Alexa Chung Talks Going-Out Tops, Skinny Jeans & Viral Bagels

There are very few people in the creative space with such lasting power in culture as Alexa Chung. Her ineffable way of defining a fashion moment has been analyzed and pored over for almost 20 years now (including at this very publication), and through vicious trend cycles, she’s remained top of mind by sticking to her guns. Whether by sporting wellies and a sequined dress, an arm cuff that she tells NYLON her friends “were issuing a warrant for arrest on,” or Elvis across her torso, Chung does things her way or not at all. Her lack of compromise and wry, devil-may-care British affectation have made her an ideal partner for Madewell. Now in its third modern permutation (she infamously was one of the first celebrity collaborators for the brand some 15 years ago), this collaboration might very well be her strongest yet, with offerings for truly everyone. New York in its heyday — Chung’s heyday, at least, when she lived here during her peak modeling-slash-presenting career — was a jumping-off point, through a slightly cinematic and askew Anglophile lens, as she tells NYLON: “My version of Americana as an English person is not hitting the mark exactly right.”

Indeed, her quirky British sensibilities come through in the classic straight-leg jean, Teddy-boy coat, and preppy stripes, which find their American match in the boxy, ‘80s power-suit-inspired men’s coat and striped Upper-East-Side-friendly pajamas. For every flouncy silk slip dress, there is a rigid, downtown-influenced piece to counter it, like a leather wrap skirt with silver hardware. Her quirk brings a friendly air that many celebrity collaborations would’ve sanded over; her “We’re Witches Bitches” T-shirt and touristy-yet-cute “New York Is For Lovers” hoodie show her kitschy side doesn’t come at the sacrifice of good taste (or a well-cut T-shirt). The accessories — and she is, in fact, the overlord of adornment — include a chunky gold belt, her take on a Western belt (which includes rhinestones, thank you very much), and multicolor scarves, all made to inject life into what could otherwise be a drab winter outfit of a coat and jeans.

This appreciation for “tarting up the everyday,” as she puts it, makes shopping in her universe feel like a special treat. While she enjoyed the fall weather of New York, Chung dialed in with NYLON to talk about her inspirations, if skinny jeans are really back, jewelry over coats, why she doesn’t like going-out tops, and which Godfather movie is actually the best. She also gave us an exclusive Instagram-style photo dump, seen below, to highlight how seamlessly the latest collection folded up into her carry-on and matched with her other seasonal must-haves (it is an ugly-floral-dress fall, after all, and she’s got our favorite one from Prada, natch).

The campaign pictures were shot in New York. Why New York?

The inspiration for the collection had been about the New York I knew and loved when I lived here. I always found it such an inspiring city, looking at what people had on. The combinations that New York's quite aggressive seasons force you into coming up with is fertile ground for experimentation. I'm inspired by vintage, and I was thinking about the cinematic quality that has been captured in this city. One of the reasons I wanted to move to New York when I was in my 20s was because of films like Manhattan or Taxi Driver. Also, the music scene. When I read Please Kill Me, I was learning about CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, reading Patti Smith's book, plus Robert Mapplethorpe and the amazing artists that created in this place.

There is a cinematic quality to New York. I just watched After Hours for the first time. I don't know if you've seen it: really good New York ‘80s fashion.

I haven't seen it. I need to watch it. Is it Armani?

I don't think so, but it's in that vein. It's American Gigolo, but in New York at 4 a.m.

American Gigolo, American Psycho, that Wall Street look is also really great.

It's about the mix, right? You have the Wall Street bros and then you have the influencers.

I'm so fascinated by that when it comes to putting outfits together. I love tribes and the codes. The internet has, on some level, disseminated that. Nowadays, what's exciting is seeing how young people put outfits together. There's no coherent way of doing it, whereas we'd be like, ‘Oh no, you can't do skinny jeans and that. There's two different groups. You're either indie or you are not.’ Sometimes my stepdaughter is like, ‘Oh, I'm boho and I'm this and that,’ and I'm like, ‘Mmm, OK.’ [laughs]

What I love — and what I've found exciting about this collaboration — is that my version of Americana as an English person is not hitting the mark exactly right. There's something new that comes out of being a bit naive about what different things mean. I can borrow a Western belt and it gives Elvis Vegas revival as well as being quite London punk. I enjoy trying to find the commonality in the transatlantic dialogue happening there.

It meets somewhere in the middle and becomes something entirely new. This is your third collection with Madewell. What made you want to come back for more?

I really enjoyed collaborating with them in the olden days. Last year we did this great collection together that was so easy and fun. Having had my own brand, while it comes with its own joys, it is also so much more responsibility. It was so heavenly to plug in and collaborate, and have the production taken care of. I enjoy them as a company, and I think the quality of clothes they're able to make at a reasonable price point is impressive. There's a tomboyishness to that brand, which suits me quite well, but at the same time, we can make feminine dresses together. It’s a brand that is just as good at outerwear and denim as it is the flou.

It’ll be fun to see how different people wear these pieces because there's so many ways to enter it. What takes a good coat to a great coat?

It's in proportion, because at the end of the day, a coat is a classic item that could be from anywhere. I'm interested in more menswear shapes. We've made a couple in this collection like an amazing navy blue one, which truly is my dream coat. That one was almost Teddy-boy inspired. It's got a ‘50s thing to it. What I love about that coat is that it performs its function. I've got a specialist interest in practical outerwear as a Brit. I need coats to actually be warm. Our tweed was a favorite of everyone in our style-outs. It's got the length to it and yeah, maybe that's more ‘70s or early ‘80s. I can definitely imagine Richard Gere having that as an overcoat as well. It's only occurred to me that my references are a bit weird. I've often borrowed from the boys, but I didn't realize that was quite so specific to me.

When you borrow from the boys, you realize how much more room their jackets and coats have to layer.

I know! On TikTok they call it outfit tension or whatever, but there is something inherently cool about a woman wearing a men's coat. It already looks cooler because there's something wrong about it.

This year, you’ve outdone yourself with your accessory game. You wore the Gucci scarf around the waist, and then you kept wearing the Miu Miu arm cuff, which I loved.

Oh, the f*cking arm cuff. I love the arm cuff. I'm so sad, it's too cold now. My friends were issuing a warrant for arrest on that one. They were like, ‘Not the arm cuff again, please.’ I'm always trying to think of solutions to tart up your everyday. Especially in winter, once you've committed to the coat, it is the coat you end up wearing day in, day out. I love a belted overcoat — it reminds me of a French fashion editor — but it's a nice way to give yourself shape in a bulky situation. I don't know why we don't wear jewelry over outerwear. I haven't done it yet, but I love the idea of a beaded necklace over an overcoat. I feel like we're now at peak with other brands and how they style it. I saw my brother in the pub the other day and he had his jumper under his oxford button down and I was like, ‘Totally, we're all wearing things the wrong way around again.’

It feels very Mrs. Prada, especially the necklace over the coat. A little bit of weirdness.

She also has the good shawl. She keeps popping out the shawl. I stole the cuff from her. She had a navy-blue jumper — this is why I'm such a psycho about Mrs. P — in some random interview and the cuff over the top of it, and I was like, ‘Wow, haven't seen that before.’

She is the blueprint for so many reasons. I have a few situational dressing questions for you, so tell me what pieces from the collection you would pop on. First situation: You're traveling, you need to do a bodega run for some cigarettes and coffee.

It's the striped pajamas, and then the navy-blue coat over the top of it. I personally love the ‘just nipped out to grab something’ look.

That's where the magic happens.

It does though, because you're like, ‘OK!’ [shrugs]

Next situation: dinner with the boyfriend's family on a weekday night.

OK, well, I wouldn't do the leather skirt. When I first met my boyfriend's family, I was inadvertently wearing an uncharacteristically slutty dress because I didn't realize I was about to meet his family, and I literally never dress like that. They kept saying ‘take your coat off,’ and I was too embarrassed to take my coat off because I had a really weird minidress on. Anyway, I'd say, you've got to play that one safe, haven't you? It's probably the white slip dress and the herringbone coat. You could even wear jeans under the slip dress, I suppose. I feel like mother-in-laws quite like if you've got… I dunno why they would like a slip dress, but that's coming to mind.

Last situation: It's Friday night, you're meeting the girls out for a drink.

It's definitely the leather skirt. It reminds me of that shop on St. Mark's, Search and Destroy. I used to buy their plastic black miniskirts with a zip across it. It was when that punk thing wasn't necessarily “happening,” and I found the wrongness of it brilliant. Also, that skirt reminds me of that area of New York and Patricia Field’s shop she had. You can wear it with a sweater, and in the campaign we styled it with the black lacy top which I also love, and I'm probably going to wear for my party.

That top is also great. That's a daily driver.

I'm quite an anti-top person. I was around the first time around in Y2K when I modeled at that time, everyone wore a denim miniskirt and a top, or going-out top and jeans, and I think it looks really great again. If I look at Sofia Testino or Devon Ross, they’re so cute in the Y2K jeans and top thing. I've grown to love it.

When you come to New York, what are some go-to dinner spots?

Last night, I went to an amazing Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn Heights called Hibino. When I lived here properly, none of my friends really had dinner, but I love Veselka for brunch. I love a good bagel, so it's Russ & Daughters, although I'm desperate to try Apollo Bagels. Always wary of an Instagram hit though. It's hard to gauge whether it's popular because it's good, or whether it's popular because it's popular.

There's a bakery around the corner from here called L’Appartement 4F that looks like they're serving up the most delicious pastries. I never go, but I like to imagine that I would frequent the Carlyle Bar. I remember one time I went in there in denim hot pants, and they weren't really having it. They were like, ‘You can't come in.’ And I was like, ‘What?’

Is there any vintage spot you want to hit on this trip?

There's one I wanted to try this time called Illisa’s Vintage; it's uptown and she does 1930s nighties and lingerie. I still go to Stella Dallas and hope for the best. There's Ninth Street Vintage, which is great. All those on Orchard Street are great as well, Desert Vintage and that other smaller shop, Lara Koleji. Vintage has all been definitely in London. It's Portobello Market, which was actually the starting point for a lot of the research for this collection.

You posted a picture in skinny jeans — I'm hesitant to call them skinny jeans because they were not sucking your ankle — but I feel a resurgence in the air.

No, it's true. We’ll get there slowly. Do you know why as well? I got this amazing cowboy boot and I want to show them, but you've got to put the trouser in the boot, and these [points to jeans] are too big. That's why I believe in skinny jeans. We all want to wear boots, so they’re a solution to a problem.

Do you have a current guilty pleasure?

I have weirder standards than everyone else or something, because I'm like, ‘I've got such a guilty pleasure. I actually like so-and-so,’ and then my boyfriend's like, ‘Everyone agrees that that's someone that's good at music. That's legit popular.’ I'm trying not to eat gluten and I just nail bagels all the time, so maybe that's my guilty pleasure. I do really like Celebrity Traitors in the U.K. at the moment.

Everybody needs a mind melt show.

Visual Valium, yeah.

Is there a movie you've seen recently you love?

I'm going to watch After The Hunt this afternoon. I watched all three Godfathers on the plane from Beijing the other week. What a sentence. [laughs] Controversially, I think Godfather Part III is the best.

When all the film bros have that conversation, Part III is never in the conversation.

No, I know. It's because they think Sofia Coppola is not the best in it, but I think she's fantastic. She's giving naturalism against that era of acting which was quite big, wasn't it? I love the Mr. Scorsese documentary, which is so good. It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Robert De Niro is so beautiful in this documentary. It's crazy.

Do you have a favorite outfit from 2025 you’ve worn? I have two.

Thanks! What are they?

They both have faces on them.

Oh yeah, is it the Elvis dress?

The Elvis dress was unbelievable. And the Erdem dress that you wore.

Oh, same. I love them both. Actually today, I was looking at trompe l’oeil Loewe, because ages ago I wore this dress, but they wouldn't let me have it. I'm trying to buy it, but I can't find it anywhere. It's a trenchcoat that's printed on a silk dress. I'm like, ‘Why am I so obsessed with pictures?’ I don’t know why I love it so much, but I love artwork on a shift.

The Alexa Chung x Madewell collection is now available on madewell.com and in select Madewell locations with prices ranging from $24-$598.