Behind the Scenes With Love Island’s Olivia Attwood at Fashion Week

“I call it the bikini tax,” Olivia Attwood said on Monday, February 10, as she sat down for an exclusive interview with Us Weekly.

When Attwood, 33, rose to fame as a contestant on Love Island UK, Season 3, she wore mostly bikinis, naturally. But on Monday, she was outfitted in a black Alo sweatsuit with New Balance 933s, having just returned from a brisk morning walk around Flatiron near her hotel, The New York Edition, where she was staying for her first-ever New York Fashion Week.

“I’ve loved seeing what people are wearing,” she said of her strolls around the city.” You can just tell who the fashion people are; they stand out.” As for how Attwood described her personal fashion in three words? “Versatile, classic and feminine.”

This, however, feels worlds away from how she described herself on an episode of Love Island in 2017: “I’m funny, kind and a bit of a d—head,” she said at the time, with her signature British humor.

Since departing the villa, she proved herself a serious reality-slash-style-star to watch, as seen on countless spinoffs (most recently, Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection and Getting Filthy Rich), as well as her podcast, So Wrong It’s Right With Olivia Atwood, which is available via Apple and Spotify.

Such was the case when she landed on the island of Manhattan earlier this month with five Away suitcases in tow (“Which, I think, is nothing for Fashion Week,” she said), all filled with designer pieces to wear during her jam-packed schedule. This included brand presentations, fashion parties, press appearances, star-studded runway shows and, of course, shopping.

Below, go behind the scenes with Attwood for an exclusive look at New York Fashion Week through the lens of the reality star.

Day 1
L’Agence Presentation

L’Agence has been my favorite so far,” Attwood said on Monday, February 10, of the Fall 2025 presentation held at Grand Central Station. “It was in that iconic building — just so incredible. How amazing to for them to pull that off in that space,” she said, noting: “I was thinking of rom-coms like, Just Friends with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, and Harry Met Sally [with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal]. There’s so many rom-coms that take you into Grand Central.”

As to the scene-stealing looks at L’Agence? Attwood said she was drawn to “loads” of them. “There was a model in a velvet two-piece suit with a bowtie, and I love preppy fashion,” she explained. “Anyone who follows me on social media knows I love a suit.” Adding: “They had a lot of cool leather pieces with gold button detailing as well. Classic looks that you can keep in your wardrobe for the next 20 years, and it’ll still be in fashion.”

The same could be said for her attire: a L’Agence shift woven with a metallic thread and leather piping, which she topped off with a tuxedo-style YSL jacket. “When it doubt, wear a little black dress and a blazer,” she said. “It’s just timeless.” Ditto for her quilted black Chanel mini-bag, one of “50-ish” designer carriers that she has in her covetable collection.

WeWearAustralian Party

Next, she headed to the WeWearAustralian event in a diaphanous LWD by Australian designer, Van Der Kooij. She paired the look with a butter yellow Hermès Birkin and Saint Laurent glazed-leather slingback pumps with a stiletto heel.

“The dress was very simple, but we are in winter, so that brown shoe grounded it a bit,” she said. Her Vehla ‘Dixie’ shades had the same effect: a ’70s-inspired aviator style with a tortoiseshell finish. “The lenses have a warm color and tied it all together.” Attwood added: “The only time you wear sunglasses indoors and get away with it is Fashion Week.”

Day 2
Press Interviews

With so many fabulous ensembles in her arsenal that week, which earned her the most compliments? “That’s a good question, actually,” Attwood replied, before landing on a look she chose for back-to-back press appearances while in New York.

“The other day, I wore a blue-and-white Saint Laurent pinstripe shirt and Altuzarra wide-leg trousers to do some interviews and podcasts, and I had so many questions about that outfit,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s the most simple outfit that gets people asking the most questions. You always think the outfit that you put the most effort in is going to have the biggest impact, and that’s not always the case.” .

Her face-faming fringe, which she admitted was inspired by Sabrina Carpenter, takes a lot of work to, well, work. Attwood shared an Instagram video on Monday with text overlay that read: “When people ask what it’s like having fringe.”

She aptly set it to a voice clip from Kim Kardashian that said: “It’s a full-time job, and it’s extremely time consuming and it’s not as easy as it may appear to some people.”

Her Hermès Birkin bag 35 made a similarly strong statement, as did the oversize Vehla ‘Billie’ sunglasses she topped it off with.

Nylon Party

Later, Attwood hit up a party hosted by Nylon. “Another favorite [outfit] was from that night, which was full chocolate-brown from head to toe, and I love a monochromatic look. It was kind of sexy, but I was still warm, because I was layered from neck to feet,” she said of her Wolford turtleneck and tights tucked into Toteme cable-knit briefs in the same pitch-perfect hue.

“The fact that thick tights are cool again, like, why did we ever stop?” she smartly pointed out. “There was an era in my 20s, when I wouldn’t have been caught dead in tights — it was like bare legs or nothing. Now it’s cool to wear heavy denser tights.”

Tights are that much cooler when teamed with a pantless look “because everything’s covered,” she said. Indeed, according to Attwood, one of the best pieces of fashion advice that she ever received was from “her mum” which was, “tits or legs,” but never both.

Day 3
Impromptu Photoshoot

“I was having fun with this look. I thought it’d be funny to get out the fluffy [Christian] Louboutins in the snow, because you have to lean into the craziness of Fashion Week — and there’s nothing practical about that,” she said with a laugh.

She is, however, practical when it comes to rewearing clothes, demonstrated by the YSL blazer she sported earlier that week.

“When did we make the rule that wearing something again is a heinous crime?” she said. “If you have lovely, timeless piece in your wardrobe, you should wear that as many times as you want.” Adding: “And you can’t go wrong with an oversize jacket.”

Exploring the City

Following her (stylish) jaunt in the icy elements, Attwood went shopping at Louis Vuitton in Soho before making her way down to the Lower East Side to hit up Desert Vintage, a go-to for pre-loved designer items, with luxury labels from Alaïa to Dior.

She also popped by Susan Alexandra where she bought a Bok Choy bag charm and bedazzled Lolita lighter case with a strap. “For candles, like, it’s a chic,” Attwood explained. “They sell everything everything, including jewelry, and make it all by hand.”

“It’s literally right next to Scarr’s,” she said, referencing perhaps the most famous pizza joint in all of New York City. There, she got the margarita pie, which is considered just as yummy as Susan Alexandra bag-charm candy — and go even better together.

Day 4
Tory Burch Fall 2025 Fashion Show

“The brand represents timeless luxury very well, but it’s also fun,” Attwood said of Tory Burch. “The hoop dress has been a really iconic dress for the last couple of years, but it’s also fun.”

“I thought, I could go for something more classic or something that has a little bit more individuality to it,” she said.

Attwood went with the latter in a Tory Burch Wisteria hoop dress plucked right off the Spring 2024 runway — a look that was designed “to be lived in [and] move with you,” according to the brand. That is exactly what she did as dashed from her hotel room and hopped into an Uber that took her to the Museum of Modern Art, where the designer showed her new collection.

Ultimately, the Tory Burch Fall 2025 show went down as the most star-studded event of NYFW, attended by A-list celebrities including Attwood along with Amanda Seyfried, Ciara, Martha Stewart and supermodel Jodie Turner-Smith. When siting on the front row and taking in the new collection, which focused on American sportswear and classic staples with a twist, a model walked out in a pair of wool briefs, which instantly recalled the chocolate version that Attwood wore just days earlier.

But Attwood’s whirlwind trip to New York Fashion Week wouldn’t have been complete without a memento (or several) to take back with her before she hopped across the pond to London the next day.

“I have to get a souvenir, because it’s my last night in New York,” she said in Instagram video shot after the Tory Burch show.  “Get me under control, I want everything!” Attwood told her assistant, before scoring an NYPD sweatshirt and proceeding to head to the register. “Oh, do you watch my shows,” she joked with the salesman when asked for her signature (on the receipt).

A full-circle moment for Love Island‘s self-described “model and grid girl” who’s now a reality superstar and style, star, too.