at her London “home from home”, China Tang. So does she feel any apprehension about reaching such a milestone? “You know, I think it’s the first time in my life I actually know who I am; I don’t feel trapped in a body where I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing.

“There’s a camp of those turning 40 who just think doom and gloom. But I hang out with people of all ages and they say, ‘Olivia, you’re going to love it. It’s going to be the best decade. You know what you want. You know what you don’t want. Fully embrace it.’ And you know what? It’s exactly what I’ve done and I couldn’t be happier.”

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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