Lily Cole

Accessorize just launched its new ad campaign with Lily Cole as their icon, following Kelly Osbourne and Claudia Shiffer. Accessorize is emphasizing the girly side of their products and Cole's juvenile face, red hair and slim silhouette make her the perfect choice.

Cole is not only giving her face to Accessorize; she is also contributing her creative talent by designing one of the bags of this year's collection. Nothing less would be expected of this darling of the London fashion milieu. It was in 2003, when the photographer Steven Meisel shot her for Vogue Italy, that she arrived in the fashion world; barely one year later, she was elected England's model of the year.

Everyone was infatuated with this young English girl, and she appeared in prestigious ad campaigns, including Hermès, Chanel, and Prada. At this pace, Mademoiselle Cole has already cashed in on more than 10M pounds. She now longer has to be nervous about castings; while her colleagues are trying everything they can to be chosen for ads despite their young age, Cole is already working with the biggest names. What does she do to pass the time between sets? Read Shakespeare.

She loves history and politics, but given the pace of her work, she has decided to push back her entrance into King's College, one of the most prestigious schools of the University of Cambridge, for another year.

She has more projects than she can count, in cinema as well as fashion. She will appear in, among others, Marilyn Manson's next film based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

In addition to having an atypical physique, Cole does not hesitate to take a position on controversial subjects. In July 2005, while she was the ambassador for De Beers, she announced that she had decided to stop working with the company.

De Beers has been criticized for their "blood diamonds," i.e. the diamond trade that is at the origins of the Sierra Leone civil war. Cole declared: "I was unaware of these matters when I was booked for the shoot," even though the situation of the Kalahari Bushmen who had been evicted to exploit the diamonds was very well known. Cole was not the first model to leave De Beers. Iman has also refused to represent the company, and Erin O'Connor also distanced herself from them.

Cole also does not care about the underweight model scandal. Weighing barely 50 kg (110 lbs) for her 1m78 (5'8"), she falls in the category of those models suspected of being anorexic.

She could be barred from walking because of this. "I don't know what everyone is after. I'm fine the way I am." On this note, Cole leaves to celebrate the London fashion shows that have made her, once again, a star. Given the applause and praises that can be heard when she comes offstage, she still has many beautiful days ahead of her.