This article profiles several female DJs from the UK and US who are making a name for themselves on the international fashion party scene. It discusses their backgrounds, notable performances and bookings, and their role in elevating female DJs. They have become highly sought after, earning fees of over £10,000 per night playing for top designers at high-profile events around the world. They credit the growth of the fashion industry for opening opportunities for women DJs.

1. Pump up the volume...
this close-knit gang
of British female DJs
is making a big noise
on the international
party scene.When not hitting the
HIGOWXLIWIJEWLMSRÁZIGERFIJSYRH
striding the catwalk or hanging out
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zip between bookings
HFM INTERVIEW
N E W - S C H
Whinnie Williams and Zara
Martin (inset) DJing at last
year’s International Fashion
Showcase in London
Zara (right) wears: Top, £415,
3.1 Phillip Lim at Harrods
Trousers, £207, Pinko
Ring, £115, Lele Sadoughi
Whinnie (left) wears: Suede
jacket, £75, Topshop Body,
£165, Atea Oceani Trousers,
£305, Sportmax

2. hether it be NY downtown
glam you’re after, Abu
Dhabi upscale glitz or
Azerbaijan nouveau
swag, no self-respecting party is complete these
days without the conspicuously-chic presence of
a female DJ helming the decks. And you need
look no further for the ultimate disco than dear
old Blighty.
The rise of the British female fashion DJ
has been gaining momentum for a while now,
with the likes of Amber Le Bon, Becky Tong,
Zara Martin, Whinnie Williams and MTV
presenter Laura Whitmore belonging to a
new elite band of superstar DJs. Criss-crossing
the globe, always first class, to perform a three-
hour set – often less – can earn them fees in
excess of £10,000 a night. Business is, quite
literally, booming.
“No-one really does it the way we do it,”
says Becky, daughter of DJ legend Pete Tong,
of the British invasion. “We have something
going on over here and everyone all over the
world wants a piece.”
And by everyone, they mean everyone.
Over the last few months HFM’s Famous Five
have between them livened up the opening of
the luxury Four Seasons Hotel in Azerbaijan
(Zara Martin), entertained at London’s Victoria’s
Secret after-show party (Amber), played for
Madonna (Becky), upped the tempo aboard a
yacht at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and helped
infamous London nightclub The Box celebrate its
anniversary party. But it’s in the world of fashion
– from Versace to Prada, Mulberry to Burberry
– where their services are in particular demand.
“The scene didn’t exist ten years ago,” says
Laura, whose ‘other jobs’ include presenting for
MTV and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here
Now!. “It’s evolved with the fashion industry – a
whole diary of launches and parties, which
has opened up opportunities, particularly for
ladies.” Not that it’s always been an easy
ride. “There is a lot of sexism,” says Zara, one
half of Ooh La La when she teams up with
Whinnie. “But like any job you have to prove
you can do it.”
“The one thing about starting on CDs is
that people can see that you’re actually doing
something,” says Amber, daughter of Duran
Duran’s Simon and supermodel Yasmin. When,
five years ago, she and best friend Becky were
first asked to play a set at a corporate event in
Barcelona, the twosome were given a crash
course in “the five buttons you need” by Becky’s
brother, and discovered there’s nothing like a
Diana Ross/Bombay Bicycle Club mash-up for
clearing a Spanish dancefloor. Earning your
stripes is essential. “You have to remind people
you might look good but you can actually
do the job,” says Amber. And, in any case,
she adds: “It’s cool having women behind
the decks. We add an atmosphere that men
don’t.” All hail the new-school fashion DJ…
W
L D J s
Amber wears: Dress,
£265, Self Portrait

3. “There’s a power in being a DJ,”
confesses the model and freelance
turntable princess. “And I feed off
seeing the effect my choice of music
can have on people. There’s
something addictive about that.” The
25 year old, who regularly teams up
with best friend Becky Tong as Le
Bon Tong, is unashamedly crowd-
pleasing in her musical tastes:
“Beyoncé is always a great one to
get people dancing, especially girls.
And I recently played Shaggy’s It
Wasn’t Me.” Although anyone
thinking of requesting one of her
dad’s old Duran Duran hits might
wish to reconsider. “I get people
A M B E R L E B O N
“Gucci, Prada, Burberry…” Becky
casually reels off a list of just a few
designers she’s worked for to date.
“Music and fashion are so close
knit,” she says. As the daughter of an
industry great, few can argue with
Becky’s musical credentials. Not that
even dad Pete could prepare the 22
year old for her most memorable
night behind the decks. It came last
December, the location a private
chalet party at the ultra-exclusive
Swiss skiing resort, Gstaad. Midway
through her set, Madonna decided to
drop by. “I was DJing and she walked
in with her entourage,” Becky recalls.
Making her way through the
partygoers, “she came up to me,
put out her hand and said: ‘Hi. I’m
Madonna.’ I was thinking, ‘I know!’
She literally didn’t stop dancing.
I was playing hip-hop and house
which are her two favourite things.
Whatever Madonna wanted –
Gang Starr, Dr Dre – I was, like,
‘Sure! Sure!’. I was sweating with
the pressure. She danced for five
hours non-stop. I was the only DJ,
so I kept thinking, ‘I can’t stop,
because if I stop there’ll be no music.’
So I kept on playing until she left.
She was amazing.”
B E C K Y T O N G
asking if I ever throw it in my sets
and I’m like, ‘Nope’. Partly because
I’d go bright red if I played it. I love
it but I’d go bright red!”
Playing in front of crowds of more
than a thousand can, she admits, be
daunting. Last year’s Victoria’s Secret
after-party at Earls Court was her
biggest booking yet: “It was massive,
I was on after two big house DJs and
I was terrified.” So how does she
cope with the nerves? Well, for
Amber, DJing is a little like her, ahem,
favourite board game. “I play
backgammon much better when I’m
drunk,” she reveals. “No, I don’t get
drunk, but I like to have one drink.”
IF AMBER HAD TO CHOOSE A HANDBAG TO DANCE AROUND:
“Well, some of my handbags don’t like the floor but I’ve a really
good Sophia Webster clutch for that.”
BECKY’S FAVOURITE FLOORFILLER: “Funnily enough, Madonna’s Into the
Groove is one of my favourite records ever but, that night, I couldn’t bring
myself to play it!”
Amber at NY
Fashion Week
(inset, far right)
Amber wears:
Dress, £2,085,
Alessandra Rich
at Harvey Nichols
Amber and BFF
Becky – aka Le
Bon Tong – hit
the decks
Becky wears:
Dress, £1,330,
Erdem at Harvey
Nichols Jewellery
Becky’s own

4. HFM INTERVIEW
“I once DJ’d a Mulberry party and they
asked for Saturday Night, the Whigfield song.
I said, ‘If you have it I’ll play it’. I loved it.
Why not keep the crowd happy.” While some
DJs adopt a strict ‘no requests’ policy,
Irish-born Laura has no qualms about giving
the room what they want. “People love the
cheese. It’s just how you play it.” A one-time
Saturday fixture at Camden Town’s cooler-
than-thou Proud nightclub, Laura says she
wouldn’t hesitate to drop in a Spice Girls
Wannabe or cheekily ignore that other fashion
DJ ‘no-no’ and spin a track by a celeb she’s
spotted on the dancefloor. “I’ve probably
played a One Direction song when One
Direction were in the crowd,” says the 29 year
old who was once linked with 1D’s Niall
Horan. “My first job is as a presenter and
broadcaster so through working with MTV I’ve
interviewed rappers, heavy metal bands and
pop stars. Keep them happy!” she winks.
She’s worked the booth for a few years now
with highlights including a New York set
where she was joined by tennis champ
Rafael Nadal – “He was lovely but not so
good at DJing”– and spinning the wheels of
steel at Brixton O2 Academy. “Bigger things
are easier. DJing a small room of people who
aren’t in the mood… that’s really hard.” So
what’s her advice for becoming a fashion DJ?
Well, if you’re playing at 2am then, “a few
drinks definitely help” and “I would always
play an old-school rock song. Something like
Black Betty. Go cheesy. People love it.”
IF LAURA HAD TO CHOOSE A HANDBAG TO
DANCE AROUND: “Probably be a nice little
Lulu Guinness. Or a Mulberry.”
‘DJING A SMALL
ROOM THAT’S
NOT IN THE
MOOD – THAT’S
REALLY HARD.
GO CHEESY –
PEOPLE LOVE IT’
L A U R A W H I T M O R E
Laura DJing at
a London
fashion party
Laura wears:
T-shirt, £62, Wildfox
Skirt, £270, Red
Valentino at Harvey
Nichols Shoes, £460,
Brian Atwood
Jewellery, Laura’s own
WORDS:HARVEYMARCUSDELPHINECHUIFASHIONDIRECTOR:JODIENELLISTFASHIONASSISTANT:LAURAWEATHERBURN
HAIR:LEIGHKEATESATPREMIERHAIRANDMAKE-UPUSINGBATISTEDRYSHAMPOOMAKE-UP:JOSEBASSATEIGHTEENMANAGEMENT
USINGMACCOSMETICSARTISTSCOURTESYOFJPTALENT

5. 52 HELLOFASHION.COM
‘YOU HAVE TO REMIND PEOPLE YOU MIGHT LOOK
GOOD, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO THE JOB…’
The former MTV presenter-turned-DJ
globetrotter recalls with horror the first
time she span some tunes
professionally: “William Tempest, a
friend of mine, had a London Fashion
Week after-party four years ago and
asked me to DJ. It was terrifying.
I was trying to mix in excerpts
from the film Pulp Fiction. It
was so complicated and I
didn’t know what the hell I
was doing!” Those dark
days behind her, this
hip-hop specialist has
gone on to become one of
the most sought-after
female DJs in the business.
A familiar face in first-class
airport lounges the world
over (“the Middle East!”,
she cries, when asked for the most
lucrative destination), Zara has
become a brand in her own right –
last year saw her collaborate with
London-based accessories label
Skinnydip on a headphone range for
Topshop. Having been there from the
start, DJing for the likes of Versace
and Chanel, she’s well placed to give
a seasoned view on the scene:
“At fashion parties no-one dances
apart from at the end when
everyone’s drunk! But in London you
never know what to expect. I’ve
DJ’d in a shop and it’s turned into a
rave.” She describes her occasional
partner in crime, Whinnie, as “like
a wife” and adds: “There are a load
of girl DJs around now – but we’re
the originals.”
W H I N N I E W I L L I A M S
Z A R A M A R T I N
Also known as Sunday Girl (she of
Where is my Mind fame) or, more
recently Whinnie Williams, the 26
year old has become a staple on the
fashion DJ circuit. But it’s together with
Zara Martin, as Ooh La La, that
Whinnie has taken the world’s most
stylish dancefloors by storm, with
regular gigs at London’s W Hotel and
V Festival, where Justin Timberlake
“once bopped across the dancefloor”.
He’s my guilty pleasure,” she confides.
“Zara hates this but you just hear
‘Dum-duu-du-dum-duu’ from Like I Love
You and everyone has their hands in
the air.” Still, experience has taught
her, never get complacent. A few
years ago the duo was booked to
play one of Prince Harry’s favoured
haunts – Boujis in South
Kensington. They arrived armed with
their usual hip-hop fare, only for the
management to ask them to play
house. “I put on Dizzee Rascal’s
Bassline Junkie,” Whinnie cringes at
the memory. “The track broke down
into proper gunshots. The dancefloor
emptied and one of managers came
up and said, ‘I think you’ve done your
time. You can leave now.’ We literally
got kicked out of Boujis!”
WHINNIE’S BIGGEST DJ FAUX PAS:
“A few times I’ll lean on the stop
button and say it’s a power cut!”
ZARA’S MOST ‘BANGING’ PARTY: “The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was
cool. We DJ’d on a boat right on the racetrack in the marina. Prince
Harry and Beatrice were there and Kim K was on the yacht next door…”
HFM INTERVIEW
Whinnie and
Zara – aka
Ooh La La –
strut their stuff
Whinnie wears:
Jacket, £345,
Paul Joe
Top, £30,
Topshop Shorts,
£25.99, Zara
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Zara wears:
Jacket, £540,
Eudon Choi
Headphones,
£35, Zara Martin
x Skinnydip

6. HFM INTERVIEW
AND
STATESIDE
N THE
DECKS…
The hottest females making a
fashionable splash on the DJ
scene across the pond
WHO C H E L S E A
L E Y L A N D , 2 7
WHAT The British-born DJ’s electro
mixes (think everything from David
Bowie to Rihanna) secured her sets
spinning at Valentino, Chanel,
Burberry and Fendi parties. And her
enviable streetstyle recently landed
her a DKNY campaign alongside
none other than Cara Delevingne.
WHERE Williamsburg, Brooklyn,
Manhattan.
WHO T E N N E S S E E
T H O M A S , 3 0
WHAT This British-born actress
(Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) is the
daughter of Pete Thomas, drummer
with Elvis Costello and herself handy
with the sticks – she used to drum for
indie band The Like. When not
hitting the decks for the likes of Stella
McCartney, she hangs out with cool
girls Alexa Chung and Gia Coppola.
WHERE East Village, Manhattan.
WHO H A N N A H
B R O N F M A N , 2 6
WHAT Not content with being a
DJ, model and socialite, Hannah has
co-founded the beauty app Beautified.
Her parents are former Warner Music
Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr and
Shaft actress Sherry Brewer and her
sister-in-law is rapper M.I.A. She’s also
part of NYC DJ power pair with
boyfriend Brendan Fallis.
WHERE SoHo, Manhattan.
WHO H A R L E Y V I E R A -
N E W T O N , 2 6
WHAT The daughter of a Brazilian
model mother and an English music
exec father, Harley has headlined
gigs at NYC institutions such as Le
Bain at The Standard, holds the post
as Dior’s house DJ and is with Jay Z’s
record label, Roc Nation. Oh, and
she’s also a model and her cousin is
Charlotte Olympia Dellal.
WHERE SoHo, Manhattan.
WHO M I A
M O R E T T I , 3 1
WHAT Having spun
for fashion royalty
Prabal Gurung and
Margherita Missoni,
Mia often works the
decks with best friend
Caitlin Moe, who plays
the electric violin. They
go by the name The
Dolls and usually wear
colourful 90s gear and
floral headwear. Their
sound? A Jay Z track
with lush strings on top.
WHERE Downtown
New York.
WHO A T L A N T A
D E C A D E N E T,
2 3
WHAT This model/
blogger/DJ just
happens to be the
daughter of former
London partygirl
Amanda de Cadenet
and Duran Duran’s John
Taylor (undoubtedly
who she gets her
amazing cheekbones
from). Atlanta has
played at parties for
Topshop and Mulberry,
and yes, she does
occasionally put on a
Duran Duran track,
namely Girls on Film.
WHERE East Village,
Manhattan, New York.
WHO L E I G H
L E Z A R K , 3 0
WHAT Fashion
week’s DJ of choice,
together with partners
Geordon Nicol and
Greg K. As The
Misshapes, they do
runway soundtracks for
designers such as Zac
Posen and Henry
Holland. Model Leigh
always wears something
by Chanel during a set
– the perk of being a
Karl Lagerfeld muse.
WHERE East Village,
downtown NYC.
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